Mar 09

Automatically Install Extension Updates in Firefox

Posted in: Firefox Extensions, Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on January 27, 2009 by CyberNet.

Update Notifier for Firefox-1.jpgOver in our forum someone was wondering if there was a way to prevent Firefox from prompting you about updates to extensions you have installed. Th problem for some users is that Firefox will not continue to load if it is in the process of prompting you for updates. For example, let’s say you have Firefox automatically start when your computers boots up. If there’s an update available for one of your extensions the browser will not actually load until you’ve chosen whether or not you want to accept the update.

Max jumped right in with an excellent solution to the problem, and it just happens to be an extension that will take care of the updating for you. The Update Notifier extension will check for updates after the browser has launched, and you can even choose an option to install them automatically. Not only that but you can disable being notified after the updates are installed thereby making the whole process something that happens in the background.

Update Notifier Homepage
Thanks Max!

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Mar 08

Two Great Google Reader Tools For Firefox

Posted in: Google, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on November 20, 2006 by CyberNet.

Google Reader Toolkit Google Reader is undoubtedly my favorite online RSS feed reader but I am still in awe that Google hasn’t made a notifier for it and their Calendar. Of course a Firefox extension, called the Google Reader Toolkit, has finally popped up that will notify you when there are unread items in your Reader. It isn’t quite as extensive as I would have liked to see (a listing of the new items in a slider window would be nice) but I guess I can’t really complain when it is free. If you do decide to use this extension it is important for you to know that it is not compatible with the Gmail Manager Firefox extension.

Google Reader Greasemonkey The other tool that I have for you is a Greasemonkey script that will pull up the actual website in Google Reader instead of showing the text from the feed. This can be especially useful if you have a lot of sites in your Reader that do not supply the full feed. To use this you’ll have to be viewing Google Reader in the “List View” and not the expanded view. This makes sense because if you used this in the expanded view it would take forever to load all of the feed items. It would be cool if this script didn’t actually replace the feed content and instead offered a link that you could click to open the site within the current view, but it is great nonetheless.

I hope more and more people continue to develop tools that make Google Reader even more useful and most of all I would love to see synchronization capabilities for RSS desktop software. That kind of stuff probably won’t start to become prominent until more people realize what feeds actually are but it looks like the world is slowly warming up to the idea.

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Mar 07

New Google Reader Greasemonkey Script

Posted in: Google, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on November 03, 2006 by CyberNet.

Google Reader Greasemonkey Script

So you just can’t get enough of your news, huh? The Google Reader Greasemonkey script caused quite a stir when people realized how useful it is to have your feeds located right in your Gmail Inbox. The only downside was that there wasn’t a lot of customization with what you could view.

That is exactly why this new Google Reader script was developed by a different person. It has all kinds of new features over the original script:

  • Spilt-window view of Gmail and Reader on a single page
  • Links to collapse|expand either Gmail or Reader
  • Integrated Reader uses start-page as specified in Reader’s “Settings”
  • Labels selector
  • Key ‘v’ to open Reader links in a new Window
  • Automatic resize of Gmail and Reader views

Yep, you can actually choose to leave your emails visible or collapse them so that there is more room for Google Reader. Best of all is that you can select which labels you want to view in the Reader.

I think this is about as good as it gets without Google actually implementing the feature directly into Gmail, which they should definitely do. I know several people that would probably start using RSS feeds if it was built into Gmail without the need for a script.

Thanks for the tip Chris!

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Mar 06

CyberNotes: Creating A “Sandbox” To Test Firefox Extensions

Posted in: CyberNotes, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on October 18, 2006 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

I am probably testing a new Firefox extension everyday but I hardly keep any of them. As of right now I consistently use 9 extensions but they each save me so much time that I am always on the lookout for some more great ones. I’ll never be able to find any if I don’t give them a try which is why I have an easy way to test Firefox extensions without putting your current profile at risk.

It is easy to uninstall an extension so what is the big deal about trying it out on your normal profile to see if you like it? Well, there isn’t anything wrong with it except that many extensions will write settings to your Firefox profile and when you uninstall the extension it doesn’t delete the settings in case you decide to reinstall it later. So, much like the Windows Registry, your Firefox profile will start to become bloated.

