Browsers and extensions

Although Power Downloader spends a considerable amount of time in the field chasing down bad guys, part of his job is not quite so glamorous. For all the time traveling around the globe, he still ends up putting more time into research on the Web, hoping he'll find the leads he needs to capture sneaky criminals. To make the job of Web research a little less tedious, Power listens to his favorite music.

To help him stay focused on the research at hand while listening to music, Power Downloader uses FoxyTunes. With this Firefox extension installed, Power can switch … Read more

Ten percent of the 4.5 million URLs Google researchers analyzed for a malware expos? harbored malicious code. The code executes through widgets, ads, compromised downloads, server vulnerabilities, browser holes, phishing lures, and links, making infection possible for even ordinarily safe users.

CNET.com's Robert Vamosi has the full story, and CNET Download.com has programs to add muscle to your antivirus armor. Netcraft Toolbar (for Internet Explorer and Firefox), is an antiphishing browser extension that sniffs out suspicious hosting locations common in spoofed sites.… Read more

This week in the Rafe & Tom Real Deal podcast: Silverlight. Real Deal fans sent some interesting and technical questions about the platform ahead of time, which Tom had good answers for. Check out the podcast here:

>>> Listen now <<<

Next Tuesday, we'll be discussing live streaming, and of course, we'll live-stream the recording session, at 3 p.m. Pacific Time next Tuesday. More details to come.

If you want to join the discussion ahead of time, head on over to the Real Deal forums or post a question here.

Mozilla Firefox gets a lot of praise for the countless third-party extensions that add features like FTP, download management, and tab customization to the open-source browser. The most popular browser on the market, Internet Explorer, also has its fair share of add-ons, but nowhere near the number or quality of its competitor.

One new download for Internet Explorer, however, adds a number of valuable features that are only replicated in numerous different Firefox extensions. Among its many enhancements, IE7Pro adds tab management, ad blocking, Flash blocking, crash recovery, and the ability to re-open closed tabs to the Microsoft browser. Even cooler, it allows user-based scripts much like Greasemonkey for Firefox. Again, the scripts aren't nearly as impressive as Greasemonkey, but the idea is a good one.

… Read more

At JavaOne, Sun's James Gosling talked with CNET News.com's Stephen Shankland about the new application platform, JavaFX. Gosling talks a bit about how JavaFX will compare to Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight.

See News.com for more on JavaFX

If you're a Web user wondering what to do about this three-way race, here's my advice: don't worry about it, but do prepare to be impressed. The competition among these three powerhouses is going to make for fantastic new apps, as the platform vendors struggle to one-up each other by building their most … Read more

There are a number of great digital-music players already on CNET Download.com--iTunes rules the roost because of its compatibility with iPods; MediaMonkey is fantastic for free music management and playlist creation; JetAudio Basic is packed with features for burning and broadcasting via JetCast; the classic free player Winamp now provides Internet TV and music videos; and Quintessential Player, my personal favorite player, is the perfect size for those who prefer a light system footprint.

A new digital-music player called MXPlay focuses primarily on one facet that most of the current software doesn't even mention: sound quality. Designed mostly for streaming audio, MXPlay augments even the lowest-quality 96kbps music streams to provide a more full-bodied sound for your favorite tunes. Also, a unique graphical interface lets you position your virtual speakers and audience to tweak the sound of your songs to your heart's content, and a built-in browser lets you both surf the Web and add photos and videos to create your own music mashups.… Read more

Many green products and services sprout on Earth Day only to wither the rest of the year. Hoping to maintain the momentum year-round, many geeks are nurturing social-networking sites for the nature-loving set.

Online communities built to help you take baby steps to green your life include Riverwired--where you can keep a blog, upload videos, and mingle with other members--and Be Green Now, a project of Green Mountain Energy. And in addition to the many green car-sharing, rental, and limo services out there, the new GoLoco site might help you find carpooling pals.

Internet services that encourage users to … Read more

Nintendo Wii owners who have been enjoying their updated Web browser can now enjoy a special version of Google Reader designed exclusively for their Wii remotes and TV screens. Google has made the text a little bigger and changed the interface from a two-pane look to a simple feeds list.

One big change regular Google Reader users are bound to notice is the updated control scheme. To jump between feeds just hit the "1" button, which pulls up a slick looking pop-up with a listing of all your feeds. It's almost an easier system than the one … Read more

Twitbin is a small Firefox extension that puts a Twitter sidebar inside your browser. Once you've logged in with your Twitter credentials, it keeps tabs on your friends or public Tweets. You can also write new posts right from the sidebar.

To toggle the Twitbin sidebar on and off, there's a bird logo that shows up on your browser next to the home button. The sidebar has its own links, for switching back and forth between friends and public feeds, and a refresh button to update posts. If you're not interested in manually hitting the refresh button, … Read more