The master password in Firefox is used to add another layer of security to your password system.  What would happen though if you setup a master password, got in an accident, were in a coma for six months, and then once you awoke you couldn’t remember what your master password was set to?  I’ll help you reset or recover your Firefox master password with one simple tool.

Recover the Firefox Master Password with FireMaster

FireMaster claims to be the first ever tool built to recover the lost master password in Firefox.  In all honesty, you are really hacking yourself – because the tool uses a combination of techniques such as dictionary, hybrid and brute force to recover the master password from the Firefox key database file.  Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures.

You can pick up your own version of the digital download here.

Resetting the Master Password in Firefox

When you reset the master password in Firefox, you will remove all the stored password information – so that is not a very good route to go, if you really need that login information back. 

With that warning said – point your browser towards:

chrome://pippki/content/resetpassword.xul

Copy and paste that into your address bar, then hit the Enter key. upon doing so you will be asked if you really want to reset the master password, and remove your stored information, passwords, private keys and more.  Click the Reset button to reset the Firefox master password for good.

So there you have two route to take next time you awake from your own six month coma. The best route of all to take would be do not forget your password, but if your finding this from a Google search – it might be too late for sage words.

Want to hide what it is you have been looking for?  Not the perfect solution, but perfect for nit-picky peeps is the Clear Search add-on for Firefox.

What does this browser extension do?  It does one job, and it does it really well.  Once installed, it automatically clears the search bar after performing a search. So if you have a nosey roommate or family member, they won’t accidently see you have been searching for the top 10 horror villains of all time.

While this add-on for the browser isn’t enough to prevent somebody who is really nosey from going through your history, and doing a full scale investigation – it does serve the simple task or clearing out your search box after a search very well.  You can pick up the Clear Search extension on the Firefox add-ons web site.

Ever lost something you just typed into a web form, and wanted to get it back? Lazarus: Form Recovery, a security related add-on for Firefox, will auto-save anything you type into forms as you type. 

Have a server crash?

Did the page timeout?

Did Firefox go down an a blaze of glory? 

No matter what the problem, you can go back to the form, right-click your mouse, choose “recover form” and get your information back.

Here is a little more information about Lazarus: Form Recovery from the add-on developer:

Lazarus works on web forms, WYSIWYG editors and AJAXified forms and will save you from almost any given server, browser, or connection problems that might otherwise cause you to lose your work.  Lazarus now comes with 2048-bit RSA and 256-bit AES hybrid encryption so your data is more secure than ever! Lazarus 2.0 also includes search functionality so you can recover text even if you can no longer find the original form you entered it into.

If you often run into the situation where you just lost what you typed, this add-on for Firefox is your perfect proverbial right-hand man.  You can pickup the Lazarus: Form Recovery add-on for Firefox from the Firefox Add-ons site.

Chances are this will be fixed sooner, rather than later – here is a little more about the story from The Register:

Security notification firm Secunia reports that the security bug (which it describes as extremely critical) stems from errors in handling JavaScript code. The flaw has been confirmed in the latest 3.5 version of Firefox, released in late June.

Older versions of the popular alternative browser might also be affected, Secunia warns.

Exploit code has been uploaded onto recently revived security exploit website milw0rm, a factor that could hasten the development of more attack code.

Secunia advises Firefox users to avoid browsing untrusted websites or following untrusted links pending the availability of a fix from Mozilla (there’s nothing in the pipeline just yet).

Best advice I can give to you is to browse safely, don’t go to web sites you don’t trust, and be sure to keep your security programs up to date.

UPDATE:

Found this via Mashable:

Until Mozilla addresses this vulnerability, here’s a temporary fix: Type about:config in Firefox address bar, and set “javascript.options.jit.content” to “false.”

So there is your fix for now.  Thanks to everybody who sent this in!

UPDATE #2:

This problem was fixed in Firefox 3.5.1, so the above hack from Mashable is no longer needed.  To check for updates, be sure to go to Help > “Check for Updates…” in Firefox.

Want to increase your privacy on your PC?  With the release of Firefox 3.5, our favorite browser now has a Private Browsing mode.  Usually your browser remembers the web sites you have visited, your user names and passwords, your browsing history and more.  However, with this newest addition to the Firefox 3.5 feature list, you can now go incognito on the Internet.

To turn on Private Browsing mode, go to Tools (in the menu bar) and then select Start Private Browsing.  You will then get a popup menu asking you if you would really like to start Private Browsing mode.  Hit the “Start Private Browsing” button to continue.

To be able to tell that you are in Private Browsing mode, the Firefox window title will show (Private Browsing) after the page title you are looking at.  When you are privately browsing, the browser will not remember:

• Visited pages
• Form and Search Bar entries
• Passwords
• Download List entries
• Cookies
• Cached files

If you create a new bookmark while in Private Browsing mode, you will keep it after turning Private Browsing mode off.  Also, if you save or download any files to your PC, those files will not be removed when you stop Private Browsing mode either (they will not though show up in the Downloads window).

To turn Private Browsing mode off, you will want to click on Tools in the menu bar, and the select Stop Private Browsing.  To confirm you have done this correctly, check the Firefox window’s title bar to make sure (Private Browsing) is no longer showing.

Quickly Turn Private Browsing On (or Off)

One tweak or suggestion for this new mode is to give the user a toolbar button to turn it on or off.  The Toggle Private Browsing add-on for Firefox does that.  It gives you the ability to switch between private browsing and regular browsing by adding a button to either the toolbar or status bar.

