This is a handy browsing trick I just learned about recently.  Usually in my Firefox browser, I have the menu bar hidden, to save on screen real estate.  However, there comes a time (every so often) when I need to get it back.  Rather than un-hiding it, getting what I need, then hiding it again – I have found a much quicker way to bring the menu bar back for just a minute.

Let me start first with the steps you will need to take to hide the menu bar in the first place.  You will want to right-click on the navigation toolbar, then uncheck the menu bar.

Menu Bar Recovery Secret

Now that the menu bar is out of the way, I can share with you my resent keyboard shortcut I found.  To pull the menu bar back up for a few seconds, all you have to do is hit the Alt key on the keyboard. To hide it again, click anywhere else on the screen.

There you have it.  Now you can hide your menu bar and bring it back whenever you need it.  Have another interface tweaking tip to share?

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.

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.

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.

Getting an award for the longest extension name ever, 404 : Page is Not Found ? Now it will be! will give you an “archive” button to push when you get your next 404 error page. This button will show you an archived version of any page. Under the hood it looks to be using the Wayback search at archive.org, so not all 404s will be recoverable. It is a very creative idea though, worth checking out if your find yourself running into dead ends a lot these days.

Recover Passwords in Firefox Options

For the “long way around” fix – go to:

Tools > Options > Security

Once you find yourself there in that popup options box, go down to where it says “Show Passwords…”. Click that button and a new popup box should appear listing all your web sites and login names. To show your passwords click on the “Show Passwords” button and click “Yes” through the warning it tosses at you.

Quicker JavaScript Fix

For those needing a quicker fix – you can use the Firefox Asterisk Revealer. It uses a line of javascript copied and pasted into the address bar to take a shorter route at getting this job done.

Forgotten Password User Scripts

For the Greasemonkey fans – there are a few more options to try:

• Show Password onMouseOver
• Show Password onFocus
• Show Password ondblclick
• Unpassword

Show Passwords – Yes, an Extension Too!

Unhide Passwords – Sure there is a time and place for security – but if you really need to see what is behind the asterisks, this extension shows the contents of password fields in clear text (instead of the asterisks), to make that process a bit easier.  Have any other fixes?