Mozilla-based web-browsers

Mozilla started off as a name (project) (code name) for Netscape's browser development. Back in 1993 or 1994, when Marc Anderseen founded Netscape, "Mozilla" was a(n internal) codename for their namesake browser, which was short for 'Mosaic Killer'). Mozilla Firefox is effectively the spiritual successor to the original classic mid-1990s Netscape Navigator browser that brought the world wide web to the mainstream. It seems to be losing ground to the ever-improving  Google Chrome family of browsers.

= Channels = The Mozilla project to develop the source codebase of its software (Firefox browser, Thunderbird email, and SeaMonkey integrated suite), like many software projects, has branches, which are referred to as "channels". These are concurrent and represent the development (state) of the codebase in different stages.

official explanation on Mozilla.org.


 * Google's Chrome(and derivative/related web browsers) also has this: Chromium-based

=Firefox Portable=

There is no need to install Firefox. It can run from removable external storage media (like a USB thumb drive).

Firefox portable from PortableApps can run in a Windows OS environment without being installed.

details about the download

Download it here
download on SoftPedia

Verify the integrity of the download (24.37 MBs), md5sum: 552468b0b345192f5f0c5bc4f5c88c0e

Mirrors
on AfterDawn:

from AfterDawn

start download (of  file).

download FirefoxPortable_25.0.1_English.paf.exe (mirror)

from Portable Apps on SourceForge

Download.com page technical specs (including changelog). SoftPedia changelog (history) by John T Haller

How-tos


WikiHow authored by Nathan J., IngeborgK

ESR
Also available is the latest build of the Extended Support Release of Firefox (24.1.1)

E.S.R. 24.1.1 (Extended Support Release 24.1.1) download English-US

=alternate=

Is this safe?

http://www.firefox-usb.com/

Lastest 25.0.1.zip

A search for its md5sum f81ad9c055beeaa082df4d7d3ab03bf0 returns no search results

=IceDragon=

Comodo also offers a ?hardened? web browser that is modified from Mozilla Firefox's source code: IceDragon-browser

download installer (for Windows).

=Cyberfox=

homepage on SourceForge.net


 * "Cyberfox Is Compiled With Microsoft Visual Studios 2012, Windows 8 SDK & Intel Composer XE 2013.

Making It Faster Then Other Browsers."

from https://8pecxstudios.com/

on SoftPedia.com

=PaleMoon=

Pale Moon

official download page release notes

Windows-only, strips away extra features from Mozilla Firefox's codebase for a more streamlined, lean browser.

FOSShub.com
 * is available in Portable package/format

=powered by=

The official Mozilla website has a list of 3rd party software that uses Mozilla code.

These include Zimbra desktop

=browser extensions=

Sometimes referred to as "add-ons". These extend (enhance/augment) the functionality of the Mozilla (Firefox) web browser.

Download.com category for windows ?

Firebug

 * | about the FireBug extension under Front-end web-development/Developer Tools].

The original (modern) developer tool (inspector)

official from Mozilla add-ons repos

latest stable release, add to Firefox (only works for Mozilla, Gecko-based browsers).

version history (revisions changelog)

Latest stable release is 1.12.5

"Firefox Developer Tools and Firebug"

Get FireBug

=Gecko=

The core of a Mozilla-based web browser, like Firefox, is the Gecko rendering engine.

Call this section "architecture"


 * see add-ons#XUL Firefox add-ons#XUL

The Mozilla Thunderbird email client (native app (application software program)) also uses Gecko. Like Firefox, it is a stand-alone app. In contrast, a web suite such as the Mozilla suite (now called SeaMonkey, originally called Netscape Communicator) integrates a web browser, email client, chat or newsreader software together. All of those Mozilla products use the Gecko rendering engine AND the XUL user-interface language. Support for XUL is built into the Gecko engine. The Gecko rendering engine is the core of Firefox and Thunderbird. The user-interface or "chrome" (in a generic sense, that's where Google got the name of their browser from) of the app/program is coded in XUL. Those extensions (also available for Thunderbird, not just the browsers) are written in the same XUL language that the core/base app/program's UI is coded in. They are literally extending the user-interface (or chrome or shell) of the program.

about URI scheme : Mozilla-specific. E.g.: try typing " " into the address bar of Firefox and see what you get!

=See also=

Chromium-based web-browsers