extension

Mozilla is taking steps to protect users from programs that install add-ons in Firefox without user permission, citing numerous reasons including security concerns and the desire to make sure that the person using Firefox has ultimate control of the add-ons installed.

Two new features will be making their debut in Firefox 8, currently on the Firefox nightly channel but planned to move to the Aurora developer's build early next week. The first feature automatically disables add-ons added to Firefox by other programs. When you start Firefox after the add-on has been installed, a notification window prompts users to either … Read more

If you're looking for a Mac uninstaller with a little extra under the hood, CleanApp offers all the features you need to get rid of unwanted apps once and for all.

With CleanApp, you drag and drop apps to the interface, and then you can view them and their associated files before you decide what to do. But unlike other uninstall utilities for Mac, CleanApp offers a few extras across the top of the interface, so you can zero in on what you want to uninstall. The Applications button displays all installed apps; a System Accessories button lets you … Read more

There's one major element that sets browsers like Google Chrome apart from Safari and Internet Explorer: add-ons. Some are entertaining--Angry Birds, anyone?--while others add convenience or manipulate the look of Web sites you visit.

Below, you'll find the most useful extensions available in the Chrome Web Store. Everyone has their favorites, so I asked you for recommendations on Facebook and Twitter. Although there were many excellent suggestions, here are the top five useful extensions (and one app):

1: AdBlock Plus. Most Web sites pay their bills using advertisements, which often distract you from seeing anything else … Read more

There aren't many security-focused browser add-ons that funnel the entire Internet through a proxy before allowing it to reach you, and that rarity was part of the reason Cocoon was one of a small group of add-ons that charged for its services. Starting today, however, the makers of Cocoon (download) have exclusively told CNET that the add-on will be completely free--for now.

The add-on, which appears as a toolbar in Firefox, creates a protected browsing state. When active, all interactions between the Internet and the computer you're using are forced to occur over protected SSL connections to Cocoon'… Read more

Facebook has been blocking a tool intended to let people extract contact information their friends have shared with them, the tool's developer said today--but he's working on a way to evade Facebook's restrictions.

"Facebook is trying so hard to not allow you to export your friends. They started to remove e-mails of your friends from your profile by today July 5th 2011. It will no longer work for many people," warned Mohamed Mansour, developer of the Facebook Friend Exporter, a Chrome extension that automates the data extraction process.

The tool lets people save their contacts' … Read more

The biggest challenge to making Google+ a viable competitor to Facebook is that people must reproduce their social graph--their collection of connections--at the new service. But a Chrome extension makes that process a lot easier by automating the extraction of contact information that your Facebook contacts have shared.

The extension, from open-source programmer Mohamed Mansour, is called Facebook Friend Exporter. It's not a simple one-click process, but it's close.

The tool, though, likely won't sit well at the dominant social-networking site. Section 3.2 of Facebook's terms of service states, "You will not collect users' … Read more

Google may see its Chrome operating system as more secure than traditional alternatives, but one security researcher believes the cloud-based OS is vulnerable, according to a Reuters story published yesterday.

WhiteHat Security researcher Matt Johansen said he found a flaw in a Chrome OS application that he was able to exploit to gain control of a Google e-mail account. Though Google fixed the flaw after it was reported, Johansen claims to have discovered other applications with the same flaw, Reuters said.

In citing the security holes in Chrome OS, Johansen specifically pointed to the ability of hackers who can steal … Read more

Web apps made a tepid splash with the public when they debuted in Google Chrome last year, but that hasn't stopped other developers like Opera from joining the club. Also known as in-browser apps, Opera 11.50 for Windows (download), Mac (download), and Linux (download), released today, now offers Web apps in the form of Speed Dial extensions.

Web apps are special sites written in HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript that allow developers to treat the browser as the coding platform. What this means for the end user is that you can run games like Angry Birds, get real-time weather … Read more

Last week, Mozilla programmers and executives were jubilant when the release of Firefox 5 marked the successful transition to a more competitive rapid-release development cycle.

Now, with a backlash from corporations and others who aren't equipped to handle that pace of change, things aren't quite so sunny. The organization and its community of supporters have begun some soul-searching about how to reconcile the conflicting priorities--developing software quickly but not leaving users behind.

Mozilla has concluded that Firefox isn't for corporations whose Web use doesn't move at the speed of today's Web, though. That decision frees … Read more