Although Mozilla touted a total of 85 improvements for Web developers, it focused on the feature that brought the browser, at least on Windows, one step closer to true "silent" updating.

Firefox 12 skirts Windows' UAC prompt, but by clearing the highlighted box, users can restore the warning.

"Firefox simplifies the update process for Windows users by removing the user account control dialog (UAC) pop-up while maintaining the security of your system," the company said in a announcing the release of Firefox 12. "Once a user gives explicit permission to Firefox on their first installation, they will not be prompted again for subsequent releases."

pushes Firefox updates further into the background on Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines; both operating system demand users' approval before installing software.

While updating Firefox to version 12 requires a click in the UAC dialog on Vista and Windows 7, that should be the last time users see the prompt.