firefox

Security tweaks, PDFs herald new Firefox builds

Mozilla has updated both Firefox beta and Firefox Aurora with new features today, with small but notable security changes landing in the former and preliminary native PDF support hitting the latter.

The developer's build of the browser, Firefox 15 Aurora (download for Windows, for Mac, and for Linux,) now comes with preliminary native support for PDFs. This is a feature that arrived some time ago in Google Chrome, and helped that browser respond to large document handling faster than the competition.

This version of Firefox also supports the next version of SPDY, better developer tools, improved HTML5 support, and … Read more

How to permanently disable speed dial in Firefox

In the latest release of Firefox, new tab pages display your nine most frequently visited Web pages in an easy-to-see thumbnail layout. You can customize the sites that are displayed and even hide the new tab page, but if you prefer disabling the feature permanently, here's how:

Step 1: In the Firefox address bar, type about:config and hit Enter.

Step 2: When the warranty warning appears, click on the "I'll be careful, I promise!" button.

Step 3: Type browser.newtab.url in the search box.

Step 4: Double-click on the preference name, then change the … Read more

Firefox's lucky 13 finally sees 'Speed Dial'

The bottom line: Firefox 13 is a worthy expression of Mozilla's ideals. The browser is competitively fast, sports a new minimalist look, and includes some excellently executed features. Unfortunately, that describes most of Firefox's competition, too.

Please note that the First Look video below is still applicable to Firefox 13, as is this Firefox How To collection, even though it features Firefox 4.

Review: For those of you who spent last year away from the Internet, it's the year that Firefox went from annual major-point updates to a Chrome-style quick-release cycle. How quick? A new major version … Read more

Firefox's lucky 13 finally sees 'Speed Dial'

The bottom line: Firefox 13 is a worthy expression of Mozilla's ideals. The browser is competitively fast, sports a new minimalist look, and includes some excellently executed features. Unfortunately, that describes most of Firefox's competition, too.

Please note that the First Look video below is still applicable to Firefox 13, as is this Firefox How To collection, even though it features Firefox 4.

Review: For those of you who spent last year away from the Internet, it's the year that Firefox went from annual major-point updates to a Chrome-style quick-release cycle. How quick? A new major version … Read more

Firefox's lucky 13 finally sees 'Speed Dial'

The bottom line: Firefox 13 is a worthy expression of Mozilla's ideals. The browser is competitively fast, sports a new minimalist look, and includes some excellently executed features. Unfortunately, that describes most of Firefox's competition, too.

Please note that the First Look video below is still applicable to Firefox 13, as is this Firefox How To collection, even though it features Firefox 4.

Review: For those of you who spent last year away from the Internet, it's the year that Firefox went from annual major-point updates to a Chrome-style quick-release cycle. How quick? A new major version … Read more

'Speed Dial' finally comes to Firefox

A number of improvements that Mozilla has built into today's new Firefox release find the browser playing catch-up, treading water, and forging ahead all at the same time.

If it sounds like a near-impossible juggling act to you, you're not alone.

Firefox 13 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux) comes with feature changes and tweaks under the hood. The new features include a redesigned New Tab page that shows you thumbnails of your frequently-visited sites, often dubbed Speed Dial in honor of Opera's take on the feature. Firefox is the last of the major browsers to get some … Read more

Load IE-only Web sites with IE Tab for Firefox

We don't like Internet Explorer, but we keep it around, because every now and then we encounter some dinosaur of a Web site that can't be viewed without it. If you find yourself doing the same thing even though Firefox is your browser of choice, try IE Tab for Firefox. This clever extension lets you open IE-only Web sites within Firefox. It's a brilliant solution to the problem of switching back and forth between two different browsers.

IE Tab for Firefox installed easily and was ready for action after we restarted the browser. In order to find … Read more

Speed up your browsing with FVD Speed Dial for Firefox

Anyone who's used Google Chrome is probably familiar with the browser's ability to display thumbnails of frequently visited sites every time a new tab is opened, making it easy to quickly get to your favorite sites. FVD Speed Dial for Firefox brings a similar functionality to Firefox, but with plenty of options for customization. We think it's a great way to organize and quickly access your favorites without dealing with cumbersome bookmark menus.

FVD Speed Dial installed easily and, after we restarted Firefox, it got right to work; we opened a new tab and were greeted with … Read more

Firefox flirts with Blekko for 'instant' search

Mozilla may not have a dedicated in-house search engine division the way that Google and Microsoft do, but it does have a new partnership with alterna-search Blekko.

The Blekko add-on (download), developed by Mozilla Labs' Prospector team, aims to cut down on the repetitive search behaviors of many Firefox users. Mozilla says that its research indicates that people often search for the same term, not because they're looking to find it again but because they're attempting to navigate elsewhere. This add-on, like Google's Instant search feature, cuts down on the extra steps by pre-caching sites, showing preview … Read more

How to view desktop versions of Web sites on Firefox for Android

Android smartphone and tablet browsers sometimes load mobile versions of Web sites. On native Android browsers, you can try the about:debug trick to change the user agent to force desktop sites to load. You can also use an alternative browser, like Dolphin Browser HD, which lets you easily change the user agent in its settings.

If you're a Firefox for Android user, you can change the user agent with a simple Firefox add-on called Phony. It works with the new Firefox beta for Android as well, which was released a couple of days ago.

To set up Phony, … Read more