If you are looking for a fast and easy way to share your thoughts without too much work, Statusus really get the job done.  Want to show your support for this fantastic idea or get to know the guys behind the Statusus add-on? They have a Facebook Apps page at which you can contact them or just tell them how much you like their Firefox add-on.  I am sure they probably would love feedback and suggestions too if you happen to have any.

You can pick up the Statusus add-on for Firefox on the Firefox Add-ons website.

With Firefox 4 being right around the corner, are all of your favorite add-ons and themes going to make the cut?  In my own opinion, I think that the drastic changes in both the backend of Firefox and the visual frontend will lead to a lot broken add-ons and favorite themes.  Hopefully though, this will not be the case once Firefox 4 is ready for the general public at large.

Add-ons Compatible with Firefox 4 – First, lets take a look at the Firefox extensions.  Doing a quick search on Firefox’s Add-ons website I found 1,000 add-ons that claim to be compatible with Firefox 4.0.  That might sound like a lot – and it might cover all the basic bases, but Firefox currently has at least 10 times that amount in all.  So this means that possibly only 1 in ever 10 add-ons might be compatible.

Themes Compatible with Firefox 4 – So, what about Firefox themes?  Currently there are 412 themes for Firefox (or 694 if you count the ones that are un-reviewed). So how many Firefox themes are compatible with Firefox 4 right now? There are 29 themes that are ready for Firefox 4.

How Can I Get Involved?

So, how can you make sure your favorite theme or add-on is compatible with Firefox 4?  The best way would be to visit that theme’s profile on the Firefox Add-ons website – and then either find the official site for the add-on or search for the “E-mail your question” link on the profile page:

Contact the add-on or theme author and let them know you would like to continue to use their wonderful work once Firefox 4 rolls out.

After yesterday’s news about the fake Firefox update that is out there in the wild, I thought it might be a good time to go over how you can get your plugins updated.  Thankfully, Mozilla has made this really simple with the Plugin Check part of their website.

All you need to do is go to the Plugin Check website, and automatically your browser is scanned to make sure all your plugins are up to date. If you are up to date, you will see this badge here:

If you are not up to date, then you will see this badge here:

When you click the “Update” badge, as seen above – you will be taken to the official website for the plugin in question so that you can get it up to date.  This makes checking all your plugins and getting them updated so much easier. Some of the things it checks for include: Flash, Java, Silverlight, QuickTime, and more. (Those are the important ones though)

If it does not know what it is, or can not find the current version – then you get this kind of weird gray badge here:

When then will lead you to a Google search, when clicked, for “current version plugin (PLUGIN NAME HERE)”.  So you can go out on your own and probably find the update you need (if one is needed) within the first few results you get.

Hint: You can also get to Plugin Check, by going to Tools in the menu toolbar, then click Add-ons, then go to the Plugins section. Click the “Get Updates” button at the bottom of the window, and you will be taken to the Plugin Check website.

So, those are the basics when using the Plugin Check website Mozilla provides for all Firefox users.  For people who might not know there way around with updating this, that or the other – it makes the process of getting things updated a lot easier.

Here is what the page looks like (via F-Secure):

Then, the download box will automatically appear asking you to save the file, “ff-update.exe” or something very similar to it.  If you do that, then you have successfully installed the virus.

It looks like virus and malware authors are targeting Firefox users, as they would bank users – trying to make you feel like your on a safe place with a page that looks like it belongs to Mozilla.

So be safe out there, and make sure to check and double check anytime your dealing with downloads in any browser out there.

How excited are you about this new Mozilla innovation?

Firefox Home hopes to be your one stop for all the information you need to keep handy from the web.  No need to type out URLs when you have your Firefox Home application.  Here is a little more about Firefox Home from Mozilla:

Firefox Home enables access to the websites you need on the go by picking up where you left off with your desktop browsing. Firefox Home uses your browser data, securely synced from Firefox on your desktop to the cloud, to let you search and browse it quickly and efficiently. You can view the sites you want directly in Firefox Home, open them in Mobile Safari or share them with friends via e-mail. Your Firefox data is private and only you have access to it.

