Traditional extensions include overlays, wherein the application can load up XUL from the extension’s package and automatically apply it on top its own UI. While this makes creating extensions that add to the application’s user interface relatively easy, it means that updating, installing, or disabling an extension requires an application restart.

Persona utilizes a safe, two-click system built on top of public-key cryptography for logging in to websites. The user’s browser generates a cryptographic affirmation of identity that expires after a few minutes and is only valid on one site. By avoiding passwords, users do not need to worry about remembering several distinct passwords and need no longer be concerned with unsecure access to their password. This quick and easy sign-in process eliminates the current inefficiencies of traditional account registration and allows users to quickly establish accounts on websites.

On November 30th, 2016, Mozilla shut down the persona.org services. Persona.org and related domains will soon be taken offline

Mozilla Persona is a completely decentralized and secure authentication system for the web based on the open BrowserID protocol. To ensure that Persona works everywhere and for everyone, Mozilla currently operates a small suite of optional, centralized services related to Persona.

Prism is a simple XULRunner-based browser that hosts web applications without the normal web browser user interface. Prism is based on a concept called Site-Specific Browsers (SSB). An SSB is designed to work exclusively with a single web application. It doesn’t have the menus, toolbars and other accoutrements of a traditional web browser. An SSB also offers tighter integration with the operating system and desktop than a typical web application running through a web browser. Applications running in an SSB are therefore able to benefit from many of the advantages of the desktop and of the web at the same time.

Building Prism is similar to building McCoy, but there are some differences which is why a separate build documentation article. To build prism, you must first build the xulrunner tree, and then build prism.

XULRunner is a Mozilla runtime package that can be used to bootstrap XUL XPCOM applications that are as rich as Firefox and Thunderbird. It provides mechanisms for installing, upgrading, and uninstalling these applications.

The Mozilla foundation does privacy reviews of a wide range of consumer products.