For awhile I just had a Firefox Portable installation that I would use for testing any new extensions but then I decided to create a completely separate profile that used my normal Firefox installation. When I was setting that up I stumbled upon a Profile Manager that Firefox has to select between multiple profiles.

Note: In the screenshots below it says “Bon Echo” instead of Firefox because I am using a test version of Firefox.

To use the Profile Manager you can open up the Run command from the Start Menu and type firefox.exe -ProfileManager into the box. The simpler way in my opinion is to duplicate your existing Firefox shortcut and change it to include that parameter:

Firefox Profile Shortcut

If you don’t put that parameter on the end then it will always use your default profile and will never prompt you to select which profile you want to use. That is why I said duplicate your existing shortcut because you will primarily be using your default profile so there is no sense in have the Profile Manager pop-up each time. I just put the Profile Manager shortcut in my Accessories folder so that I don’t get it confused with the other one.

Once you do run the new shortcut then you will receive a screen like this:

Firefox Profile Selector/Manager

You will probably only have one profile to start off with whereas I have already created a profile for testing as well. To create a new profile you just have to select the respective button and you should eventually receive this screen:

Firefox Create A New Profile

After you create an additional profile you are all set to beat it up and test away. It is also useful in case you want to determine why you are having a problem with your current profile by being able to start fresh and still have the option to return to your old profile.

If you are looking for more information on managing Firefox profiles you will probably find Mozilla’s help page to be quite useful. They show you where your profiles can be located on all of the operating systems except Windows Vista. If you’re wondering where you can find the profile in Vista just look at the details in the previous screenshot that I took because it shows where the profile was going to be created.

Let us know if you have any other cool profile tricks!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Mar 06

Mozilla Messaging Releases Snowl Prototype

Posted in: Firefox Extensions, Freeware, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on August 07, 2008 by CyberNet.

Mozilla is apparently not going to sit on the sidelines while browsers such as Flock get all of the social fanfare. Instead they are trying to develop a way to integrate Web 2.0 services such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Talk, and more into a central location that makes following your friends easy. Huh, sounds like exactly what the Flock browser is for.

Snowl (download) is the name for Mozilla’s project, and it ships in the form of a Firefox extension. Once you get it installed you’ll be able to enter in the address of RSS feeds, provide your Twitter credentials, or import an OPML file containing a list of feeds.

snowl twitter-1.png

After you get it all setup you’ll want to pull up the View menu in Firefox. From there you can show the Message List, which is simply a listing of your feeds in a classic three-pane fashion:

snowl normal view.png
(Click to Enlarge)

Any RSS feeds for blogs or websites will appear at the top of the list, while people you’re following (currently only available with your Twitter account) will appear at the bottom.

Also in the View menu you’ll see an option for a River of Messages. This is a two-pane interface that makes it possible to scroll through all of your messages without needing to click on any of them. Normally when I’ve used these kind of layouts in the past the scrolling is always done vertically, but for some odd reason this one is horizontal:

snowl river of news.png
(Click to Enlarge)

I’m extremely disappointed with how the extension handles itself, but I guess I’ll cut them some slack since this is still a very early prototype. Snowl, in its current state, can’t hold a candle to how well the Flock browser has integrated the social web. Here are some of the reasons I’m not impressed:

  • The interface is very rough around the edges. For example, the vertical divider in the River of Messages view covers the text as you scroll horizontally. This particular view still needs a lot of work.
  • Aren’t designers always taught to minimize the horizontal scrolling? Why is it then that they’ve decided to implement their River of Messages view horizontally rather than vertically like other feed readers.
  • Tighter integration with web services is needed. I shouldn’t have to go to the settings in order to setup my Twitter account. The extension should recognize when I’m on Twitter’s site, and ask whether I want my account associated with Snowl. And providing my Twitter credentials only lets me read messages from friends… I can’t even respond to them from the extension?
  • Better sidebar functionality is a must. I can’t tell which feeds have unread items, can’t group them into folders, or anything like that.

Maybe I’m being overly hard on Mozilla since this is still early in development, but I hardly think it’s usable in its current state. They should have held off a bit more, and polished the extension up a bit. It just feels like Mozilla is trying to play catch-up with Flock now, and is losing big time.

