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SciTech
Firefox gets built-in PDF reader, more security fixes
Users of Mozilla's Firefox should be glad to know a much-awaited feature has finally arrived in the latest version of their favorite browser: a built-in PDF reader.
The PDF reader along with several internal bug fixes were included in Version 19 of the Firefox browser, according to a report on PC World.
"With the move, Mozilla follows in Google's footsteps: The search giant baked a PDF viewer into Chrome more than two years ago," PC World said.
But PC World noted Firefox's PDF viewer does not appear to run inside a sandbox like the PDF reader in Google's Chrome browser.
It said this may make the browser vulneable to PDF files rigged with malicious code.
Still, PC World said Mozilla claimed its PDF viewer would be more secure than "external" plug-ins such as Adobe Reader.
"I would have to imagine that it has just as much potential to have bugs as any other software," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security.
Storms said Mozilla may be depending on the open-source community to provide better security than the closed-source commercial PDF viewer from companies like Adobe.
"By pulling the PDF reader 'in house' via an open-source initiative, it lets them release bug fixes much faster and on their own schedule," he said.
Under the hood
Meanwhile, PC World said Firefox 19 also included patches for 13 security vulnerabilities, 10 of which were deemed "critical." — TJD, GMA News
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