{"id":41353,"date":"2020-09-18T11:18:39","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T11:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/?guid=a0aeba819ecb7d27c4fd9caab1e93544"},"modified":"2020-09-18T11:18:39","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T11:18:39","slug":"mozilla-finally-shuts-down-firefox-send","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/mozilla-finally-shuts-down-firefox-send\/","title":{"rendered":"Mozilla finally shuts down Firefox Send"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n Keumars Afifi-Sabet<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
18 Sep, 2020<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Mozilla has discontinued its\u00a0encrypted<\/a>\u00a0file-sharing service Firefox Send a couple of months after suspending the service after reports it was being abused to distribute malware and\u00a0conduct spear-phishing attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Send was initially\u00a0rolled out in March 2019<\/a>\u00a0as a free encrypted file-sharing platform that allowed individuals to share files from any browser without having to install third-party software and without fear of the files being intercepted.<\/p>\n

However, developers were\u00a0made aware in July of reports that Firefox Send was being used in a number of\u00a0malware operations, prompting the company to\u00a0suspended the service<\/a>\u00a0a little more than a year after it was first launched.<\/p>\n

\n

In practice, when somebody received a link to a file, they would simply need to click on it to start the download,\u00a0without having to sign up to an account. They were also able to send supported files of up to 1GB without needing to sign up, or 2.5GB for those who had a Firefox account.<\/p>\n

Originally, Mozilla said it would take Firefox Send offline on a temporary basis while improvements were made, although it now\u00a0appears that effort was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, some abusive users were beginning to use Send to ship malware and conduct spear-phishing attacks,\u201d Mozilla said in an update. \u201cThis summer we took Firefox Send offline to address this challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\u201cIn the intervening period, as we weighed the cost of our overall portfolio and strategic focus, we made the decision not to relaunch the service. Because the service is already offline, no major changes in status are expected.\u201d<\/div>\n
\n

Mozilla has also decommissioned its Firefox Notes service, which the organisation claims allowed it to experiment with new methods of encrypted data syncing. The Firefox Notes desktop browser will continue to be functional for all existing installs, although this will no longer be maintained from early November \u2013\u00a0when the service will be decommissioned.<\/p>\n