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NoScript is multi-process compatible now

NoScript, the one must have add-on for Firefox if you ask me, has received an update recently that introduces full multi-process compatibility (e10s).

This paves the way for enabling Firefox's multi-process architecture if NoScript is installed.

Mozilla is still in the process of enabling Firefox's multi-process architecture on systems running the stable version of the browser.

One main reason for spreading the enabling of the feature over several releases is that not all add-ons are yet compatible with the architecture.

To avoid incompatibilities and monitor the situation better, multi-process Firefox has been enabled for Firefox installations without add-ons and Firefox installations with safe add-ons only up until now.

The next step is to enable it for Firefox installations with add-ons that are not explicitly marked as incompatible with the multi-process architecture. Mozilla runs a test on Firefox Beta currently to monitor this.

NoScript is multi-process compatible now

noscript multi-process firefox

NoScript Security Suite is one of the most popular browser extensions for Firefox. It has a five star rating over at Mozilla and is used by 2.15 million users.

The changelog on the official NoScript website highlights the improvement:

v 2.9.5

Full e10s compatibility

Fixed big whitelists being reset to default permissions on
e10s-enabled browsers

v2.9.5.1

Fixed some pages not loading on 1st attempt when e10s is
enabled

What this means is that NoScript will play fine with Firefox's new multi-process architecture, and should not block it from being enabled by default any longer. NoScript users can use the extension if e10s is enabled in Firefox. While there is still a chance for bugs, the general implementation is stable so that most NoScript users should not experience any issues with multi-process enabled.

Mozilla's own Are We e10s yet website provides you with information on add-on compatibility. According to the site, about 2100 add-ons are known to be compatible, while only 19 are incompatible.

While that sounds good, there is this large chunk of 16900 add-ons that are listed as unknown. Unknown means that they have not been verified yet or reported by users who run the add-on compatibility reporter.

NoScript 2.9.5 ships with several other improvements on top of multi-process support that are worth mentioning:

  • Fixed bug in secure cookie enforcement.
  • Fixed automatic reload issues.
  • MediaSource blocking support.
  • Pale Moon support (untested).
  • Improved auto-reload responsiveness and precision.
  • Fixed sites involved in background requests not reported in UI.
  • Fixed file:// replacements broken.
  • Fixed typo in XSS Filter which broke JSON cross-site requests.

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

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