Speedup Your Browser

Believe it or not, there are simply things you can do to speed up your browser. The default settigs on most browsers are not optimized for fast internet connections (e.g. dsl, cable or satellite). This article details how you can change those settings to speedup your browser. In this article, I will cover Internet Explorer 7.0, Mozilla Firefox and Opera 9.6. I can not empathize enough that you should create a restore point if something goes wrong you can undo any changes.

Internet Explorer 7.0

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7.0 is a vast improvement from version 6.0; however, they left the default maximum number of connections per server to a measly 2. Theoretically, the more connections a browser has with a server, the faster the rendering of the webpage. However, there are limits and too many connections can be counterproductive. If you have a fast internet connection (i.e. dsl, cable or satellite), you can increase the maximum number of connections to a more reasonable 8. If you have fast cable or satellite, you can even bump that up t o 10. In order to change the default setting, you will need a single free third party program called “IE7 Pro.” I love this little program. Its adds so many more features to IE 7, including: ad blocking, proxy settings, mouse gestures and many more fun things. For more info about the problem, read Lifehacker’s piece on the program.

1. Download IE7 Pro and install it.
2. Once installed, start Internet Explorer.
3. On the menu bar, click on “Tools.”
4. Scroll down and select “IE7Pro Preference.”
5. On the left column, select “IE Settings.”
6. Under “Max connections to server,” increase the number to 8 or 10.
7. Click [OK] and you are finished. Enjoy faster browsing.

Firefox 3.0x

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 requires a little more work in order to speed it up but don’t be intimidated. There is no third party software or add-on you need in order to make the necessary changes.

1. Start Firefox and, in the address bar, type “about:config” without the exclamation marks.
2. Next, click [I’ll be careful, I promise!].
3. In the “Filter box” enter “network.http.max-connections” without the exclamation marks.
4. Right click the entry and select “Modify.”
5. In the new dialog box enter “40” and click [OK].
6. Next, right click “network.http.max-connections-per-server” and select “Modify.”
7. In the new dialog box enter “32” and click [OK].
8. Next, right click “network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-poxy” and select “Modify.”
9. In the new dialog box enter “16” and click [OK].
10. Right click “network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server” and select “Modify.”
11. In the new dialog box enter “8” and click [OK].
12. Right click “network.http.pipelining” and select “Toggle.” The entry should change from “false” to “true.” (see note at the end of this article)
13. Restart Firefox.

Opera 9.6

Opera 9.6 is one of the best browser I have tested. It’s fast and feature rich. Many of the features found in Firefox and IE have long been available in Opera, such as: mouse gestures, tabs, integrated RSS reader, integrated e-mail and the list goes on. There are some minor tweaks you can make to speed up this already blazing fast browser.

1. In the menu bar, click on “Tools” and scroll down to “Preferences….”
2. Click on the “Advanced” tab.
3. In the left column, select “Network.”
4. In “Max connections to server,” select “16.”
5. In “Max total connections,” select “32.”
6. Next, in the left column, select “History.”
7. In “Check documents,” change the default to “Every 10 minutes.”
8. In “Check images,” change the default to “Every 5 hours.”
9. Click [OK] and restart Opera.

Note: For those curious about pipelining and how it speeds up your browser, read this article written by Mozilla.

Reduce Firefox Memory Consumption

Reduce Firefox Memory Consumption

I am a big fan of Firefox, Mozilla's open source web browser. Unfortunately, Firefox has been plagued by memory leaks which have been present since Firefox 1.x. However, there are ways to curb Firefox use of memory, such as decreasing the number of webpages Firefox keeps in memory. Find more tweaks and tips to reign in Firefox memory use.

Mozilla releases security updates | CNET News.com

Mozilla releases security updates | CNET News.com

Mozilla has released a security update for both Firefox 2.0 and Firefox 1.5. The new versions 2.0.0.2 and 1.5.0.10 are available at Firefox's homepage. Users can also choose to update via the "Check for Update" feature. This release address a number of security flaws, including: Firefox cookie flaw discovered by Michal Zalewski, the location.hostname vulnerability and others. For complete details, read Firefox's release notes.

Make Firefox Look Like Internet Explorer :: Mozilla Stuff :: JohnHaller.com

Make Firefox Look Like Internet Explorer :: Mozilla Stuff :: JohnHaller.com

Some of you may have heard of John Haller. He is the creator of the portable versions of both Firefox and Thunderbird. In a strange move, he has written a guide on how to customize Firefox user interface to look like Internet Explorer. I am a little bewildered. I was under the impression that people switched to Firefox because they wanted get away from Internet Explorer. Perhaps, he wrote the guide in order to make the process of switching from Internet Explorer to Firefox less intimidating. Regardless, it is an interesting guide.

