Firefox 145.0 Desktop Launcher

[wolfmaster010]

Was I the only one jump-scared by this update's inclusion of a desktop launcher? I actually thought the second icon was a virus or something pretending to be Firefox - it's an exe and my shortcut is still there.

[Yogi_Bear]

Not the only one. This wasn't well thought-out.

[Tazounet]

I came to this forum because of this change. I don’t understand the rationale behind replacing a lightweight 1KB .lnk shortcut with a ~400KB executable. From a user’s perspective, this feels like unnecessary overhead. Many of us already know how to install Firefox after an OS reinstall, so this new approach doesn’t add value. If multiple vendors adopted similar practices, the cumulative impact on clarity and usability would be significant. Beyond that, presenting an unexpected executable on the desktop can cause confusion and even concern, since it resembles the behavior of malware. This change removes user choice and introduces stress rather than convenience.