Tell JavaScript What it Can and Can Not Do

Comments (1) · June 4, 2008 at 7:40 am · Firefox Usability

Controle de Scripts is an add-on for Firefox that allows you to control what JavaScript on a web site can (or can not) do to your browser.  Here is a little more about the extension from the developer:

Besides the well-known basic permissions, like hiding toolbars or raise or lower windows, with Controle de Scripts you can set what functions or properties each site can access or modify, thanks to its Security Policies implementation.

Think of it as the regular permissions for JavaScript (setup by going to Tools > Options > Content and then the “Advanced” button next to “Enable JavaScript”) on steroids.  Some say these are the tools Firefox should provide by default - and now you can at least add them on for good measure.

Pickup Controle de Scripts via Mozilla Add-ons Site or the official site for this awesome JavaScript controlling addition to the browser.

Tags: addon, control, extentions, firefox, hide, javascript, resize

5 Ways to use Firefox to Filter the Web

Comments (2) · May 13, 2008 at 6:48 am · Firefox Security, Firefox Usability

We are always talking about adding features to Firefox, what about for those people who would like to take them away?  Better yet, how about adding features that let you take other features away?  Ok, now I am even confusing myself. 

Firefox has some great add-ons to use when it comes to blocking, filtering or checking out the sometimes shady information that may be passing through it.

LeechBlock - This extension is much more for saving you from looking at random stupid links when you should be working.  If you can not keep yourself focused, you may need to add this to your own Firefox install.

Flashblock - Tired of seeing the offers to punch President Bush, the Pope or any other important person to win an iPod?  The Flashblock add-on has your back as it will block all flash until it is told not to.

Adblock Plus - How could you not love Adblock Plus?  Filter out the ads you don’t want to see - and automatically subscribe to filters so you don’t waste time setting these things up yourself.  Not to mention, I did interview the creator of the script a few months back (very awesome guy!).

NoScript - NoScript allow JavaScript, Java and other executable content to run only from sites you trust.  Some feel it is better to browse the Web this way to make sure you don’t get bit by something nasty by randomly surfing through pages.

CookieSafe - This extension will allow you to easily control cookie permissions. It will appear on your statusbar. Just click on the icon to allow, block, or temporarily allow the site to set cookies.

Know of another blocking or filtering tool that does a better job?

Tags: Ads, cookies, filter, Firefox Security, flash, javascript, safe

Firefox Security Update to 2.0.0.14

Comments · April 17, 2008 at 10:05 am · Firefox Security

Just got my update a short time ago, have you gotten yours.  Looks like Firefox 2.0.0.1.4 was released yesterday afternoon, and if you have automatic updates enabled in Firefox, you should be getting it yourself in 24-48 hours.  This looks to be like a critical security update because only one change mentioned in the release notes.  Wasn’t rolled in together with any other fixes.

Here are the details from Mozilla:

Fixes for security problems in the JavaScript engine described in MFSA 2008-15 (CVE-2008-1237) introduced a stability problem, where some users experienced crashes during JavaScript garbage collection. This is being fixed primarily to address stability concerns. We have no demonstration that this particular crash is exploitable but are issuing this advisory because some crashes of this type have been shown to be exploitable in the past.

To update you can activate your automatic updates, go to help and then “check for updates” or download the most recent version at getfirefox.com.

Tags: errors, firefox, garbage, javascript, mozilla, updates

Firefox 3 is Faster Finally?

Comments (1) · March 5, 2008 at 5:00 am · Firefox News

Firefox 3 has a lot of nice new features, the design is slick and it promises to be yet another Mozilla home run! Now a lot of people could really care less about those three facts because much of the Web is much more considered with how fast Firefox 3 is going to be. Well thanks to Ryan over at CybernetNews.com we have some numbers for you.

