The Mozilla Blog

Mozilla’s Firefox is thrilled to be named one of the nearly 100 brands within Fast Company Magazine’s inaugural and high-profile, Brands That Matter 2021 ranking and recognition program for companies and nonprofits that have had an undeniable impact on business and culture. Mozilla’s Firefox was recognized by Fast Company specifically for “continuing to do what […]The post Mozilla’s Firefox named in inaugural Brands That Matter appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Have you ever been in that situation where you need to give your email address over, but you don’t want to? There could be a security reason. Can you trust who you’re sharing with not to spam your inbox? Are you certain they won’t expose you to data breaches due to lax security on their […]The post Tired of spam? A burner email account could be the answer. appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Slate and Mozilla’s Pocket have extended their ‘Behind The Podcasts’ collaboration, partnering on a series of new Pocket Collections to provide podcast and Pocket fans with even more opportunities to explore the behind-the-scenes stories that inspired some of Slate’s most successful podcasts. This November, Pocket readers can look forward to all-new collections curated by Slate’s […]The post More Stories Behind the Podcasts: Slate’s latest curated Collections on Pocket appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

This is a story of how one email almost cleared out my life savings. Finding my dream home My husband and I had relocated to a new city and had been renting for two and a half years. We were finally ready to buy our own place and stop throwing money away on rent, and […]The post Hacked! How finding my dream home almost led me to a financial nightmare appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

This is a story about paying a steep price for a pair of cheap socks. The first loose thread in June One Tuesday morning as I* was having my coffee and toast before kicking off the work day, I got a text from my credit card company alerting me to a suspected fraud charge. Of […]The post Hacked! Unravelling a data breach appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

We have long advised Web users to look for HTTPS and the lock icon in the address bar of their favorite browser (Firefox!) before typing passwords or other private information into a website. These are solid tips, but it’s worth digging deeper into what HTTPS does and doesn’t do to protect your online security and […]The post HTTPS and your online security appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

One of our promises this year was to deliver ways that can help you navigate the web easily and get you quickly where you need to go. We took a giant step in that direction earlier this year when we shared a new Firefox experience. We were on a mission to save you time and […]The post News from Firefox Focus and Firefox on Mobile appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

You might have heard of VPNs — virtual private networks — at some point, and chalked them up to something only “super techy” people or hackers would ever use. At this point in the evolution of online life, however, VPNs have become more mainstream, and anyone may have good reasons to use one. VPNs are […]The post Do you need a VPN at home? Here are 5 reasons you might. appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

At Mozilla, we believe part of making the internet we want is celebrating the best of the internet, and that can be as simple as sharing a tweet that made us pause in our feed. Twitter isn’t perfect, but there are individual tweets that come pretty close. Each week in Top Shelf, we will be […]The post Miracle Whip, Finstas, #InternationalPodcastDay, and #FreeBritney all made the Top Shelf this week appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Fingerprinting is a major threat to user privacy on the Web. Fingerprinting uses existing properties of your browser like screen size, installed add-ons, etc. to create a unique or semi-unique identifier which it can use to track you around the Web. Even if individual values are not particularly unique, the combination of values can be […]The post Analysis of Google’s Privacy Budget Proposal appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

A password is like a key to your house. In the online world, your password keeps your house of personal information safe, so a super strong password is like having a superhero in a fight of good vs. evil. In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness month, we revisited our “Princesses make terrible passwords for Disney+ and […]The post Superhero passwords may be your kryptonite wherever you go online appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

In real estate, the age old mantra is “location, location, location,” meaning that location drives value. That’s true even when it comes to data collection in the online world, too — your location history is valuable, authentic information. In all likelihood, you’re leaving a breadcrumb trail of location data every day, but there are a […]The post Location history: How your location is tracked and how you can limit sharing it appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Spyware has been in the news recently with stories like the Apple security vulnerability that allowed devices to be infected without the owner knowing it, and a former editor of The New York Observer being charged with a felony for unlawfully spying on his spouse with spyware. Spyware is a sub-category of malware that’s aimed […]The post Did you hear about Apple’s security vulnerability? Here’s how to find and remove spyware. appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

If recent surveys and polls ring true, over 46% of the global workforce is considering leaving their employer this year. Despite COVID-19 causing initial turnover due to the related economic downturn, the current phenomenon coined “The Great Resignation” is attributed to the many job seekers choosing to leave their current employment voluntarily. Mass vaccinations and […]The post The Great Resignation: New gig? Here are 7 tips to ensure success appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Your online privacy remains our top priority, and we know that one of the first things to secure your privacy when you go online is to get on a Virtual Private Network (VPN), an encrypted connection that serves as a tunnel between your computer and VPN server. Today, we’re launching the latest release of our […]The post Mozilla VPN adds advanced privacy features: Custom DNS servers and Multi-hop appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Today, people have to work too hard to find what they want online, sifting through and steering clear of content, clutter and click-bait not worthy of their time. Over time, navigation on the internet has become increasingly centralized and optimized for clicks and scrolling, not for getting people to where they want to go or […]The post Get where you’re going faster, with Firefox Suggest appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

