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A quieter, more careful Firn.

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@dwurgy dwurgy released this 15 Oct 08:44
· 261 commits to main since this release
03dd16c

We looked through Firn closely for anything a website could misuse, and closed every gap we found. Most of it you'll never see; a few things now work the way Chrome does.

Better

  • Pop-ups and new tabs open only after you click or press a key on a page. A site can no longer open them on its own.
  • Sign-in windows always show the real site first in their title, like "accounts.google.com — Sign in", so a page can't pretend to be someone else.
  • Downloads need a click too: a page can start one download by itself, then one per click. File names are cleaned of characters that could hide what a file really is.
  • Permission questions (camera, location, and so on) name the site in the address bar, and your answer is remembered for that site, even when the question comes from something embedded in the page.
  • Links that open other apps are refused for a few kinds that attackers abuse on Windows. Zoom, Teams, and other apps still ask first, as before.

Fixed

  • A web page saved on your computer could read other files on your computer. It no longer can.
  • Sites asking for a security certificate were handed the first one on your computer. They now get none, and sites asking for a Bluetooth, USB, or similar device are always refused.
  • Firn's own sidebar and menus are locked down so nothing from a website can ever run inside them.
  • A hidden troubleshooting shortcut no longer prints the addresses of your open pages.