Using the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark test for each of the browsers, here are the results from best to worst on who was the fastest around:

1. Firefox 3 Nightly (PGO Optimized): 7263.8ms
2. Firefox 3 Nightly (02/25/2008 build): 8219.4ms
3. Opera 9.5.9807 Beta: 10824.0ms
4. Firefox 3 Beta 3: 16080.6ms
5. Safari 3.0.4 Beta: 18012.6ms
6. Firefox 2.0.0.12: 29376.4ms
7. Internet Explorer 7: 72375.0ms

Now before I get somebody mad because this is only a test of JavaScript, let me explain that this test is very relevant because there are tons of sites (thanks to Web 2.0) that heavily reply on it. To get more information on the research and information you can get from this study be sure to check it out over at CybernetNews.com.

Tags: firefox, Firefox-3, javascript, performance, tests

Fixing Firefox Popup Annoyances

Comments off · February 7, 2008 at 7:55 am · Firefox Settings

Two popup window annoyances that come up are when you yourself can not resize a window because the designer has locked it down to that one shape and size and when a web site resizes your windows or moves them around without asking. We will start with that one first.

Stop Resizing and Moving My Firefox Browser

Want to stop the ability for web sites to resize your browser window or move it around? In Firefox go to Tools, then Options the the Content tab. Where you see the check mark box for “Enable JavaScript” hit the Advanced button next to it. Here you can enable or disable the ability for web sites to resize or move your existing window.

Turn Back on My Ability to Resize Any Popup Myself

Now the second situation you might find yourself in is when you want to resize the window but the designer locked it down so that you can’t. Thanks to gHacks.net though for finding this next tweak, you can override the “cannot resize popup” setting when you run into popups that can not be resized.

There is however a way in Firefox to override the “cannot resize popup” setting which in turn makes it possible to resize any popup that you might come across. To do so you need to type about:config in the address bar of Firefox and filter for the term dom.disable_window_open_feature.resizable. Set the value of this setting to true to be able to resize all windows in Firefox.

Restart Firefox and you should be able to resize those popup windows on any web site.

Tags: firefox, Firefox Settings, fix, hacks, javascript, move, popup, resize, tips

Get a More Secure Login

Comments (2) · October 30, 2007 at 10:06 am · Firefox Security

Want to make sure that login process your going through is a little more secure?

The Secure Login extension does the trick. So I bet your asking, “well, how do I login then?”. It uses the built-in password manager, but deactivates the pre-filling of login forms. You are now able to login with one click or a keyboard shortcut (ALT+N - changeable via settings). Just add the Secure Login tool bar button to your tool bar, or use the provided status bar icon.

The handiest feature of all the things this security tool does is the disabling the pre-filling of login forms prevents malicious JavaScript code to automatically steal your login data. If your worried about your login information being grabbed by the wrong folks - this extension might be right up your paranoid ally.

Tags: extentions, firefox, javascript, login, secure

Can Firefox Fix JavaScript Issues?

Comments (1) · March 12, 2007 at 7:22 am · Most Wanted

I really hate it when JavaScript goes bad. Here is an E-mail I got from Sal last week. Seems he is having some JavaScript woes of his own.

Hi Mitch, love the Web site. I want to switch to Firefox, but is there any way it can keep all these resizing windows and JavaScript tricks people do cut down to a minimum at least. I really hate them and wish I could browse without them. Thanks!

Sure Sal, the first thing I would have you do is go into Options menu and then click on the content tab. There you can see there is a check mark to enable or disable JavaScript. I would leave it enabled for now, but if you click on the “Advanced” button right next to it you should be able to customize what exactly you allow JavaScript to do (or not do) via the browser.

As far as extensions saving the day, there is always the NoScript extension for Firefox. It allows you to turn on JavaScript permissions on a per-page basis. This might be the best way to go if you want to make sure you don’t have unwanted JavaScript woes from specific Web sites out there.

Tags: annoyances, extensions, firefox, javascript, noscript, scripts, wanted