Firefox will automatically update itself when there is a new version to try. However, some people might not want to have Firefox update itself. Now, I will say this is definitely going to be a security risk, eventually. However, if you want to turn off automatic Firefox updates – these are the steps you need to take.
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Turn Off Automatic Firefox Updates
Block Google+ Notifications on Other Apps
Tired of seeing Google+ notifications on other Google applications? This simple user script will do the trick. The Google+ Notifications Blocker user script is the script you want to install to get rid of any Google+ notifications in the upper right hand corner of other Google services, like Gmail – as one example.
Firefox Private Browsing Mode Help and FAQ
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?
Turn Xmarks Back into Foxmarks
While some do not enjoy the most recent enhancements to the classic Foxmarks Firefox add-on, there is a way you can get the new Xmarks to act a ‘bit more like it’s predecessor.
Turn off Smarter Search in Xmarks
The first thing you want to do is go to Tools > Add-ons and then click the options button for Xmarks. Now, under the “Discovery” Tab you can disable Smarter Search. In your Google search results, Xmarks will highlight the top three sites based on bookmarking history. Put your mouse over the special icon to the side of the search results to learn more information such as reviews, and rankings. If you don’t like it, turn it off.
Turn off Site Info in Xmarks
Next, in that same options window, you can also disable the Site Info, which will turn off the feature in Xmarks that gives you more information about a web site in the location bar. Once your done disabling things, hit the “OK” button at the bottom of the window.
There you have it, now the new features in Xmarks that some people may not like are turned off, and Xmarks starts to act a lot more like Foxmarks did.