Get Snowl 0.1

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Mar 05

Download Portable Firefox 1.5.0.4

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on June 02, 2006 by CyberNet.

Download Portable Firefox 1.5.0.4

Firefox 1.5.0.4 was just released yesterday and I posted the Portable Firefox 1.5.0.4 build almost immediately after release. I have had several people email me asking if I was going to release a portable version so I figured I should make a separate posting just for the Portable Firefox so that everyone can find it easily.

For those people who want Portable Firefox then it is simple. All you have to do is download the Portable Firefox 1.5.0.4 file below. Then you unzip the file and browse for the file PortableFirefox.exe. Just execute that file and you will be running Firefox 1.5.0.4! The profile is kept with the PortableFirefox folder so you don’t have to worry about messing up your other profile and the uninstallation process is simple…just delete the folder! Don’t forget to stick it on your USB drive and carry it with you wherever you go.

Hope this clears things up. Enjoy!

Download Portable Firefox 1.5.0.4 for Windows – 7.80 MB

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Mar 04

Firefox 2 Users to Get Firefox 3 Update Notification Soon

Posted in: Firefox 3, Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on August 20, 2008 by CyberNet.

skitched-20080820-152031.jpgThose of you who are still using Firefox 2 should be getting the update notification in the next week saying that Firefox 3 is available for download. Mozilla would obviously like all of their users to upgrade to the latest version of the browser, but the real question is whether they will.

I thought this would be a good time to look at the visitor stats for our site, and see which versions of each browser everyone is using. Here’s the breakdown from August 1st, 2008 to today:

  • Firefox: 54.75%

    • 3.0.1: 68.26%
    • 2.0.0.16: 19.96%
    • 3.0: 5.08%
    • 2.0.0.14: 1.72%
  • Internet Explorer: 36.03%

    • 7.0: 70.38%
    • 6.0: 29.14%
    • 8.0: 0.39%
    • 5.5: 0.05%
  • Opera: 4.41%

    • 9.51: 63.22%
    • 9.50: 12.20%
    • 9.52: 9.59%
    • 9.27: 4.08%

Not bad, huh? Only about 25% of you haven’t upgraded to the latest version of Firefox… which is almost the same percentage that haven’t upgraded to Internet Explorer 7. IE7, on the other hand, was released almost 2-years ago as opposed to Firefox 3 that was released just 2-months ago.

I’m sure you have your reasons for not upgrading to Firefox 3 (broken extensions, don’t need/want the extra features, etc…), but will you be changing your mind in the next week or so when the automatic upgrade rolls around? If you won’t be making the jump to Firefox 3 I’d definitely be interested to hear your reasoning in the comments.

Mozilla Weekly Meeting Notes [via Download Squad]
[image via DeviantArt]

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Mar 02

Extensions Increase Firefox’s Vulnerability

Posted in: Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on May 30, 2007 by CyberNet.

A new Firefox vulnerability has been discovered, and this time it is quite a doozy. It affects many different extensions including Google Toolbar, Google Browser Sync, Yahoo Toolbar, Del.icio.us Extension, Facebook Toolbar, AOL Toolbar, Ask.com Toolbar, LinkedIn Browser Toolbar, Netcraft Anti-Phishing Toolbar, and PhishTank SiteChecker.

So what’s the problem? When using an extension in Firefox it frequently checks to see if there is a more updated version available, and Firefox will notify the user whether they are running the latest version. Normally the user will agree to the update and proceed with their normal browsing activities, but there could be more going on behind the scenes than the user is actually aware of.

If an extension does not use a secure connection (a URL beginning with https:// is secure, where http:// is not) for the update it is possible for a man in the middle attack to occur. Utilizing an insecure connection a hacker could easily intercept an extension update, which would replace the extension on your computer with their own. So as you’re sitting at a coffee shop, Firefox could "harmlessly" be updating your extensions while a hacker is intercepting the request and replacing the extension with something more malicious…possibly something that would reveal all of your passwords.

