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Showing posts from March, 2026

Waterfox Essentials: Find what version of Waterfox you are using

It’s often important to know what version of Waterfox you are using, to help you troubleshoot a problem or just to know if Waterfox is up to date. Here is how you can find out. Click the menu button , click Help and select About Waterfox. The About Waterfox window will appear. The version number is listed underneath the Waterfox name. Here is an example of what the About Waterfox window will look like: Opening the About Waterfox window will, by default, start an update check. If an updated version of Waterfox is available, it will be automatically downloaded. For more information, see Update Waterfox to the latest release . Tip You can also find your Waterfox version on the Troubleshooting Information (about:support) page. Your Waterfox version is listed underneath the Application Basics section of the page. Source

How does ARMv9 Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) work alongside VBS Enclaves to prevent buffer overflows?

While Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Enclaves protect sensitive data by isolating an entire region of memory from the host operating system, ARMv9 Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) hardens the internal memory safety of the code running inside that enclave. Together, they form a defense-in-depth model : VBS provides macro-level isolation (keeping external malware out), while MTE provides micro-level memory protection (preventing software bugs inside the enclave from being exploited). 1. How ARMv9 MTE Works at the Hardware Level ARMv9 MTE implements fine-grained, hardware-assisted memory safety by assigning metadata "tags" to memory pointers and memory locations: POINTER (64-bit) +----------------+-------------------------------------------------+ | Tag (4 bits) | Address Bits (60 bits) | +----------------+-------------------------------------------------+ | | Hardware match check on Load/Store ...

Waterfox Essentials: Background updates on Windows are disabled in Waterfox

Waterfox disables background updates on Windows. Updates are checked for and installed only when Waterfox is open. How to update Waterfox on Windows Click the menu button at the right side of the Waterfox toolbar, go to Help, and select About Waterfox. Waterfox will check for updates automatically. If an update is available, it will be downloaded. When the download is complete, click Restart to update Waterfox. Background updates are disabled in Waterfox Background updates are not available by design. Waterfox will update only when the browser is open. Source

How does VBS Enclave virtualization performance compare between Arm-based Copilot+ PCs and traditional x86-64 processors?

  When executing Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Enclaves —such as those used by Windows Recall, local vector databases, and Credential Guard—both Arm-based Copilot+ PCs (e.g., Qualcomm Snapdragon X series) and modern x86-64 processors (Intel Core Ultra / Lunar Lake and AMD Ryzen AI 300 / Zen 5) utilize hardware-assisted virtualization. However, because Arm64 designed hypervisor hardware support directly into its core Exception Level architecture from the ground up, Arm processors handle VBS Enclave transitions with lower latency, smaller memory overhead, and higher energy efficiency compared to traditional x86-64 systems. 1. Architectural Exception Model (EL2 vs. VMX Root) The fundamental difference lies in how the CPU hardware handles hypervisor operations: Arm64 Exception Levels x86-64 VMX Modes +---------------------------------+ +---------------------------------+ | EL0: User Apps (VTL0 / VTL1) | | Ring 3: User Apps...

Waterfox Essentials: Back up and restore information in Waterfox profiles

Waterfox stores your personal data, such as bookmarks, passwords, and extensions, in a profile folder on your computer, in a location separate from the Waterfox program. This article explains how to back up your profile, restore it, or move your profile to a new location or computer. Note The Refresh Waterfox feature creates an Old Waterfox Data folder on your desktop, which contains a backup of your old profile folder and its contents. If you recently refreshed Waterfox and still have this folder, you already have a complete profile backup. To restore or move selected information instead of the entire profile, see Recovering important data from an old profile . Just Bookmarks? For backing up, restoring, or moving your bookmarks (not other data), see Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer . Locate your profile folder Click the menu button , click Help and select Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will op...

What are the architectural differences between Qualcomm Snapdragon X, Intel Core Ultra, and AMD Ryzen AI NPUs for Copilot+ PCs?

  Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD all meet Microsoft’s minimum 40+ TOPS requirement for Copilot+ PCs, but they achieve this performance through fundamentally different microarchitectural philosophies. Their NPUs stem from different lineages: mobile DSPs, computer vision VPUs, and spatial FPGA fabrics. 1. Qualcomm Hexagon NPU (Snapdragon X Series) Architectural Lineage: Evolution of Qualcomm’s VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Topology: Fused SIMD/VLIW Pipeline. Rather than using distinct isolated cores, the Hexagon NPU fuses Scalar, Vector (HVX), and Tensor (HTP) processing engines around a central, shared local memory buffer. Execution Model: Instruction-driven parallel execution leveraging Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) to mask memory latency. It processes data in tiny memory segments using micro-tile inferencing . +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | ...

Waterfox Essentials: Export login data from Waterfox

If you want to back up your saved usernames and passwords or move them to a different application, the Waterfox password management feature allows you to export this data to a .csv (comma separated values) file. Caution Your passwords in the exported file will not be encrypted and will be in a readable form to anyone who can view this file. Do not upload online, email or share the exported file. Delete this file when finished. You can also import login data from another browser . Export usernames and passwords Click the menu button to open the menu panel. Click Logins and Passwords. The Waterfox about:logins page will open in a new tab. Click the logins menu icon (three dots), then click Export Logins…. A dialog box will appear to remind you that passwords are saved as readable text. Click the Export… button to continue. You may be prompted to enter your Primary Password , if enabled, when accessing stored passwords. You can choose t...

How VBS Enclaves and encryption protect Recall snapshots and on-device AI data

Microsoft completely redesigned Windows Recall and on-device AI features around a Zero Trust architecture. Rather than storing snapshots and vector search databases in standard user folders accessible by system processes, Windows 11 leverages Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Enclaves , hardware-backed encryption, and biometric authentication to isolate sensitive AI data from malware, administrative users, and external threats. 1. Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Enclaves: Hypervisor-Level Isolation At the core of Windows 11 AI security is the Hyper-V hypervisor , which divides system memory into distinct execution environments called Virtual Trust Levels (VTLs) : +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | PHYSICAL RAM | +------------------------------------+------------------------------+ | VTL0: Untrusted Host OS | VTL1: Secure Kernel | | (User Apps, Standard Windows ...

Waterfox Essentials: Remove the Other Bookmarks folder from the Bookmarks Toolbar

Your bookmarks Library contains a folder called “ Other Bookmarks ”. (To learn more, see the Bookmarks in Waterfox article.) An Other Bookmarks folder will appear at the end of the Bookmarks toolbar if the “ Other Bookmarks ” folder in your Library contains any bookmarks. This is done to make it easier to find bookmarks stored in this folder. If you’d like to remove the Other Bookmarks folder from the Bookmarks toolbar, use these instructions: Right-click on a blank spot in the Bookmarks toolbar (or on the Other Bookmarks folder icon) to open the context menu. Click on the Show Other Bookmarks menu item to remove the check mark. source

Waterfox Essentials: Tab preferences and settings

This article describes Waterfox Options related to how tabs work . To review or change tab settings: Click the menu button and select Settings. Select the General panel and go to the Tabs section. Ctrl+Tab cycles through tabs in recently used order: Select this setting if you want to use the Ctrl + Tab keyboard shortcut to switch through open tabs in the order you viewed them rather than in the order they appear in the Waterfox window. This is the default setting in new Waterfox profiles. Note If you want to use Ctrl + Tab to switch to the tab next to the current tab and Ctrl + Shift + Tab to switch to the previous tab, deselect this setting (clear the checkbox). Open links in tabs instead of new windows: This option controls whether links from other applications or from web pages which request to open them in new windows are opened in a new window or a new tab in the most recent window. Note If you have chosen to open pag...