FoxTorrent Released – Built-in BitTorrent Downloader for Firefox

This article was written on April 27, 2007 by CyberNet.

RedSwoosh FirefoxThere is finally a decent BitTorrent client for the Firefox browser and it goes by the name of FoxTorrent. When I originally saw this Firefox extension make its way out in March I got pretty excited. I thought to myself that there was finally an easy way to download Torrents without having to download an extra program…but as Max pointed out I was a little bit wrong.

After you install the extension it silently installs a Red Swoosh application that is used to power the Torrent downloads. Unfortunately they install this application without ever notifying the user that it is going to happen. This also makes it a little more difficult to full restore your Firefox profile from a backup since the application is installed in the Program Files folder in Windows.

The next thing I’m sure you’re wondering about is the uninstall process. I’m pleased to say that they do successfully remove their software from the computer with no traces remaining when uninstalling the extension within Firefox.

Since the last time I wrote about FoxTorrent there have been numerous improvements. Now it has received a nice UI (user interface) overhaul that makes it seem more usable, and it can also support Torrents that contain multiple files! The thing that most people will love will probably be the streaming media functionality which gives you the opportunity to listen and watch your music and video downloads before they complete.

I clocked the download speeds of both uTorrent (a BitTorrent downloader) and FoxTorrent (the Firefox extension) to make a comparison, and uTorrent came out on top every time. I did it with the Ubuntu ISO images and FoxTorrent had a hard time stretching above 50% of what my Internet connection can handle while uTorrent made full use of the available bandwidth. So if you’re looking to download something as fast as possible you might want to stick with a dedicated BitTorrent client.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Weave: Synchronize Firefox 3 Bookmarks

This article was written on December 26, 2007 by CyberNet.

Mozilla has been investigating ways to make it easy for users to carry information (bookmarks, history, etc…) from one browser to another. What they came up with is an extension called Weave, and it can be used across several computers to synchronize data.

After signing up you will receive a confirmation email (I got mine in a matter of seconds). The link provided will give you the information to get started, which primarily consists of the link to download the extension. You’ll then restart Firefox and setup the extension using a Wizard. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to change the settings at anytime:

(Click to Enlarge)
Weaver Account Weaver Data Weaver Add-ons Weaver Advanced

The initial transfer of data may take a little while to complete depending on how much has to be synchronized, and after that Firefox will scan for changes every 30 minutes. In the future they hope to take a new approach much like what the Foxmarks extension has done, where it synchronizes changes immediately when they occur.

This is by no means extravagant, which is expected from such an early release. It will surely be compared to Opera Link (review), and right now I would say Opera is ahead since they have an online interface for browsing bookmarks. I’m sure Mozilla will capitalize on “add-ons” for Weave, which would allow users to synchronize data/settings saved in the browser and even extensions. All of this could result in the ultimate backup for your browser.

You must be using a pre-release version of Firefox 3 in order to test this out, and I would say that Weave still needs some polish before hitting the mainstream market. I tried out the extension, but for the time being I don’t really feel like I need it.

Tip: If you’re looking to install the add-on without signing up again, just go to https://services.mozilla.com/ and click on the Need the add-on? link.

Get Mozilla Weave for Firefox 3
Thanks to “S” for the tip!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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CyberNotes: Extensions that Don’t Work with Firefox 3

This article was written on June 04, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

With the Firefox 3 release right around the corner I thought this would be a good time to look over the extensions available, and see which ones haven’t been updated. There’s actually a descent amount that still need to be updated before they will work with the final release, but if you look around many have pre-release versions that they are getting ready to roll out.

So what we’ve got for you today are instructions on downloading/installing extensions that aren’t officially compatible, a list of extensions that currently have Beta versions that work with Firefox 3, and finally a few extensions that already appear to be extinct. The lists are by no means comprehensive, but I also figured that everyone can chime in below with your own findings.

–Forcing Compatibility–

Using the trick we’re about to show you it’s possible to bypass any compatibility checking, which means you’ll be able to install (not necessarily run) any extension. This is obviously not recommended for everyone, and you should only use this as a last-ditch effort.

  1. In the Address Bar type about:config followed by the Enter key. Continue through the warning message if it’s shown.
  2. Right-click in the main area, and select New -> Boolean
    firefox new boolean.png
  3. Enter extensions.checkCompatibility into the box that appears, and click the OK button.
    firefox checkcompatibility.png
  4. Then choose false in the next window.
  5. Now you can install any extension, but remember that they are not guaranteed to work. I’ve seemed to have pretty good results with this though.