Below is a video demonstration that Christopher Soghoian, the person who discovered the flaw, put together. The Firefox user has Google Browser Sync installed, and Chris demonstrates how he replaces the extension with his own:

This has been filed as a bug, but is not expected to be fixed until Firefox 3 gets released. This is a real problem though, because some extensions (such as those by Google) automatically update themselves without even notifying the user. Chris has contacted several extension developers, and this is what Google said they were going to fix the issue:

The Google Security Team replied on May 25th stating that they were working on a fix, and expected to have it ready and deployed before May 30th. At the time of publishing this vulnerability disclosure, it does not appear that Google has rolled out an update yet.

Here is what Chris recommends Firefox users do to circumvent the problem:

Users with wireless home routers should change their password to something other than the default.

Until the vendors release secure updates to their software, users should remove or disable all Firefox extensions and toolbars. Only those that have been downloaded from the official Firefox Add-Ons page are safe.

In Firefox, this can be done by going to the Tools menu and choose the Add-ons item. Select the individual extensions, and then click on the uninstall button.

I don’t think that you have to go through the work of uninstalling/disabling your extensions. Instead, just disable the extensions from updating, and then go do a "fresh install" of all your extensions from the Mozilla Add-ons site just to be sure that none of your extensions currently being used have been compromised:

Firefox Add-on Update

Unfortunately you’ll have to check for all extension updates yourself and manually install them, but it decreases the risk of an attack. However, I’m not sure if this will prevent those extensions from updating who do it automatically, such as those by Google.

News Source: Washington Post

Thanks to CoryC for the tip!

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Feb 28

Create Site Shortcuts in Firefox

Posted in: Firefox Extensions, Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on July 16, 2009 by CyberNet.

sitelauncher.png

In Firefox you’ve always been able to assign a keyword to any bookmark, which would take you to that particular site if you type the keyword in the address bar and press Enter. That’s nice and all, but once you get a large number of shortcuts it can be tough to remember them all.

That’s where the SiteLauncher extension comes into play. You can setup all of your favorite sites and assign single-letter shortcuts to them. Then with a quick press of a hotkey (such as Ctrl+Space) you’re presented with a visually appealing list of shortcuts that is laid on top of the site you’re viewing. It serves as a good reminder of what letter you assigned to what site.

Want to know more? Here’s a quick rundown on the features:

  • Create super quick keyboard shortcuts to URLs and bookmarklets you need access to often.
  • Instant visual feedback from the Launcher panel means no need to actually memorize anything but the one hotkey.
  • Just about any character key can be associated with a site, you’re not limited to a-z and 0-9.
  • Highly customizable appearance – change colors, sizes, transparency, etc.
  • Make use of shortcuts with visual feedback, using the Launcher hotkey; or without, using the Direct-to-Site hotkey.
  • Arrange and group related shortcuts to have them appear together in a visually meaningful way.
  • Set the Launcher to open sites in current or new tab
  • Optionally set the Launcher to appear on startup instead of a regular homepage

If you’re feeling adventurous there’s an Alpha version available that also lets you choose the icon size, and to accommodate the mouse-centric users you no longer have to assign a letter to a shortcut.

SiteLauncher Homepage [Firefox only; free]

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Feb 25

Firefox Extension, Freenigma, Encrypts Your Email

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on July 19, 2006 by CyberNet.

There is a new Firefox extension in town and this one will encrypt your emails. The extension, called Freenigma, will encrypt your emails that you are sending using GMail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail. Right now the service is in a testing phase and you have to be invited to join, but you can sign up and maybe you will receive an invitation.

Firefox Extension Encrypts Your Email
 

The extension is simple how it works. Once you have it installed you will see an “Encrypt” button in your email window. Once you press the button it will encrypt the message for you.

Firefox Extension Encrypts Your Email
 

The biggest downside that I see right now is that the people receiving the email must also have a Freenigma account. When the person receives the message they simply have to decrypt the message by pressing the necessary button. They will then be prompted for their Freenigma account password and if it is correct the message will be displayed.

The browser itself is the one doing the encrypting/decrypting and it does not pass through any of the Freenigma servers. That means you will not be able to encrypt your attachments because a remote server would have to handle that. While this does sound like a great extension it would probably be nicer if the receiver of the email did not need to have a Freenigma account, but I guess beggers can’t be choosers.

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