Mozilla is developing a browser-based PDF reader, looking to help Firefox users avoid the security and performance issues associated with current plug-ins.
The PDF reader will be created in HTML5 and JavaScript, Mozilla said.
However, it's only four weeks into development, and a Mozilla spokesperson said it will be months before this feature arrives in Firefox. The development files are already available through GitHub, and an early demo version is available online, but it didn't properly display files we tested it with.
We’ll use it for Firefox, but we would love to see it embedded in other browsers or web applications
Google Chrome has featured a similar ‘PDF Viewer’ for well over a year. However, Mozilla’s decision to follow suit is still important from a security perspective, as the Adobe PDF reader plug-in is particularly susceptible to injected code attacks. “An HTML5-based implementation is completely immune to this class of problems,” said Andreas Gal, a researcher at Mozilla.
The open-source browser firm has also opened its arms to other developers. “We’ll use it for Firefox, but we would love to see it embedded in other browsers or web applications,” said Gal.
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