I personally have neither an iPhone or an iPod Touch, so this news doesn’t mean too much to me personally.  However, once Firefox Home has been added to the Apple Apps Store I’ll be looking for your thoughts on how great it is or what might need to be fixed, tweaked or updated.

Some of the most noticeable changes include:

• Bigger fonts/easier to read posts and pages
• Better search, dropped Google Site Search
• Simplified the navigation too, you can easily jump from categories to related "facts" to the next post in the archive all with one click

I really hope you enjoy the new look, and tell your friends to come visit too.  Thanks for reading Firefox Facts, and there will be plenty more Firefox tips, themes, add-ons, tutorials and more in the future.

Anything else you’d like to see? Leave a comment and let me know!

There has been a pretty cool update to Firefox in the past 24 hours.  If a plugin crashes or freezes, it will no longer affect the rest of your browser.  You will be able to reload the page, restart the plugin and try again.

So, the next time Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins give you trouble, Firefox has you taken care of.  Say your watching a video or playing a flash game in the browser, and the plugin crashes – rather than taking the whole browser down with it – you simply just refresh the webpage.

Here is a little more information from Mozilla:

Mozilla recognizes that third-party plugins provide important functionality in many of today’s websites. At the same time, plugins can lead to problems for users as they browse. With the ability to automatically alert users when they have out of date plugins, and now crash protection, Firefox 3.6.4 allows users to experience all the content they love without any of the hassles.

To get this new update, if it hasn’t downloaded already, just go to Help in your menu bar and then “Check for Updates”.  A more secure and stable browsing platform is coming your way.  Who doesn’t like that?

Firefox 3.6 Released!

The latest version of your favorite browser has been released.  Firefox 3.6 is now available via Mozilla’s web site.  The big update this time around is the built in support for Firefox Personas.

Need more? Here’s the full list of new features that Firefox 3.6 brings:

• Available in more than 70 languages – get your local version.
• Support for a new type of theme called Personas, which allow users to change Firefox’s appearance with a single click.
• Protection from out-of-date plugins to keep users safer as they browse.
• Open, native video can now be displayed full screen and supports poster frames.
• Improved JavaScript performance, overall browser responsiveness, and startup time.
• The ability for web developers to indicate that scripts should run asynchronously to speed up page load times.
• Continued support for downloadable web fonts using the new WOFF font format.
• Support for new CSS attributes such as gradients, background sizing, and pointer events.
• Support for new DOM and HTML5 specifications including the Drag & Drop API and the File API, which allow for more interactive web pages.
• Changes to how third-party software can integrate with Firefox in order to prevent crashes.

More Firefox 3.6 Tips, Tutorials and Help!

• Enable Visual Tab Switcher in Firefox 3.6
• Firefox 3.6 Fix – Open New Tabs in Far Right
• Top 10 Personas Backgrounds for Firefox!
• Firefox 3.6 Portable Edition is Now Available via Lifehacker

Overall, not a bad upgrade.  If your Firefox has not updated it’s self yet, you can always pick up the update at Mozilla’s web site. What do you think of Firefox 3.6?  Love it? Hate it? More interested in Firefox 4?  Leave you feedback in the comments!

Are you one of those who can hardly wait for the newest version of Firefox to be released?  Well, I have found yet another theme that will at least help you pretend you are using it.

Give the experimental theme, Fx4 a shot.  It will transform your browser to what has been pitched as the new look and feel for Firefox 4.

So what’s the catch? Well you will also need the Fx4 options add-on for Firefox too.  Be sure to pick it up to get the total look and feel of Firefox 4 for your current Firefox browser.

• Go Install the Fx4 Theme for Firefox
• Go Install the Fx4 Options Add-on for Firefox

Also, it should be noted this is a Windows only theme, for now.

I think I will wait for the official roll over, when Firefox 4 comes out, before I get too adventurous with changing my browsing ways.  However, the Firefox fans have made sure you have the option to use this style later or use it now.