I hope that helps when it comes to learning the basics about the Private Browsing mode in Firefox.  How do you like it thus far, and how do you think this benefits the browser?

Once you install it, a small “P” icon will show up in your browser’s status bar.  All you have to do is click on it, and a password will be generated using the settings you have put in.  By default, the password will be shown to you and copied to your clipboard.  To change the options, all you need to do is right-click on the icon and select options.  From there you have a number of specific settings you can change, such as what the first and last characters start with, the password length, if you want to display the password or not or if you wish to copy the password to the clipboard or not.

Why use a complicated password?  Well, if a password is too short or simple, it is vulnerable to attack.  The simpler the password is, the easier time somebody will have to figure it out.  On the flip side, the more complicated the password, the harder it will be to figure out.

All in all, the pwgen – Password Generator extension for Firefox is a perfect one for those of you who may have a hard time coming up with a random mix of letters and numbers to use for your next secure password.

Here is a little more about the extension from the developer:

Unlike other earlier opt-out solutions, this tool will make the cookies completely persistent. That is, clearing the browser’s cookies will delete all other installed cookies, except these.  Users wishing to delete these 40+ cookies (some advertising networks require multiple cookies, for different domain names) must first remove the add-on, before then deleting all installed cookies from the preferences window.

For a list of the 33 advertising networks that this tool help you hide from, check out the developer’s official web site.  So if you are more than a little concerned about who is watching you, this is a great security related add-on to add to your Firefox install.  Who said tacos aren’t good for you?  This one will help protect your privacy!

What a minute, what was that?  Was it a bump in the night or a cookie in my browser?  Ghostery, the add-on for Firefox, will help you find out what web sites out there are keeping an eye on you, even when it isn’t overly obvious. 

Alerting you when you visit a web site with web bugs on it, Ghostery is a good extension to have if you are worried about your online privacy.  The web bugs in question are usually hidden scripts that track your behavior and are used by the site to understand you better.

Currently supporting over 130 services (with weekly updates and additions) here is a sample of the supported services:

• Google Analytics
• MyBlogLog
• Quantcast
• IndexTools
• SiteMeter
• Lijit
• Omniture
• CrazyEgg
• Snap
• Omniture
• Statcounter

Well deserving of it’s rank as a “recomended add-on” for Firefox, Ghostery does a great job at helping you keep an eye on what sites, ad networks and widgets are keeping an eye on you.

Here are some of the most popular plugins that help with increasing the privacy or security for your Firefox installation.

NoScript

The best security you can get in a web browser! Allow active content to run only from sites you trust, and protect yourself against XSS and Clickjacking attacks.

WOT

WOT, Web of Trust, warns you about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware or send spam. Protect your computer against online threats by using WOT as your front-line layer of protection when browsing or searching in unfamiliar territory.

Stealther

Do you like to pretend that you are a super secret spy when browing the Web? Maybe you just don’t want that nosy brother or sister looking in on what you have been doing. No matter the situation, if you want to stay secret – the Stealther Firefox extension is for you.

FoxyProxy

FoxyProxy is an advanced proxy management tool that completely replaces Firefox’s limited proxying capabilities. It offers more features than SwitchProxy, ProxyButton, QuickProxy, xyzproxy, ProxyTex, TorButton, etc.

Fire Encrypter

Want Firefox to help you encrypt your secret files and documents? Maybe you just want to learn more about the encryption process? No matter which camp you fall into, the Fire Encrypter Firefox extension is for you. It brings the top secret world of encryption right into your favorite little browser.

Sxipper

Forget your passwords! Sxipper accurately fills in forms, manages passwords and your OpenIDs.

CookieCuller

Want more control over your cookies? No, I’m not talking about the ones your grandmother loves to shove down your throat – I am talking about the ones that involve your browser. The Firefox extension CookieCuller gives you total control over which cookies stay on your computer by letting you protect cookies of your choice while automatically deleting the rest.

Flashblock

Flashblock is an extension for the Mozilla, Firefox, and Netscape browsers that takes a pessimistic approach to dealing with Macromedia Flash content on a webpage and blocks ALL Flash content from loading. It then leaves placeholders on the webpage that allow you to click to download and then view the Flash content.

TrackMeNot

With all this talk about your privacy being attacked and people snooping on what you have been searching about, you are bound to feel a little paranoid. You might be watching over your shoulder as you type. You might be turning the lights out before you get Online. How can you protect yourself from being tracked in your searches though? If you use Firefox, you need the TrackMeNot extension.

BugMeNot

Tired of web sites asking you to register to view the content inside?  Bypass compulsory web registration with the context menu via bugmenot.com.

Know of another Firefox security add-on that is well worth using, just not that popular yet?  Do any of these add-ons make you sleep a little easier at night?  Let me know what you think the best security add-on for Firefox is.

Have you lost your master password?

If you want to add another layer of protection to your Firefox browser, you can turn on the master password option.  In short, this will allow you to secure your login information – especially if your PC is used by more than one person, so they can’t snoop through Firefox’s options and find your passwords.

Now if you find yourself not remembering your master password, there is an easy way to reset it.  There is a down side though, because resetting your master password will remove all of your saved user names and passwords. To start the process, copy and paste this location into your Firefox address bar:

chrome://pippki/content/resetpassword.xul

This is your “Reset Master Password” page.  For one more time, it warns you:

If you reset your master password, all your stored web and e-mail password, form data, personal certificates, and private keys will be forgotten. Are you sure you want to reset your master password?

Then you will be given the option to “Reset” or “Cancel”.  Hit the button labled “Reset” and your master password should be reset.