At Mozilla, we believe part of making the internet we want is celebrating the best of the internet, and that can be as simple as sharing a tweet that made us pause in our feed. Twitter isn’t perfect, but there are individual tweets that come pretty close. Each week in Top Shelf, we will be […]The post Matrix 4, Blue’s Clues, #StarTrekDay and More — Everything That’s Old is New Again in This Week’s Top Shelf appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

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March 2020 brought to the world a scenario we only imagined possible in dystopian novels. Once bustling cities and towns were desolate. In contrast, the highways and byways of the internet were completely congested with people grasping for human connection, and internet friends became more important than ever. Since then, there have been countless discussions […]The post Did internet friends fill the gaps left by social distance? appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Today, Mozilla published an independent security audit of its Mozilla VPN, which provides encryption and device-level protection of your connection and information when you are on the Web, from Cure53, an unbiased cybersecurity firm based in Berlin with more than 15 years of running software testing and code auditing. Mozilla periodically works with third-party organizations […]The post Mozilla VPN Completes Independent Security Audit by Cure53 appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

The internet has ingrained itself into every aspect of our lives, but there’s one aspect of the digital world that I bet you take for granted. Did you ever notice that many links, specifically hyperlinks, are blue? When a co-worker casually asked me why links are blue, I was stumped. As a user experience designer […]The post Why are hyperlinks blue? appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

With Listen, you can have your articles in Pocket read out loud. This is perfect for those times when you’re doing chores around the house or driving during your commute, when your eyes and hands are busy. Step 1: Open your Pocket list in your mobile device and choose an article. Step 2: Tap the […]The post How to enable text-to-speech in Pocket appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Pocket has long been the go-to place to discover, save, and spend time with the most thought-provoking and entertaining content from around the web. Now, Pocket – a Mozilla product – has teamed up with Slate’s world-class podcast hosts to provide deep dives into the episodes their listeners can’t stop thinking about. Through curated Pocket […]The post Stories Behind the Podcasts: Pocket’s New Partnership With Slate appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Save what inspires you. Pocket is your save button for the internet. When a story catches your eye anywhere online, save it to Pocket and it’ll go straight to your list, ready for you to dig into when you’re free. Step 1: Create a Pocket account. Step 2: Install the Pocket app across your iOS […]The post Get started with Pocket appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

This past graduation season, Mozilla’s Pocket teamed up with Her Campus for The Future Connection, a writing contest for college students to reflect on what it’s like to come of age in a “hyper-online and always-connected world.” While this isn’t a new concept for them — this generation, including our essay contest winner, Esther Omole, were born […]The post Here’s what I learned from reading dozens of essays about the internet appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

This past May, Pocket and HerCampus teamed up to announce an essay contest asking college students to reflect on what it’s like to come of age in a hyper-online world for a $5,000 cash prize and the opportunity to be published and promoted on Pocket. There were over 800 entries, and we are excited to […]The post Reflection: Embracing My Undulating Image appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

At Mozilla, we believe part of making the internet we want is celebrating the best of the internet, and that can be as simple as sharing a tweet that made us pause in our feed. Twitter isn’t perfect, but there are individual tweets that come pretty close. Each week in Top Shelf, we will be […]The post Cybersecurity, Facebook data, OnlyFans update and more are on this week’s Top Shelf appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

At Mozilla, we believe part of making the internet we want is celebrating the best of the internet, and that can be as simple as sharing a tweet that made us pause in our feed. Twitter isn’t perfect, but there are individual tweets that come pretty close. Each week in Top Shelf, we will be […]The post Fall Plans vs. the Delta Variant, deciphering Gen Z’s use of emojis, Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, and more are on this week’s Top Shelf appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Every summer I say I’m going to go watch the meteor showers, but life always seems to get in the way. This year, however, I scored a last minute midweek campsite on the Washington coast so I can take in the Perseid meteor shower away from city lights. While the Perseids are ongoing from mid-July […]The post Perseid meteor shower on your mind? Check out these online resources for newbie astronomers plus 6 Firefox themes for daytime stargazing. appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

