Any decent web browser has some sort of incognito browsing mode that adds at least the appearance of a more private user experience. Now the folks behind the Firefox browser say their latest update includes an enhanced Private Browsing mode that limits tracking to the point of actually blocking some ads. [More]
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Microsoft Begging Windows 10 Users To Please Not Switch To Another Web Browser
By 10.19.15
Microsoft really really wants customers to use Edge, the web browser that’s replacing Internet Explorer. So much so that it’s apparently willing to beg Windows 10 users who switch their default browers to say, Chrome or Firefox, to pretty please just give Edge a chance. Just a teeny tiny chance. [More]
Mozilla: Firefox Bug Could Secretly Search, Upload Your Files
By 8.7.15
If you use Firefox on a PC, you should make sure you update your browser right now: Mozilla says a Firefox user notified the company after spotting a bug that has the potential to search and download local files. [More]
Mozilla Displeased That Windows 10 Changes Users’ Default Browser
By 7.31.15
Over at Mozilla HQ, they make web browsers that run on various platforms, including Windows. Over at Microsoft, they have their own new browser that is part of Windows, and they’d really like everyone to use it. According to Mozilla, the new version of Windows steamrolls over a user’s preferred app settings and makes Microsoft’s Edge browser the default. Mozilla is not fond of this change. [More]
Facebook, Firefox Want Adobe To Just Kill Flash Already After More Security Exploits Found
By 7.14.15
The questionable stability and frequent security issues with Adobe’s Flash have long been a running joke among the tech-minded. Although the once-ubiquitous plugin’s star began to wane after mobile browsing took off, it still makes a lot of the content on the internet move. But after the release of yet another potentially disastrous vulnerability recently, the crowd clamoring for an end to Flash has now gone far beyond your local IT office, and includes both Firefox and Facebook. [More]
Firefox Breaks Up With Google, Makes Yahoo The Browser’s Default Search Engine
By 11.20.14
Right now, Google is probably on the couch wrapped in blankets with The Notebook on repeat, eyeballs deep in a trough of chocolate ice cream. Mozilla dumped Google this week after three years together, as Firefox’s default search engine, and has decided to go steady with Yahoo instead. [More]
OkCupid Blocks Itself On Firefox Over Mozilla CEO’s Stance Against Equal Marriage
By 4.1.14
Dating and the internet go together like well, dating and the Internet. It’s a winning combination, but popular dating site OkCupid is fine with missing a slice of that action if it comes down to a question of equal rights for gay people. The site has effectively blocked itself on Firefox over brand new Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich’s stance on gay marriage. Namely, that he’s against it. [More]
Mozilla To Display Ads Within Firefox
By 2.11.14
It’s always a bit of a shocking event when the lion and the lamb go quietly walking around together like they’re meant to be together. Which is why it’s a bit of a head scratcher to hear that Mozilla — the company that once ticked off the advertising industry by announcing plans to test a patch to block third party cookies by default — will now be displaying ads right from inside its browser. [More]
Mozilla Blacks Out Against SOPA & PIPA Without Leaving Firefox Users In The Lurch
By 1.18.12
Mozilla is making its stance against SOPA and PIPA clear today, by joining the list of sites featuring a blackout page and a call to action to protest the anti-piracy acts. But while they take a stand, users seeking technical support for Mozilla products like Firefox will still be able to access that site and get security updates. [More]
New Firefox, Internet Explorer Browsers Compete For Your Love
By 3.17.11
Stepping up to compete with the latest version of Google Chrome, new versions of Firefox and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are poised to continue the arms race to get you to see the internet through their distinctive sets of eyes. [More]
Google And Mozilla Announce New "Do Not Track Me" Features
By 1.24.11
Google and Mozilla have posted that they’re adding new features to their browsers that will let users opt out of being tracked by third-party advertisers. The move comes a few weeks after the FTC issued a report recommending browser software developers to implement such a mechanism. [More]
Security Patching For XP Service Pack 2 Ends Today
By 7.13.10
If you’re still using Windows XP SP2, you’re about to be on your own. Today Microsoft releases its final security update for Service Pack 2 (the 32-bit version, at least). [More]
Citibank Doesn't Want Your Business, Linux Users
By 10.30.09
For some reason, Citibank won’t let customers using Linux computers log in to their online accounts. Adam argues that in 2009 this doesn’t make sense, especially when no other major corporate website blocks him like this.
Shut Out The Worst Ad Offenders With These Firefox Tricks
By 8.31.09
If advertisers and websites would play fair with their readers, we wouldn’t need to apply various filters and blocks to them. But when you’re trying to read an article and every sixth word is hotlinked with a pop-up ad, while the FavIcon in the browser window blinks at you like a traffic light, while loud video clips start auto-playing when the page loads—well, it’s time to shut it all down. Lifehacker has put together a great list of all the ways to reclaim your sanity when you’re online.
By 3.28.08
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Buy It Later is a cool Firefox extension that monitors specific products for you for price drops or for them to come back in stock. [BuyLater via Lifehacker]
Wells Fargo's Website Wants You To Use Netscape Navigator For Security Reasons
By 2.12.08
I recently tried to sign up for online access to my Wells Fargo Financial account. I am on a mac and use Firefox or Safari – depending on my mood.
AT&T: We Only Support Windows And Internet Explorer, No Safari
By 1.16.08
Reader Jen was having a hard time using AT&T’s website. She says, “It was very slow, I was asked to log in several times, the fonts unreadably small in places (and not just fine print, either).”
How To Block Facebook's Beacon
By 12.5.07
Don’t like Facebook secretly tracking your online purchases and telling your friends what you bought? Users of the Firefox we browser can use an easy add-on that jams the beacon’s signal. Just install the BlockSite add-on, and then add http://*facebook.com/beacon/* as one of the blocked sites. Make sure to keep those asterisks in. If that sounds a little complicated, this step-by-step walk-through at Wikihow shows you how it’s done. Alternatively, you could also add the same url to AdBlockPlus, another Firefox extension.
