Firefox 3.6.4 : multi-process management added

A new version of Firefox is available for download. The main new function provided with this version is multi-process management.

The Mozilla Foundation has released a new version of their open source Firefox web browser for numerous platforms and in various languages.

Version 3.6.4 brings with it multi-process management on Windows and Linux, with the execution of Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime and Microsoft Silverlight plug-ins as a separate process to make the browser more stable. In the event that a process fails, the browser will be protected and will continue to run. Other platforms and plug-ins will be made compatible in the future.

"If plug-in locks up or no longer responds, this won’t affect the other Firefox tabs and Windows. You will have the possibility of refreshing the page to restart the plug-in", explains Mozilla. This is the first time that Firefox has released a maintenance version with a new function, as these generally contain corrections for bugs and security vulnerabilities. It appears that Mozilla are changing their working methods.

Firefox 3.6.4 also provides corrections for seven security vulnerabilities, with four of these being considered as critical, two as moderate and one as low priority. The program has also had improvements made to its stability.

The migration to version 3.6.4 should be done automatically, although users can also manually start this update by clicking on the '?' menu, or the files can be downloaded from this page.