How To: Firefox 16 Is Vulnerable to Hackers—Here's How to Downgrade to the Safer Firefox 15 Version

The newest update of the Firefox web browser was released yesterday, and whether you were upgraded automatically or manually, Mozilla is advising that you downgrade to Firefox 15.0.1 as soon as possible. Firefox 16 is Mozilla's latest release, and is apparently extremely susceptible to malicious sites hacking their users complete browsing history.

Note: Firefox 16 has been fixed, scroll to the bottom for more info.

The Firefox 16 update has been removed from the Firefox website and the company says that users that have not yet upgraded or were forced to downgrade will receive an automatic update (most likely by tomorrow) once the bug has been fixed.

If you have Firefox 16 it is very easy to downgrade. For Mac users, simply drag Firefox from your Applications folder into the trash and empty it. For Windows users, go to Control Panel, then Add or Remove Programs and find Mozilla Firefox and remove it.

To download version 15.0.1, just go to the Mozilla homepage to download the more secure version of Firefox. It will automatically detect the right version for your OS.

If you have Windows, click the green download button and click on Run, then just follow the steps in the installer. If you're on a Mac, hit the green download button and press OK to download and open the disk image, then drag and drop the Firefox icon into the Applications folder. Linux users, click here for install details.

As of right now, Google Chrome is now the number one browser, followed by former number one, Internet Explorer. Mozilla was second earlier this year, but Chrome has surged past the competition, and surely this flaw doesn't help Mozilla make any needed gains. More information about the Firefox 16 security flaws is available on the Mozilla Security blog.

UPDATE: Vulnerabilities Have Been Fixed; Firefox 16 Okay

Mozilla has patched all of the security flaws in Firefox 16, and it's now available again on Firefox's homepage, or your browser will be automatically updated.