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Installed it today and the default search engine is Bing, not Ecosia. Source? Go download it.
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*Removing sponsored tiles on the New Tab page
*Removing sponsored tiles on the New Tab page
*Addition of locale selector to the user options
*Addition of locale selector to the user options
*Using [[Ecosia]] as the default [[search engine]] instead of [[Google Search|Google]] or [[Yahoo! Search|Yahoo!]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.waterfoxproject.org/support-waterfox |title=Waterfox - Help Waterfox |year=2017 |publisher=Waterfox Project |accessdate=6 February 2017}}</ref>
*Using [[Bing]] as the default [[search engine]] instead of [[Google Search|Google]] or [[Yahoo! Search|Yahoo!]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.waterfoxproject.org/support-waterfox |title=Waterfox - Help Waterfox |year=2017 |publisher=Waterfox Project |accessdate=6 February 2017}}</ref>
*Not using [[Encrypted Media Extensions]] (EME) without user's explicit consent
*Not using [[Encrypted Media Extensions]] (EME) without user's explicit consent


Revision as of 12:42, 11 April 2019

Waterfox
Developer(s)Alex Kontos
Initial release27 March 2011; 13 years ago (2011-03-27)
Repository
Written inC, C++, CSS, JavaScript, XUL
EngineGecko, SpiderMonkey
Operating systemWindows 7 or later, macOS, Linux, Android
Platformx86-64, ARM64
TypeWeb browser, mobile web browser, feed reader
LicenseMozilla Public License
Websitewww.waterfox.net Edit this on Wikidata

Waterfox is an open-source web browser for x64 and ARM64 systems. It is intended to be speedy and ethical, and maintain support for legacy extensions dropped by Firefox, from which it is forked. There are official releases for Windows (including a portable version), macOS, Linux and Android.

Waterfox is based on Firefox and is compiled using various compilers and using Intel's Math Kernel Library, Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 and Advanced Vector Extensions. Linux builds are built with Clang. Waterfox is continuing to support the long-standing XUL and XPCOM add-on capability that Firefox removed in version 57.[1][2][3][4]

Overview

Waterfox differs from Firefox in a number of ways by:

  • Removing Pocket
  • Removing telemetry and data collection
  • Removing startup profiling
  • Allowing 64-bit NPAPI plugins
  • Allowing unsigned extensions
  • Removing sponsored tiles on the New Tab page
  • Addition of locale selector to the user options
  • Using Bing as the default search engine instead of Google or Yahoo![5]
  • Not using Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) without user's explicit consent

History

Waterfox logo used until 2015
Waterfox logo used from 2015 to March 2019

Waterfox was first released on March 27, 2011, for 64-bit Windows. The Mac build was introduced on May 14, 2015, with the release of version 38.0,[6] the Linux build was introduced on December 20, 2016, with the release of version 50.0, and[7] the Android build was first introduced in version 55.2.2.[8] Version 29.0 released on July 22, 2015, had a build for iOS. And from May 12, 2015, to November 12, 2015, Waterfox had its own exclusive charity search engine called Storm.[9]

Benchmarks and usage

32-bit Firefox outperformed 64-bit Waterfox in Peacekeeper browser benchmark tests run by TechRepublic in 2012,[10] and 64-bit Waterfox slightly outperformed 32-bit Firefox in tests run by Softpedia in 2014.[11] However, in 2016 64-bit Waterfox performed worse than 64-bit Mozilla Firefox in the Kraken, SunSpider, JetStream, and Octane 2.0 benchmarks.[12] Benchmarks were once available on the developers' website but have since been removed.[13] Waterfox was presented at an event called “Pitch@Palace”[14] at St James's Palace for Prince Andrew, Duke of York.

As of November 15, 2016, Waterfox had over 6 million downloads.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Proposal for Waterfox 56". Reddit. 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  2. ^ "Waterfox 55 Release". Waterfox. 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  3. ^ Kev Needham (2015-08-21). "The Future of Developing Firefox Add-ons". blog.mozilla.org. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  4. ^ Jorge Villalobos (2017-02-16). "The Road to Firefox 57 – Compatibility Milestones". blog.mozilla.org. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  5. ^ "Waterfox - Help Waterfox". Waterfox Project. 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. ^ Kontos, Alex. "Waterfox 38.0 Release". www.waterfoxproject.org. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  7. ^ Kontos, Alex. "Waterfox 50.1.0 Release (Windows, Mac & Linux)". www.waterfoxproject.org. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  8. ^ Kontos, Alex. "Waterfox 55 Release (Windows, Mac, Linux and Android)". www.waterfoxproject.org. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  9. ^ Kontos, Alex. "4 Year Anniversary: Waterfox Charity and Storm Search". www.waterfoxproject.org. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  10. ^ Nawrocki, Matthew (20 April 2012). "Review: Firefox's unofficial 64-bit variant Waterfox". TechRepublic. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Opris, Elena (6 June 2014). "Waterfox 28 Review – A 64-Bit Version of Firefox". Softpedia.
  12. ^ Don Salva. "Web browser benchmarks: Firefox vs. Waterfox vs. Pale Moon vs. Chromium vs. Chrome". The Kaputniks. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  13. ^ Alex Kontos. "Waterfox - Probably the fastest 64-Bit browser on the web". Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Pitch @ Palace Bootcamp". The Duke of York. 10 November 2014.
  15. ^ "Waterfox". waterfoxproject.org. Archived from the original on 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
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