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Recently the Surgeon General of the United States weighed in on the spread of disinformation on major platforms and its effects on people and society. He echoed the calls of researchers, activists and organizations, like Mozilla, for the major platforms to release more data, and to provide access to researchers in order to analyze the […]The post Why Facebook’s claims about the Ad Observer are wrong appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Earlier this summer, we started a series of blog posts analyzing the technical merits of the various privacy-preserving advertising proposals out there. Our goal is to advance the debate and help break down this complex topic. In this new addition to this series, we look at the SWAN.community and United ID 2.0 proposals. We have […]The post Privacy analysis of SWAN.community and United ID 2.0 appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Will 2021 prove to be the year privacy went mainstream? Our guest author discusses events pointing to a turning point in favor of consumer privacy.The post 2021: The year privacy went mainstream appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

On the internet you are never alone, and because of that at Mozilla we know that we can’t work to build a better internet alone. We believe in and rely on our community — from our volunteers, to our staff, to our users, fans and friends. Meet Lalo Luevano, partner and co-founder of Bodega, a […]The post Lalo Luevano, restaurateur and co-founder of Bodega wine bar appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

A year goes by so quickly, and we have good reason to celebrate. Since our launch last year, Mozilla VPN, our fast and easy-to-use Virtual Private Network service, has expanded to seven countries including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland adding to 13 countries where Mozilla VPN is available. We also expanded our […]The post Celebrating Mozilla VPN: How we’re keeping your data safe for you appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Our favorite tweets from journalists this week that featured baseball, a rocket and more. The post Space Cowboy, Guardians of Cleveland, and Tony Award winner Ellen Barkin considers a Subtack – here is this week’s Top Shelf. appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

A growing number of us have connected devices in our homes, offices, driveways and even our bodies. The convenience and fun of integrating a device with daily life is real, but there haven’t been nearly enough conversations about who owns that data and how much consumers are letting big companies into their lives in unexpected […]The post Do you own a connected device? Here’s why you should be wary of the Peloton lock issue. appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Last year a new phrase crept into the zeitgeist: doomscrolling, the tendency to get stuck in a bad news content cycle even when consuming it makes us feel worse. That’s no surprise given that 2020 was one for the books with an unrelenting flow of calamitous topics, from the pandemic to murder hornets to wild […]The post Break free from the doomscroll with Pocket appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

The Biden Administration issued today an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. “Reinstating net neutrality is a crucial down payment on the much broader internet reform that we need and we’re glad to see the Biden Administration make this a priority in its new Executive Order today. Net neutrality preserves the environment […]The post Net neutrality: reacting to the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Regulators and technology companies together have an unique opportunity to improve the privacy properties of online advertising. Improving privacy for everyone must remain the north star of efforts surrounding privacy preserving advertising and we welcome the recent moves by the UK’s Competition Markets Authority to invite public comments on the recent voluntary commitments proposed by […]The post Mozilla responds to the UK CMA consultation on Google’s commitments on the Chrome Privacy Sandbox appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Mozilla teams up with Princeton University researchers to enable crowdsourced science for public good; collaborates with research groups at Princeton, Stanford on upcoming studies. Your data is valuable. But for too long, online services have pilfered, swapped, and exploited your data without your awareness. Privacy violations and filter bubbles are all consequences of a surveillance […]The post Take control over your data with Rally, a novel privacy-first data sharing platform appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

One year ago, we made a set of commitments to make diversity and inclusion more than a catchphrase or hot button topic. We decided to roll up our sleeves and get busy establishing significant goals, putting resources behind them and making sure that everyone, including our company leadership, was taking action to create a more […]The post Mozilla Racial Justice Commitments: One Year In appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Big wave surf legend and surfboard maker, Gary Linden talks the ocean, the internet and where humanity goes from here.The post Gary Linden, legendary surfer & Firefox fan appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Mozilla has always been about community and understanding that the internet is a better place when we work together. Ten years ago, Mozilla created the Reps program to add structure to our regional programs, further building off of our open source foundation. Over the last decade, the program has helped activate local communities in over […]The post Celebrating our community: 10 years of the Reps Program appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

In a previous post, I wrote about a new set of technologies “Privacy Preserving Advertising”, which are intended to allow for advertising without compromising privacy. This post discusses one of those proposals–Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC)–which Chrome is currently testing. The idea behind FLoC is to make it possible to target ads based on the […]The post Privacy analysis of FLoC appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Sometimes the hardest thing to write is the first word. It means you’re committed. No looking back now. You can’t leave that lone word just sitting there. Better add a second word, then a third. Now you’re on your way. Procrastination can be a major blocker for writers. While putting everything off until the last […]The post Become a better writer with these five extensions for Firefox appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.