One problem that you might notice is that when you go to install an extension that’s not compatible with your version of Firefox the “Add to Firefox” button will be grayed out. This is quickly remedied by going to the “All Versions” page, and you’ll find a link to that following the description of the add-on:

firefox all versions.png

Once on that page you can download the most recent version of the add-on without the site checking what version of Firefox you’re running, but you’ll need to follow the steps outlined above before being able to actually install it.

–Currently in Development–

I know that some of you are waiting for certain extensions to get upgraded before you’ll make the jump to Firefox 3, and so I’ve assembled a list of eight rather popular ones that will definitely have new versions coming out. Each of these already have a pre-release version publicly available, which may persuade you to make the switch a little early. ;)

  • Sage [Homepage]
    This is the much beloved RSS feed reader, but it hasn’t been updated since January 2007. Someone else has begun reworking it to make it play nice with Firefox 3, and the new version can be downloaded here.
  • FEBE [Homepage]
    You can use this to backup your extensions, and for some people it’s a rather critical extension to have. They are currently working on the next milestone release, and the Beta version is available which works with Firefox 3.
  • FireFTP [Homepage]
    Ever want to have an FTP client in your browser? With FireFTP you can, but you’ll need to download the preview release if you want Firefox 3 compatibility.
  • FoxyTunes [Homepage]
    Controlling your media player has never been so easy, but Firefox 3 users were starting to get worried that this add-on wasn’t going to be updated. Despite not having released a new version in almost a year they do have FoxyTunes 3 Beta publicly available, which includes Firefox 3 support.
  • Firebug [Homepage]
    Most web developers absolutely love this extension, and the good news is that a version for Firefox 3 is right around the corner. If you’re a bit anxious you can hop on over and download Firebug 1.2 Beta.
  • ColorfulTabs [Homepage]
    Make your tabs more identifiable with this extension, and Firefox 3 users will find a Beta version here.
  • Tab Mix Plus [Homepage]
    It’s safe to say that this is the all-in-one solution for anything you want to do with tabs. And work for a Firefox 3 version is always going on.
  • Smart Bookmarks Bar [Homepage]
    Save some room on the Bookmarks toolbar by only showing icons. The latest release, available from here, is compatible with Firefox 3.

–All Good Things Must Come to an End–

There are a handful of extensions that I have come across which you shouldn’t hold out too much hope for. These three look like they will become extinct:

  • VideoDownloader [Homepage]
    With this extension you can download videos from 60+ movie sites, but it has been kicked back into the “experimental” stage (meaning you’ll need a Mozilla account to download it) even though it has an astounding 13 million downloads. It would likely be one of the most downloaded extensions right now, but it hasn’t seen an update in nearly 2 years. So don’t get your hopes up for this one.
  • MinimizeToTray [Homepage]
    A lot of people are going to be disappointed to hear that the MinimizeToTray extension doesn’t work with Firefox 3, and it doesn’t look like there are any plans to fix it. The last update was in October 2006 just in time for Firefox 2, and there’s been no mention of a new version being worked on. Yikes!
  • Tab Groups [Homepage]
    This project didn’t last very long, and that’s disappointing because it’s an extension that I really enjoyed. It’s only had one release, and there’s no sign that the developer is still working on it.

–Overview–

And now we turn the keyboard over to you, our trusty readers. Let us know in the comments below which extensions you’re holding out for, and which ones have pre-release versions that you’ve been tinkering with.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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CyberSearch 2.0.5 – Easier “Search This Site”

This article was written on March 16, 2010 by CyberNet.

cybersearch 205.png

We released the CyberSearch 2.0.5 Firefox extension this week which includes numerous bug fixes and support for Firefox 3.7 nightly builds, and the Snapback functionality is once again working the way I intended it to. Now when you click the Snapback button in the Address Bar it not only repopulates your search query, but also displays the drop down of the results immediately.

The main thing, however, I want to point out is our greatly enhanced “search this site” functionality. Judging by the feedback I received over the past few months I can now say that one of the most common uses for CyberSearch is to find information on the site your currently viewing. I talked with some friends, ran some ideas by them, and came up with what feels like the perfect solution.

