How to Check for Firefox Updates

Frequently, Mozilla will release new updates for the Firefox Web browser. These updates are sometimes important for your Web browsing experience, so it's critical that you're made aware when an update is available. Firefox can automatically check for updates or you can do so manually.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer with Internet access

Configure Firefox for Updates

1. Launch Firefox. From the upper menu bar, click on Tools (Windows) and Firefox (Mac) to open the drop-down menu.

2. Click on Options for Windows, and Preferences for Mac users. A box will open with several tabs across the top.

3. Click the Advanced tab. Next, click the Update tab to view all the update options.

4. Check off all or some of the boxes depending on your needs. Check 'Automatically Download And Install The Update.' Windows users can now click 'OK' to close the box with the new options. Mac users can just close the box and your new preferences will be saved.

Check for Firefox Updates

5. Click Help from the top menu bar. Choose 'Check For Updates' from the menu, and a dialog box will appear, showing the update check in progress. This box will notify you as to the presence of an update.

6. Remember that by allowing Firefox to check for updates automatically when you restart the browser, Firefox will scan for updates. You won't have to check for updates yourself.

Tips & Warnings

• Grab the most up-to-date version of Firefox by visiting the Mozilla download page (see Resources below).
• Find out if you've got the minimum system requirements on your computer before downloading Firefox. Mac users should have a 233 Mhz processor, 64 MB of RAM, 50 MB of free disk and Mac OS X 10.2 or higher. Windows owners will need at least 50 MB of free disk space, 64 MB of RAM, a 233 Mhz processor and Windows 98 or higher. Linux users need 64 MB of RAM, a 233 Mhz processor, Linux kernel 2.2.14 and 50 MB of free disk space.
• Glean as much pertinent Firefox user information as you can from the Mozilla support pages (see Resources below).
• Feel secure using the Firefox Internet browser, knowing that many kinds of security features are built into the software. A pop-up blocker and warning messages are just a few of the available features.
• The following steps were written for Firefox version 2.0.0.2. If you're running a later version, some or all of these steps might not apply.