Today we are going to cover five must have security add-ons for Mozilla Firefox. Firefox hit a rough patch the last few years, but after the re-write to Quantum with improved memory management, speed, security, and stability, it is beginning to gain back its market share.
Firefox has saw its usage growth continue to grow for the 2nd straight month in 2019. This is good news! As with the recent news of Microsoft to be re-writing Edge with Google Chrome's Engine, this means Mozilla will be the only major browser left not using the Chromium render engine. As Firefox begins to get popular again, its important to have some quality security add-ons to keep you safe on the web!
So without further delay, here we go!
1. Ublock Origin - This is simply a MUST HAVE not only for security, but for web usability. This sucker strips advertisements out of web pages and videos, blocks sites and scripts that try to coin mine through your browser, blocks malware hosting domains, and can easily be extended via its interface to add even more functionality. From blocking tracking scripts, to stripping out social media share buttons on sites, and everything in between. Ublock Origin is def the #1 must have security add-on for Firefox!
2. HTTPS Everywhere - This add-on was developed by the EFF for privacy and security. What this add-on does is force HTTPS security on all web sites that support it even if you omit the HTTPS in your address bar. This is very useful to ensure your always getting the most secure version of every web site you visit. This one is certainly a must have add-on for Firefox!
3. Facebook Container - This add-on was developed by Mozilla for the privacy conscious individual. What this add-on does is "Isolate your Facebook identity into a separate “container” to stop Facebook from tracking your activity outside of its social platform." This means while your using the Firefox web browser with this add-on installed, Facebook won't be able to track your activity outside its social platform(meaning only links clicked on while your inside Facebook, through Facebook can be tracked, other links will not be). With Facebook and other social media sites harvesting more and more data, as we saw with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, This add-on is definitely worth using.
4. Bitwarden Free Password Manager - A Mozilla Staff Pick, Bitwarden is a password manager for Firefox. Its 100% open-source software and its source code is hosted on Github. Bitwarden stores all of your logins in an encrypted vault that syncs across all of your devices. Since it's fully encrypted before it ever leaves your device, only you have access to your data. Not even the team at Bitwarden can read your data, even if we wanted to. Your data is sealed with AES-256 bit encryption, salted hashing, and PBKDF2 SHA-256. For a free and open source password manager this is pretty good! I am sure many could find a good use for such a secure, open source, and free password manager.
5. Privacy Badger - Another great add-on from the EFF! This add-on learns as you browse the web, and monitors sites that may be tracking you. Over time, it learns and blocks these sites and scripts that are tracking your activities online. It does this by sending the "Do Not Track"signal while your browsing. Sites that ignore this signal are added to the block list. so Privacy Badger gets smarter over time, and makes your browsing experience more private. You can always exempt sites if you have any issues with its easy to use configuration.
There you have it! That's my top 5 easiest security add-ons for Firefox. I hope you enjoy!
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Disclaimer: I am not responsible for anything that may happen to your PC when changing settings or changing registry values. If you choose to make changes, you do so at your own risk.. You are solely responsible for any damage to your computer , data, or other hardware due to user error, inadequate cooling, too high of voltages, incorrect software settings, and any other factors. Please remember to back up your computer before attempting this. If overclocking, Do not Overclock on the stock AMD or Intel CPU Heatsink and fans. Use Aftermarket cooling heat sinks of sufficient TDP or water cooling to ensure best chance of not having premature hardware failure. As always, remember to backup your data before attempting any change. I am not responsible for data loss or damage of any kind.
Image courtesy of:
Shari Chankhamma - uploaded by Yug [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