Imagine you’re on a site like the New York Times. Previously if you wanted to search the site you’d have to put your “keyword” at the beginning of the URL, and then move to the end of the URL, type a space, and put in your search terms. Searching the New York Times for “Bill Gates” would mean your Address Bar looked something like this (note that “>” is the default keyword, but can be customized):

>http://www.nytimes.com/ bill gates

Don’t get me wrong, that will still work, but it can now be done in much fewer steps. With CyberSearch 2.0.5 all you have to do is jump up to your Address Bar, and type your keyword followed by your search terms. CyberSearch will automatically recognize that you’re wanting to search the current site, and will show results accordingly. The same New York Times example can now be accomplished by entering this into your Address Bar:

>bill gates

There is still some benefit to knowing the syntax in the first example though. If you’re on, for example, the Wall Street Journal’s site you can still search the New York Times by using any of the following:

>nytimes.com bill gates
>www.nytimes.com bill gates
>http://www.nytimes.com/ bill gates

Any of those will limit search results from the New York Times regardless of the site you’re currently viewing. CyberSearch 2.0.5 will basically assume that you want to search the current site if a URL is not provided.

Keep your feedback coming! And a big thanks to Peter and Edward who worked with me to resolve a Tab Mix Plus compatibility issue.

CyberSearch 2.0.5 Homepage

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Locationbar² Updated for Firefox 3

This article was written on March 19, 2008 by CyberNet.

One of my favorite Firefox extensions, Locationbar², has finally been updated to work with the recently released Firefox 3 Beta 4. It can be used to make the domain that you’re currently viewing stand out more than the rest of the URL, which makes users less susceptible to phishing attacks.

You may recall that midway through last year we saw a feature very similar to this make its way into the nightly builds of Firefox 3, but it has since been removed. I’m not sure if Mozilla intends to reimplement the feature, but at this point it’s not looking very likely. What’s interesting is that the new Internet Explorer 8 Beta went ahead and added in this feature.

One thing that really makes Locationbar² stand out though is its ability to generate breadcrumbs from the URL that you’re currently viewing. To do this just hold down the Control or Shift key, and then hover over the address bar. You’ll notice that you can click on the different segments of the URL, which makes it a little easier to go back to the main domain or up a “directory”.

If you want your address bar to look like mine does in the screenshot you’ll want to add http:// into the Hide protocols box in the Locationbar² settings, and then also check the strong box.

Locationbar² Homepage (look for the 1.0b1 download link)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Firefox Vulnerability Exposes Extension Variables

This article was written on August 14, 2007 by CyberNet.

Road Runner TrapAnother vulnerability has been found in Firefox, and this one makes it possible for a hacker to retrieve the settings and variables used in extensions. The person who discovered the flaw was able to steal a dynamically generated password created by the Fire Encrypter extension.

So how serious is this? Read for yourself:

It basically means that everyone can probe all Javascript files inside the chrome:// context and log all this information on the server through a simple Ajax instance. Furthermore it is only possible to call unregistered functions, like those that are set inside extensions by developers. This could lead to denial of service on function calls, privacy breach, information disclosure, and maybe more unseen or unknown attacks. [emphasis placed by me]

There is some concern that this could be used to get information such as whitelisted sites on Adblock, or even user details from Gmail Checker. This vulnerability hasn’t thoroughly been tested to see what’s possible and what’s not, but if some information could successfully be retrieved I’m sure other hackers could find ways to exploit this even further.

The person who discovered the vulnerability recommends that you install the NoScript extension, or use Opera because "this could lead to further more clever attacks." Staying safe online continues to get harder and harder.

Source: The Register

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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FireTorrent: The Best BitTorrent Extension for Firefox Yet

This article was written on June 13, 2007 by CyberNet.

This was surely a long time coming, but it looks like there is a real add-on available for users who want to download BitTorrent files in Firefox. Previously we had reviewed FoxTorrent that worked as expected, but it had to install an additional application that was used to do the dirty work. It basically just used Firefox as a Web interface for the application.

The new add-on, called FireTorrent, doesn’t install any additional applications on your computer. On my Vista machine I had some troubles getting it installed because the add-on does modify Firefox’s chrome located in the directory where you installed Firefox. For that reason I’m not sure if this should really be classified as an extension. This also means that it isn’t stored in your Firefox profile folder like other extensions, so you will need to reinstall this each time you wipe Firefox from you computer (even if you have your profile backed up).

