Pale Moon 33.0 launched with +250 commits, enhanced security, performance & user control

The open source web browser Pale Moon has launched its version 33.0, featuring over 250 commits, including new features, fixes, and various improvements. The new features include a restricted version of the asynchronous clipboard API (navigator.clipboard) that supports plaintext and standard DataTransfer methods for enhanced security. The browser has also added support for SHA-2 signatures for OCSP stapled responses, further bolstering security measures.

User control has been improved with a new option in Preferences to limit DOM full-screen mode to the existing browser window. New preferences have been added in the Privacy tab, enabling users to manage privacy-related features such as canvas data poisoning to prevent fingerprinting and enabling Performance observers for website operation. The browser has also resolved compatibility issues by implementing PromiseRejectionEvent, which aligns the scheduling of microtasks and Promises with the current spec and expected behavior.

In terms of performance, Pale Moon has enhanced the performance of box shadows and file/data uploads over HTTP/2, which will be advantageous to secure websites. Web compatibility issues have been fixed, and the browser now builds against the C++17 language standard. Several security issues have been addressed, and updates include enabling users to disable reporting of CSP errors, adding Mac PowerPC and Big Endian support, and changing the behavior of hung scripts to terminate automatically. You can read the full changelog here.