another firefox question , which is a good balance of privacy/security extension ?

Hi

i know , there are many topics about how increase the security and the privacy of firefox

but i guess many configurations (found here and in other forums) are paranoiac

i mean some users install so many many many extensions with a slow down performance and a mess up of firefox behavior

outside sandboxie ,(or install chrome ) and ad-block

can you tell me a good list of well balanced, stable security&privacy extension for firefox?

i would appreciate it a lot

thanks
cheers

 

One should not have "go nuts" with numerous "add-on" & "extensions" for FF. How one configures FF is what is important + certain "add-ons". I'll let someone else "chime-in" regarding "configurations" & their "add-on" preferences but I would HIGHLY recommend "No Script". The following link will explain the add-on to you plus there are 987 user reviews for you to look at:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/#reviews

If I go to a site & want to "Allow" one or more scripts I always choose to allow "temporarily". Again, for me, this IS the number one "add-on" I have installed on FF.

 

I dont mean to hijack the thread, but as Noscript is mentioned, I thought I would just post a question.

I recently installed Noscript into FF4, but then found that every time I started FF and connected out, FF attempted a number of outbound connections over HTTPS to:-
69.195.141.178
69.195.141.179
82.103.139.52
82.103.140.40
82.103.140.42


Is there any info on this issue?



- Stem

 

-http://hackademix.net/2010/07/28/abe-patrols-the-routes-to-your-routers/

 

some info here Stem.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/privacy/

try unchecking "NoScript Options|Advanced|ABE|WAN IP ∈ LOCAL and see if it stops making those outbound requests. I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

 

Thank you Sadeghi85,

I did not know they had attempted such an implementation. I need to catch up on developments.

Yes, disabling that option does stop the outbound attempts.


Thank you arran,


- Stem

 

Firefox actually runs quicker for me with my extensions than it does out of the box. I guess because it's blocking scripts, ads, ect... There are less things that have to load on a page. That more than off-sets the footprint of the add-on's, at least in my case.

The ABP element hiding helper really helps in this regard. You should see how I have Youtube set up. The only things on my home page are a button to "sign in", and the search bar. No videos or ads on the page at all, so it loads instantly. This is just one example.

I think security add-on's by nature increase performance because they're blocking things. There are less things on the page that have to load. Where people get in trouble is when they just go grabbing a bunch of things, thinking "gee, this looks neat", like widgets to give you the weather and whatnot. I know this girl that has like 20 add-on's like this, and her browser crawls.

 

Yep and I wouldn't be without my FF extensions.

 

thanks
but outside noscript, is there something that is a Must

 

I consider Adblock Plus a must, even more-so than NoScript. If I was only allowed 1 add-on it would be ABP.

I recommend these subscriptions:

EasyList
EasyPrivacy
Fanboy's List
Fanboy's Tracking/Stats Blocking
Malware Domains

You don't have to use them all, but I'd especially use EasyList & Malware Domains.

Other security related add-on's you should check out: Ghostery, BetterPrivacy, WOT, RefControl, HTTPS-Everywhere, Keyscrambler (Install program first), OptimizeGoogle, and "Element Hiding Helper for Adblock Plus"... a very handy tool to easily create rules to block items on a page simply by clicking on them. I find it especially helpful for Youtube.

I think WOT has become a "must have" for me. I recommend turning the pop up warnings off and having it only display negative results.

 

Malware Domains is really a short list

and RequestPolicy should be really cool,shouldn't it?

 

Well, I just about agree with everyone else. On Firefox/SeaMonkey WOT, NoScript, ABP, Flashblock & Ghostery are about standard with me, whether the browser is installed on a computer or a portable version. 'Flagfox' could be viewed as having security/privacy applications of course & then there's Webutation.

 

When it comes to FF security, I think Noscript and ADblock are all you really need, provided you have an AV and antispyware app on your computer. Loading yourself down with security extensions is a waste of resources.

 

RequestPolicy is new , and seems to be really very cool

 

I'll check it out. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Cookie Monster
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4703/

Search Engine Security
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/207647/

Scroogle SSL
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/12506/

Startpage (Ixquick) HTTPS Privacy Search Engine
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/startpage-https-privacy-search/


+1 for NoScript & AdBlock Plus (EasyList & EasyPrivacy subs)

 

slow down

i found 2 Fanboy's Tracking/Stats Blocking subscriptions
Fanboy's Tracking/Stats Blocking
Fanboy's International Tracking/Stats Blocking
are the same list ?

but 6 subscriptions should slow down surfing ,should not ?

thanks

 

Huh? How did you do that?

 

Easy... get the ABP Element Hiding Helper, when you're on the page click the ABP icon on your navigation bar, and click on "Select an element to hide". Then just mouse over whatever it is on the page you want to block and it sets a rule for it. This way you have really granular control over what exactly displays on any page.

Great add-on

And for mantra, I should have been more clear. When I said I recommend those I didn't mean I recommend using ALL of them. That would indeed slow down your browsing. Just that IMO those are the best ones. Pick 2-3 of them, suited to your needs. To me EasyList & Malware Domains are musts. Maybe add EasyPrivacy too. And Fanboy's Tracking/Stats Blocking was the one I was talking about "not the international one", but, depending on your location, the international list may suit you better? I haven't looked at it personally.

Also, take the time to go through your lists and remove any entries that have a snail icon beside them. A few minutes spent doing that now = snappier browsing from then on.

I have recently added "Adblock Plus Pop-up Addon", and set it to default block. It blocks some things ABP can't, like, well... popups (real revelation there, I know). Like when I try to download some movies from Megaupload it would sometimes give me a popup in another tab, which WOT would flag immediately. With this add-on I don't get them at all now.

 

I use the following addons without a noticeable delay while surfing;

Adblock Plus
Better Privacy


Noscript is handy but might slow down your surfing especially when combined with Adblock Plus; In my honest opinion I'd rather not have too many addons that scan a page for certain elements to block because page loading will be radically slower.

I'd rather run my browser Sandboxed with Adblock Plus and Better Privacy.

 

You can use Adblock to block third-party scripts if you don't want to use NoScript. The rule is

Code:

*$script,third-party,domain=~addons.mozilla.org|~amazon.com

The domains listed are examples for exceptions. Just keep adding them with a | between each one. It can get a little cumbersome though once you add many domains due to the single line in the rule editor. There's a nice writeup on it here.

I've been using the Adversity lists in Adblock without any issues.

 

Nobody mentioned extensions like LinkExtend, BitDefender TrafficLight, and WOT? There's LastPass as well, I recommend it on non-vital sites.

 

^ I mentioned WOT ^

One of my must haves.

 

Anyone think the new[ish] ghostery options are going too far as far as slowing down firefox or maybe sending data back to ghostery to examine [i don't know , i'm just asking]

Can ghostery really do all that locally. I think firefox [by default] blocks ATTACK and FORGERY sites by constantly sending every web page you visit back to firefox which of it'self is a privacy issue. Firefox has a reputation to keep but ghostery a free 3rd party addon ain't so prestigious.

 

Well, my thought is that if you use an ABP list like Tracking/Stats blocking, Ghostery is a bit redundant. Btw, the difference between the Tracking/Stats and the International version, is simply what you would think it to be. The international covers advertisers in other countries. However, I imagine what you'd find if you were to do a lot of checking, is that 3rd party trackers aren't all that "localized". You would probably be just fine using the standard list, but, I would advise using at least that one.