With that being said the FireTorrent add-on works extremely well after you install it. I clicked on a link to a Torrent and I saw the exact same popup that I would see if I was downloading a normal file. It asked if I wanted to open or save the file, and after picking an option I was taken to the normal Firefox download manager except it had a new "Torrent" tab on it:

FireTorrent

I like that it is so well integrated into Firefox because it now seems like a natural process to download Torrents, just like with the Opera browser.

Clicking on the "More Info" link next to a download will reveal things like how many sources you’re downloading from as well as how fast you’re uploading. I had almost though they forgot to include this essential information, but instead they just did a good job of keeping the interface free of clutter.

It also has several options available that lets you customize things like the upload/download speed limitations in addition to the port number that’s used. Here are two screenshots that show all of the settings it has to pick from:

FireTorrent FireTorrent
Click to Enlarge

Graphically FireTorrent seems to be lacking a little bit as seen in the screenshots. The background color seems to be a little off, but that might be attributed to me using this on a Firefox 3 nightly build.

As far as download speeds go I would say that they are pretty good. Not quite what I get from a dedicated BitTorrent application, but I didn’t expect to get outstanding results. The entire point of having BitTorrent capabilities built-in to the browser is for the added convenience. If I had a huge file to download (several gigabytes) I would using a BitTorrent program to download it since I’ll get the best performance.

If you’re looking to add some BitTorrent goodness to your Firefox I would recommend checking FireTorrent out. Alternatively they also create a browser called Wyzo that is based on Firefox and has the BitTorrent integration already installed (and actually has a pretty cool skin).

Source: Mozilla Links

Thanks to netster007x for the tip!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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CyberSearch 2.0: Bing Support, Search Details, and More

This article was written on October 23, 2009 by CyberNet.

cybersearch_fulllogo.png

I’ve been working on a new version of CyberSearch for a little while now, and I’ve been trying to come up with ways to add all of the most requested features. It wasn’t until about August 2009 that I started to get inspired to work on the extension again, which is when we all of a sudden saw a huge surge in downloads that has remained constant ever since. In the last 3 months we went from getting about 300 downloads a day and 10,000 active users to an astounding 3,000-7,000 downloads a day and almost 90,000 active users. I believe the rapid increase has been coming from the fact that we’re now a Mozilla “recommended” add-on, and as some users have pointed out to me our add-on sometimes shows up in the add-on management window within Firefox. So a big thanks to Mozilla for giving me the motivation to push out a new version, because without them the CyberSearch growth graph probably wouldn’t look like this:

cybersearch growth.png

CyberSearch 2.0 is almost a complete rewrite of the previous version, and I did that for performance concerns. Since I wanted to add more features I knew I had to squeeze every last ounce of juice out before I could move on, otherwise I could have ended up with something sluggish enough that people wouldn’t even want to use it. To put it in perspective… CyberSearch 2.0 actually does about half the number of computations that CyberSearch 1.0 did for each search that is performed.

As far as new features go we’ve got quite a few! The first thing is Bing support. You can now create keywords that use either Bing or Google, which is pretty cool if you think about it. That means you can make one keyword that searches Bing, and another that searches Google. If you don’t like the results that one search engine shows just try using the other… and all you have to do is change the keyword. The real reason I wanted to add Bing support, however, is because they have some API functionality that Google doesn’t offer. Thanks to Bing you can actually create keywords that will do conversions/calculations using their Instant Answer technology, or lookup the spelling of a word. You can do this all from the comfort of your address bar.

cybersearch_gloc_fastfood.png

Next up: search descriptions. This is undoubtedly the most requested feature. You wanted some way to view the descriptions of all the search results just as if you were at the search engine page. I struggled with this for awhile because I didn’t want to try and cram the descriptions into the Address Bar menu which is already cramped, and could require a lot of scrolling to see all the results. That’s when I came up with the idea to use the area behind the menu for this! That way I have a large amount of space to work with, and am able to display way more details than I originally anticipated. For example, if you’re using a keyword with the Google Local service just press the arrows on your keyboard to highlight one of the results. You should see the background behind the menu dim down, and location details will appear… including a thumbnail of a map for where that place is located (as seen in the screenshot above)! All of the different types of searches provide you with customized details (video searches show the duration, book searches provide the ISBN number, blog searches show the publication date, etc…), and screenshots of them all can be found on the CyberSearch homepage.

