Mozilla Firefox 14 adds privacy for Google searches

Mozilla

(CNET) The latest update to Mozilla Firefox brings better security to search and to the URL bar, as the browser gets OS X and HTML5 tweaks, too.

The biggest change to Firefox 14 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux,) is that it runs HTTPS for all Google searches. This means that prying eyes, especially over public networks, won't be able to intercept your queries.

Though Firefox currently supports this only for Google, Mozilla said in a blog post announcing the update that it hopes to extend HTTPS to other search engines in the near future.

A small interface design change also affects your security. This tweak makes it easier to see the "verified secure" lock icon to the left of your location bar.

If you're using OS X 10.7 Lion, you'll now get native full-screen support. All versions of Firefox will autocomplete URLs, and they support more hardware APIs. These include Wake Lock, for preventing your screen saver from interrupting a game; Pointer Lock, for allowing better in-browser control over the mouse, which is useful for first-person shooter games; and Pseudo Class Lock, for developers who want to inspect the code powering a site.

Read Mozilla's full Firefox 14 release notes.

This article originally appeared on CNET under the headline "Google goes private in new Firefox."