Author: Chris Hoffman / Source: howtogeek.com
Mozilla Firefox is an open source project, so anyone can take its code, modify it, and release a new browser. That’s what Waterfox, Pale Moon, and Basilisk are—alternative browsers based on the Firefox code. But we recommend against using any of them.
If You Don’t Like Firefox Quantum, Use Firefox ESR Instead
We like Firefox Quantum, which is faster and more modern than previous releases of Firefox.
If you want to keep using your old add-ons that no longer work in Firefox Quantum, we recommend Mozilla’s Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) instead.Firefox ESR is based on Firefox 52, supports traditional XUL Firefox add-ons and NPAPI plug-ins, and will continue receiving security updates directly from Mozilla until July 2, 2018.
Yes, Mozilla has done some things we’re not crazy about. The Mr. Robot “Looking Glass” add-on was ridiculous, and we’re not thrilled about what they’re doing with Cliqz in Germany. But, after taking some deserved public heat, they’ve made policy changes and we’re hopeful they’ll do better in the future.
Even if you don’t completely trust some of Mozilla’s business decisions, your browser is just too important to be left to a small community of enthusiasts. We think it’s best to go with a big project with a large number of developers that receives a lot of attention to security. That’s why we recommend against using these smaller Firefox-based browsers, and why we also recommend against using alternative browsers based on Google Chrome. Here are our concerns with some of the more popular Firefox alternatives.
Waterfox Is Firefox ESR, But With Slower Security Updates
Waterfox is based on Mozilla Firefox, and it’s probably the most popular alternative browser based on the Firefox code. It made a name for itself by being a 64-bit browser based on the Mozilla Firefox code when Mozilla only offered 32-bit versions. However, Mozilla Firefox is now a 64-bit browser on 64-bit versions of Windows, so that’s not a reason to use Waterfox anymore.
Today, Waterfox is based on Firefox ESR. It advertises support for traditional XUL Firefox extensions and NPAPI plug-ins like Java and Silverlight. These are both features of Firefox ESR, so you don’t need to switch to Waterfox to get them. After Firefox ESR reaches end of Life, “a “new” browser will be developed to follow the ethos of Waterfox of customisation and choice”, according to the Waterfox blog.
Waterfox also has some other different features. It disables Pocket by default, but you can disable Pocket yourself in Firefox. It won’t send telemetry data to Mozilla, but you can disable that from Options > Privacy & Security > Firefox Data Collection and Use in Firefox. Encrypted Media Extensions (EME), which are required for sites like Netflix, are also disabled by default—and, again, you can disable them yourself in Firefox, if you like.
Overall, using Waterfox is basically just like using Firefox ESR and changing a few settings…with one big difference: security updates arrive in Firefox ESR much faster than they…
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