firefox

Automatically close Private Browsing sessions with a Firefox extension

If you have ever got up and left a Private Browsing session unattended, your private information is sitting there for any passer-by to see. With PB Exit, a Private Browsing window will close after 10 minutes of inactivity, either the last page load or tab switch.

This Firefox extension could not be easier to use; simply install it and let it run in the background. In my trial, it worked as advertised, closing Private Browsing tabs after I let them sit idle for 10 minutes. There are no settings to muss with, though the developer has a note on the … Read more

Firefox for Windows 8 forging ahead but faces key challenge

A Windows 8 version of Firefox that can function in both the Metro and desktop arenas has gotten one step closer to completion. But will it be able to play in both worlds?

Last week Mozilla created a working browser for the new Windows interface. Blogging about his team's progress yesterday, Mozilla's Brian Bondy confirmed that the prototype looks and feels like the Android version with a variety of active features.

"You can navigate the web, create tabs, bookmark pages, build history, retain cache, adjust preferences, and more," Bondy said.

Even further, the prototype can tap … Read more

Firefox survives first round of surgery

After years of tough competition from dominance-seeking Google Chrome and Internet Explorer, Mozilla faces a second year in a row of forced adaptations. Its aggressive Firefox 2012 development plan calls for surgeries both minor and radical to integrate many new pieces into the browser, but it may not survive post-op. At least, not as you know it.

So far, the changes have resulted in a Firefox which, simply put, runs better. Two of the most tangible new tools have changed add-on behavior. The addition of add-ons to Firefox Sync let you mirror the same add-ons at work and at home, … Read more

Restoring windows and tabs in Safari

When multitasking in OS X it is not uncommon to have a Web browser open, such as Safari or Firefox, and have multiple tabs open in multiple windows. Sometimes this results in clutter that is quickly managed by pressing Command-W multiple times to rapidly close the tabs, which can lead to the inadvertent closing of needed windows.

While you can use the browser's history menu to quickly open recently visited pages, in some instances the page that was closed had been open for a while, and as such be harder to find or even remember what it was.

If … Read more

See where you've browsed with MozillaHistoryView

NirSoft's MozillaHistoryView reads the history DAT file in Mozilla-based Web browsers such as Firefox as well as Netscape and displays your browsing history under a wide range of useful column headings. The built-in History feature in the latest version of Firefox also displays lots of useful information, it's true. But you must have Firefox open to use it. MozillaHistoryView is a standalone tool that reads history DAT files directly, whether your browser is open or not. You can save and export the data in various ways, too. The program also gives you greater flexibility in accessing multiple browser … Read more

What's going on with Firefox for Android?

The new year started strong for Firefox on Android, as it relaunched with a completely new interface native to Android. Three months on, though, and it's still not ready for prime time.

The decision came toward the end of 2011: in order to create a more seamless Firefox on Android experience, Mozilla would scrap its then-current Android browser, built in XUL, and rebuild it with native Android code. The look and basic functionality debuted on January 3, but since then the new interface has missed two ship dates on Mozilla's six-week rapid-release cycle. So where does it stand … Read more

Manage RSS feeds in Firefox with Feed Sidebar

Firefox's Live Bookmarks feature does a fine job of keeping track of RSS feeds. Feed Sidebar is a free add-on that opens feeds in a sidebar equipped with a handy toolbar that makes it easy to search and sort feeds, mark them as read, and limit their age. It doesn't replace Live Bookmarks in Firefox; it augments the standard tool. But if you follow a lot of feeds, you'll like what it adds.

After a quick and trouble-free external download, we restarted Firefox. We clicked the RSS button on the toolbar, and clicked Feed Sidebar's left-hand … Read more

Firefox is about to get SPDY

Faster and more secure browsing is coming to Firefox in a big way, as the first Aurora build of Firefox 13 gets the SPDY protocol activated by default, capping off more than four months of work putting SPDY into Firefox.

Firefox 13 Aurora (download for Windows, Mac, and Linux,) doesn't include many other new features or changes that affect Firefox fans directly, but there are many under-the-hood tweaks. One is a user agent change in Firefox for Android, so that Web sites can recognize when a person is running Firefox for Android on a phone or a tablet. This … Read more

New Firefox beta romances developers

Firefox 12 beta makes more than 85 changes to its developer tools, Windows users will no longer get pestered by a User Account Control pop-up every time the browser updates, and the HTML5 media controls have been updated

Updated today, Firefox 12 beta (download for Windows | Mac | Linux), pushes the browser closer to some of Google's notable achievements with Chrome. However, Mozilla's renewed focus on Web developers is a clear indication that it sees value in paying attention to the relatively small but hugely influential developer communities.

A Mozilla representative told CNET that Firefox 13 Aurora is due … Read more

Microsoft to world: You will browse Metro-style, or else

Think of it as Microsoft's version of a good-news, bad-news joke. The good news: Its upcoming IE10 browser for Windows 8 will come in two flavors--one a streamlined, "Metro-style" program designed to resemble a smartphone or tablet app, the other a more standard desktop browser.

The bad news? Microsoft's upcoming IE10 browser for Windows 8 will come in two flavors--one a streamlined, "Metro-style" program designed to resemble a smartphone or tablet app, the other a more standard desktop browser.

In other words, everyone who wants to use IE10 will have to choose which flavor … Read more