Mozilla Firefox 4 is a great web browser to use—not only is it fast, but thanks to its strong anti-phising filter, it can help protect users from a variety of cyber threats, including hackers and viruses. But just because Fire Fox 4 is one of the leading web browsers doesn’t mean users shouldn’t take caution when surfing the internet.
In fact, users should go one step further and boost their privacy protection by downloading add-ons—extensions that are designed to improve Firefox’s performance and efficiency.
To learn the top 5 free add-ons that can increase privacy and protection, continue reading below.
5. Adblock Plus. As if pop-up ads weren’t annoy enough as it is, they can actually install potentially harmful and threatening “super cookies” that are installed on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies are small coded computer information that is implanted into a computer every time a user visits a web site. Cookies main function is to increase a web page’s loading time, but sometimes companies use cookies to keep track of costumer’s internet activity for marketing purposes. “Super cookies,” on the other hand, get their name because unlike the traditional computer cookies, they are more difficult to delete and reject. Adblock Plus allows users to stop or control the amount of advertisements that flood a web page every time he or she browsers the internet which can slow down the formation of super cookies.
4. Better Privacy. In an effort to prevent third parties from exploiting users’ personal information, this add on helps users avoid accumulating stubborn super cookies and flash cookies whenever users browse popular web sites like YouTube and Facebook.
3. No Script. JavaScript, a program language that most web sites use, is what makes the internet a fun and interactive experience. However it’s also a feature that can make the internet a dangerous place as well—some use JavaScript and other plug-ins to hack into users’ personal files. No Script is an add-on that allows users to control which trusted sites JavaScript is ok to run on, such as on their personal banking web site. The add-on also promises to work to prevent “cross-site scripting attacks (XSS), cross-zone DNS rebinding / CSRF attacks (router hacking), and Clickjacking.”
2. LastPass Password Manager. If you happen to share a computer with a family member, roommate or coworker and have a variety of different passwords for a magnitude of different accounts, this add-on can help increase your online security while helping you remember all of those complicated passwords and log-in user names in the process. The idea is that you create one “master” password and the organizing system will keep track of all of your user names and passwords for each account/website. It also encrypts your info, which makes it even more difficult for third parties to view it.
1. Web of Trust. Lastly, this add-on is a great extension that allows users to know what potential threats reside within a website/page before they even click on it. Using a ranking system, this free add-on warns users which web sites are safe and can be trusted and which ones may propose a threat.