What is so bad about BrandThunder themes?

Have you noticed some of the new themes for Firefox are being called, interactive?  This puzzled me for some time, as I was curious as to what they meant by this.  So, since most of these themes came from the developer, BrandThunder – I tried out the Puppies theme they developed.

Anybody notice anything a little weird, different or ugly?

Looks like by interactive, they mean we sneak a lot of extra stuff into your browser.

Why did my default search engine change to Bing? – Doing this without permission, not cool.

Who do I have a second search box? – Now I have two ways to search Bing.com right from my browser toolbar – wasn’t hijacking my default search enough?

What is that gear in the corner? – This seems to be the theme’s settings options, where you can get more things just from BrandThunder, to junk up up your Firefox install.

Listen, everybody deserves to try something unique with theme development, but this is a mess.  It hijacks my browser every which way but loose. 

How to Uninstall BrandThunder Themes

So, the next question is, “How do you uninstall this theme?”.  Go to Tools > Add-ons and then go to themes…

What, they didn’t put a theme in the themes menu?  Oh this BrandThunder theme is so annoying.  You can find it under the “Extensions” menu under Tools > Add-ons. 

Is it gone? Grr… not yet!  After uninstalling, it comes up with a survey asking you to tell them about your experience.  Rather than that, I thought I would express my views here.

Now, you are finally don with this mess of a Firefox theme add-on. 

Final Thoughts About BrandThunder Themes

In my opinion, every Firefox user should stay far away from these themes.  They hijack portions of your browser, and insert services you may or may not want.  There are many more great themes worth trying out – and they won’t try to trick you into installing more than you bargained for.

Chances are this will be fixed sooner, rather than later – here is a little more about the story from The Register:

Security notification firm Secunia reports that the security bug (which it describes as extremely critical) stems from errors in handling JavaScript code. The flaw has been confirmed in the latest 3.5 version of Firefox, released in late June.

Older versions of the popular alternative browser might also be affected, Secunia warns.

Exploit code has been uploaded onto recently revived security exploit website milw0rm, a factor that could hasten the development of more attack code.

Secunia advises Firefox users to avoid browsing untrusted websites or following untrusted links pending the availability of a fix from Mozilla (there’s nothing in the pipeline just yet).

Best advice I can give to you is to browse safely, don’t go to web sites you don’t trust, and be sure to keep your security programs up to date.

UPDATE:

Found this via Mashable:

Until Mozilla addresses this vulnerability, here’s a temporary fix: Type about:config in Firefox address bar, and set “javascript.options.jit.content” to “false.”

So there is your fix for now.  Thanks to everybody who sent this in!

UPDATE #2:

This problem was fixed in Firefox 3.5.1, so the above hack from Mashable is no longer needed.  To check for updates, be sure to go to Help > “Check for Updates…” in Firefox.

1-ClickWeather

This add-on for Firefox enables users to view their current weather conditions, doppler radar, and international satellite maps.  It will also gather warning and 10-day forecast information from weather.com. 

WeatherBug

An old familiar name, Weather Bug will also live in your Firefox browser status bar and give you live and local weather conditions.  It is also a little less cluttered looking, which is always a nice thing. 

Forecastfox

Gathering information from AccuWeather.com, Forecastfox is highly customizable and very unobtrusive.  You can use your US zip code or you can easily find your town or city by using the built in search tool.

Forecastbar Enhanced

Formerly known as Forcastfox Enhanced, this popular Firefox add-on gives you a little ‘bit more as far as weather information goes.  This adds 12 improved radar images for US locations and 4 for international locations and the ability to supply a URL to use images from other sites.

How do you keep up to date with your weather information?  Personally, I have my personal area bookmarked at the Weather Underground web site.  Have any other favorite extensions or bookmarklets you like to use?

Now I just wonder how many people will really think Firefox has a warranty? :)

The No-NSFW add-on for Firefox will warn you whenever you are about to view a page that may not be suitable for all ages.  It is a tiny addition to the browser that lives in your statusbar.  You can vote too, when you reach an unrated page to determine if it is safe for work or not.

For more information, they do have a blog setup, and you can pickup the extension at nonsfw.com.