The great people over at PortableApps.com have done it again. This time they have made the next major version of Firefox browser, version 3, available as a portable app. This means you can run Firefox 3 without disrupting the current Firefox installation and check out all the new features.
If you're not familiar with PortableApps, check out running Firefox on a USB drive for more information. In the meantime, let's look at how you can get Firefox 3 up and running.
Installing Firefox 3 Portable
While Firefox 3 portable edition is meant to be run on a removable drive, you can also install it in a folder on your hard drive.
Start by downloading the portable edition of Firefox 3 from PortableApps to your Computer and click on the executable to start the installation.
- Click Next at the first screen.
- Check the box to accept the License Agreement and click Next.
- Click Browse to select a location to install Firefox 3 and click Install to start the installation.
- Click Finish to close the wizard.
- To start Firefox, make sure version 2 is closed then open the folder you selected during installation, and double click on FirefoxPortable.exe.
Import Your Previous Settings
To import your settings (bookmarks, etc..) from version 2, just copy your local Firefox settings right into Firefox Portable.
Locate the profile folder which is usually installed in:
XP computers - C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxx.default
Vista computers - C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxx.default
Then select all contents inside the profile folder (except the cache folders if they exist) and copy (do not cut!!) to the FirefoxPortableTest\Data\profile folder. After the copy has completed, delete the file FirefoxPortableSettings.ini found in the FirefoxPortableTest\Data\settings folder (if there is one).
Now startup Firefox 3. If you have any add-ons installed in version 2, Firefox will check for incompatablities and allow you to check for new versions or skip the check.
If you are using Firefox 3 on a flash-based portable device, it is recommended that you turn off disk cache, password saving and history. These settings can be found within the Privacy tab of the Firefox Options window.
NOTE: If you experience any problems, disable any extensions or add-ons.
So what's new with version 3? A lot! You can check out all the great new features located in the Welcome page when Firefox starts for the first time or in the Release Notes.
Comments on Run Firefox 3 Without Removing Version 2
What can you tell us about why Firefox is using sqlite to database our cookies, history, places visited, etc., even when we tell it NOT to save any such data and to purge all such data upon closing FF? We found a places.sqlite file on one of our machines that contained lots of data, mostly unencrypted, and included people's names and Social Security numbers from visiting sites like turbotax and the like! Needless to say, this is a serious security issue but nobody seems to be aware or bothered by it. Even more concerning is the fact that FF recreates these files if you delete them-including replenishing the file with data you wanted removed. In other words, FF is using tecniques like the old Microsoft "mirroring" where if you delete a file it wants to keep, it makes another, and if you delete that one, it makes another…
This is all very annoying and concerning to those who wish to use the internet in a safe, secure way. It also makes us wonder if Firefox is to be trusted, since they give the impression you are clearing private data from your browser and hard drive when in fact you are not. It's just that you are not aware of the secrete squlite files housing all your private stuff!
What say you about all this?