Website cookies are things that most people don’t worry about. However, it is important to know what they are used for and how you can control what information they store about out. Cookies are small files stored on your computer (placed there by websites) so that they can remember certain settings or statuses. By default, cookies are enabled in Firefox.
Tag Archives | tracking
Do Not Want Do Not Track
Anybody who has read this website for some time knows I like to be optimistic when it comes to Mozilla, however I am not sure if I have much faith in the new Do Not Track system that has been partially put in place in the latest beta of Firefox 4. So what is all this buzz about Do Not Track about?
Unfriend Finder for Facebook
Have you noticed your friend number going down recently? I always kind of wonder who would unfriend me on Facebook and why. The Unfriend Finder user script will at least help me answer one of those questions. It will keep track of who unfriends you on Facebook.
Do Not Track Button Coming to Firefox
By early next year, Mozilla promises that cloaking your internet activity will become much easier. Technology that supports something like a "Do Not Track" button will be delivered soon. So what is this all about and doesn’t Firefox already keep people from tracking you?
Rescue Your Productivity with Firefox
Want to be able to track your productivity?
RescueTime, an add-on for Firefox will give you tons of analytical data on how, when and why you browse so you can do exactly that.
Track Your Browsing Habits with about:me
Ever wanted to know more about what you are doing while you are doing it? You just did it, so why would you need to know what you did if you are the one who did it? Exactly. The add-on, about:me, makes sense once you see it in action. It provides a fun way to see personalized patterns in browser usage. You can spot trends in your browsing history and download activity.
Here is a little more about the add-on from the developer:
The "Activity Stats" section graphs the websites you visit most, including the individual pages you visit most within each top-level site. This section also graphs your hourly browsing activity, which can reveal patterns in websites you visit most at various times of the day.
Appealing to some of the geekiest Firefox fans, the only way you can access the add-on in question is to type in about:me into the address bar. It pays tribute to Firefox’s other hidden jewels such as about:config, and my favorite about:robots.
Get to stalking yourself today, and give the about:me add-on for Firefox a try.
Find Out What Web Pages Are Watching You
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.
Keep Track of Time
Sitting at the keyboard for hours on end, it is really easy to get off task, get distracted and get to where you forget to check what time it is and what time you started. Thankfully the TimeTracker extension for Firefox helps you keep track of how much time you browse.
Some of the features of this awesome addition to any Firefox install include:
- Tracks browsing time across sessions
- Pauses automatically when you stop browsing
- Reset counter
- Pause toggle per window
- List ‘work’ sites that should not count
- Tooltip showing total time today, since last reset and since installing.
TimeTracker is a great way to keep tabs (not the browser kind) on yourself and the time you are spending Online. For those of us who spend our days working within the Firefox interface it also is a helpful reminder to tell us we have worked enough and we might deserve a break.
Firefox’s Best Map Extensions
I dare you – no I triple Firefox dare you to find a better list of map related extentions and tools for any browser out there. Thanks to Firefox and some creative map loving developers there is no way you could ever get lost as long as you had a laptop, an internet connection and that lovable Firefox.
Map+ – View the Yahoo Map of any address without having to open a new tab or window.
Get directions from Google Maps – Highlight any address on the web and get directions.
PackageMapping.com Extension – Track your shipments via a map to see where exactly that electric toothbrush you ordered is.
Map This – Launch a Google Map for any address you select on the Web.
All Your Maps Are Belong To Us – convert any mapping service URL or address to Google Maps. Good one for the Google Map fan boys.
Mini Map Sidebar – Mapping sidebar suite for Mozilla Firefox.
GDirections – Find where your going or where you have been on Google and Yahoo Maps based on your selected text and one of various home addresses.
Shazou – A unique Japanese mapping service and tool that enables the user with one-click to map and geo-locate any website they are currently viewing.
GeoLocateFox – Find where any web site’s HQ is with this tool. It tells you the location if contains GeoLocation metadata within the HTML on the web page.
GMiF – An addon for Flickr that will tell you exactly where those photos were taken via Google Maps.
Locator – Finds any location via Google Maps.
Geo – Another extension that opens a Google Map for a web site’s location if it contains GeoLocation meta data or is geographically marked with ICBM.
Know of another I might have missed? Leave a comment and share!
Best News Reading Extensions
Has a week really passed us by since the last weekly top five? Well this week I figured I would help you stay on top of things with some really good news reading extensions. From the traditional RSS help to even a Digg tool from Netscape – we have a little ‘bit of everything.
- NewsFox – RSS Reader
- Google Reader Notifier
- Netscape’s Digg Tracker
- Sage – RSS Reader
- Page Update Checker
Have another you love? Drop in a comment and let me know about it.
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