The Mozilla Foundation has released version 3.0.9 of their popular Firefox browser; this is a security and stability update that plugs a handful of security holes and fixes some bugs that were troubling Firefox users. As always, you are advised to keep your Firefox updated and thus stay safe from the various threats lurking online.

“As part of the Mozilla Corporation’s ongoing security and stability process, Firefox 3.0.9 is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux users as a free download from getfirefox.com. We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 3, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting “Check for Updates…” from the Help menu,” explained Mozilla.

Is should be said that if you are still using Firefox 2.0, you should switch to Firefox 3.0 immediately; the reason for this switch is that Mozilla no longer supports Firefox 2.0 and by using it you are exposing yourself to cyber criminals, malware spreaders, and all sorts of nasties one can expect to encounter while surfing the web. There are known security vulnerabilities in Firefox 2.0 that have boot been addressed by Mozilla and consequently can be exploited by people with malicious intent.

Here is what the Mozilla Foundation fixed with version 3.0.9 of the Firefox browser:
- Several security holes have been plugged (additional details here).
- Corrupt local databases caused Firefox to lose stored cookies.
- Inline attachments for AOL, AIM and other Webmail services were not displayed in Firefox 3.0.7.
- Submitting large forms took quite a long time.
- Opening a new Firefox window occasionally displayed improper focus.

If you would like to get Firefox 3.0.9, a download location is available here.