Those are the two main highlights of the extension, but that doesn’t mean that’s all that changed. You’ll also find little things throughout CyberSearch 2.0 that should make your life a little easier. Things like a “snapback” button in the address for pulling up the last search phrase you used, or the ability to import/export your configuration and keywords so that setting up multiple machines with CyberSearch is a breeze! These were all your ideas, and hopefully they are exactly what you wanted.

When I describe my extension to people they often ask if it’s similar to Google Chrome’s “omnibar,” which is the name for their browser’s address bar. It eliminates the need for a search box just like CyberSearch does, but it isn’t nearly as powerful. Just watch this 3-minute video I put together and tell me if Chrome can do this:

The next thing I want to try and work on is localization so that CyberSearch supports other languages/countries, but it will probably be a little while before I can get to adding any big features like this again. If you find any bugs please report them so that I can try to get them fixed right away. Thanks again for all of your support and feedback!

CyberSearch Homepage

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Foxmarks Introduces Sync Profiles

This article was written on July 08, 2008 by CyberNet.

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been asked whether there is some way that users can synchronize select bookmarks with their work computer. It’s often because they like having access to some of their bookmarks from both home and work, while some they want left exclusively for one of the locations.

Foxmarks is once again coming to the rescue! A new version of the Firefox extension was just uploaded yesterday, and it includes the ability to create custom profiles. That way you can have some bookmarks show up on your home computer, some on your work machine, and so on. From what I can tell you can create as many profiles as you would like.

To get started you’ll want to go to Tools -> Manage Sync Profiles on your my.foxmarks.com page. Add the profiles you want to use, and select which bookmarks each profile should have access to:

foxmarks sync profiles.png

All that you have to do after that is tell the Foxmarks extension which profile it should use. To do this open up the Foxmarks settings in Firefox, and navigate to the Profiles tab. From here you can select which profile the computer should be synchronizing with.

Pretty cool, huh? This feature is sure to make a lot of people happy because it’s now possible to have a central location for managing all of your bookmarks that are spread across multiple computers. Talk about convenience!

Get the Foxmarks Extension for Firefox

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Ezmo & AllPeers Say Their Goodbyes

This article was written on March 03, 2008 by CyberNet.

allpeers ezmo goodbye

Today marked the death of two great startups: AllPeers and Ezmo. AllPeers is the Firefox extension that originally emerged as a way to share files between your friends and family, and later on they started to support BitTorrent transfers. Having this integrated into your browser is pretty convenient, but it didn’t take off quite like they hoped that it would. They didn’t get the user growth that they were shooting for, and that’s understandable. The extension didn’t last long on my system because it was difficult to find other people willing to install it, which is required if you want to share files with them.

Here’s a snippet from what the AllPeers blog had to say about shutting down the service:

It is with deep regret that we inform our users, friends and fans that we will be shutting down the AllPeers service today. We are tremendously proud of the product that our team has built, and we remain convinced of the potential of adding social features like file sharing to the web browser. However, we have not achieved the kind of growth in our user base that our investors were expecting, and as a result we are not able to continue operating the service.

Ezmo actually sounds like a pretty nifty music sharing service, but I hadn’t heard about it until today. They would let you upload your music to their servers so that you could listen to it no matter where you were at. The software worked with iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media Player for uploading your tunes, which you could then share with your friends.

They ran into problems when trying to work with the music labels who weren’t very cooperative:

It has always been clear to us that Ezmo had to be a free service for all users. Our revenue model is based on music sales (and promotion), for which one needs at least some sort of cooperation with music labels. We have had repeated meetings and contact with the major labels, but their willingness to cooperate in finding innovative solutions for music sales seems non-existent. Their terms were not compatible with the conditions a small start-up operates under. We still feel absolutely confident that services like Ezmo will have a major significance in the future, but the lack of cooperation and even threats of lawsuits from the labels and their organisations has made intermediate financing paramount in order to secure a necessary time horizon for the company. Without that financing in place, Ezmo has no alternative but to shut the service down and close the company.

So here we are burying two great startups today. The AllPeers site has already been taken down, but the extension is still available on the Firefox add-ons site. Ezmo will continue running until March 14th.

Thanks to Emil for the tip on Ezmo!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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