Getting Started with Opera 9.10 (Part I)

Getting Started with Opera 9.10

Earlier this month, Opera Inc. released Opera 9.10 web browser. Though Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0 get all the publicity, Opera should not be overlooked. Many of the features in both IE and Firefox have long been available in Opera.

If you are new to Opera, here are some tips to get you started. Start Opera. You will be redirected to Opera’s homepage – you can change it easily. On the menu bar, go to Tools > Preference. A new window will appear with several tabs. Let’s start with the “General” Tab

General Tab: Controls for the home page, pop-up controls and language

1. By default, when Opera starts, it will load the webpage(s) from the last session. There are several options. I recommend starting with the home page. The other choices are self explanatory.
2. By default, the home page is set to Opera’s website. You can change it to what ever page you want. Or, you can simply click [Use current] and Opera will save the current webpage(s). Important, if you have multiple webpages when you click [Use current] then the homepage will include all webpages opened not only the first webpage.
3. Under pop-ups, select “Block all unwanted pop-ups.” I find the latter to be the best fit, blocking most pop-ups with the lowest false positive rate (i.e. genuine objects on a webpage incorrectly flagged as pop-ups).
4. Under language, the default value is English (US). Opera supports several other languages, change it accordingly.

Wand Tab: Opera's password manager and auto form filler

1. Wand is Opera’s password manager and auto form filler. Check “Let Wand remember passwords.” Afterwards, to see all saved passwords click [Passwords].
2. The auto form filler is optional. Opera’s form filler works much like Google toolbar’s auto form filler. It is quite accurate.

Search Tab: Quick search controls

1. In Opera, you can associate keywords to search engines and run queries from the address bar. This is the same feature found in both Firefox 2.0.x and Internet Explorer 7. For example, the keyword for the Google search engine is “g.” So, if you enter “g firefox” (without the quotation marks) in to the address bar then Opera will run a search for the term “firefox” using Google search engine. Opera, by default, already has several keywords associated with various search engines. You can add, edit and delete any keyword(s).
2. Let’s exam a keyword more closely. Select “Google” by left clicking on it once. Click [Edit]. Under name, is the name of the keyword and search engine association (i.e. Google). Under keyword, is the word you need to enter, on to the address bar, to start the search (i.e. “g”). Click [Details]. 2 more entries should appear. Under Address, you should see the string http://www.google.com/search?q=%s&sourceid=opera&num=%i&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8.
3. To create a new keyword association, click [Add]. I will discuss this particular feature in a later post.

Web pages Tab: Define Opera's layout and appearance

1. By default, Opera will show al web images; however, there are 2 other options. To speed up the rendering of a webpage, you can select either to show only "cached images" or "show no images." Initially, I select show all images. However, after surfing the Internet for awhile, enough images are saved to Opera's cache that I can switch to show only "cached images." Of course, this isn't feasible if you view webpages where the images are updated frequently. Those who use a dial up connection will notice a mark increase in speed; however, those with broadband connections will not.
2. Opera's page zoom feature is superior to both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0.0.1. In particular, Opera can format a webpage to fit the width of the web browser - no more horizontal scrolling. By default, the page zoom is set to 100% and the "fit to width" is unchecked. I recommend keeping the default settings. However, if you want to automatically format a webpage to fit the width then check the box.
3. The settings for fonts and color are self-explanatory. Unless you have a pressing desire to use a particular font or color, keep the default settings.

Advance Tab:

1. Tabs: Check "Open new tab next to active."
2. Content: Uncheck "Enable Java" for speedier webpage rendering.
3. History: (1) By default, Opera will save the 500 most recent web addresses; however, decreasing it to "100" will improve performance. (2) Unlike Firefox and, to a smaller extent, Internet Explorer 7, Opera does not suffer from a memory leak. You can increase the memory cache (the amount of RAM used by Opera) to "40 MB" or even "60 MB" for improve performance. In addition, in cache the disk cache to "50 MB." For privacy, you can have Opera clear the cache when exiting the program. (3) Opera will periodically update the documents and images of webpages. By increasing the time interval, you can improve performance but also run the risk of outdated content. For a good balance, I set the time interval to check documents to "10 hours" and check images to "24 hours." This setting is optimized for dial up users but those with broadband connections should just keep the default settings.
4. Cookies: Select "Accept only cookies from the site I visit." This will block cookies from third parties, such as doubleclick and hitcounter. I recommend keeping the other default settings.
5. Security: (1) For maximum security, set a master password. Click [Set master password] > under "new password", enter a password > enter it again in "confirm new password" > [O.K.]. You can change the master password at anytime from this window. (2) Under "Ask for password," select "Once per session." Prompting for a password more frequently is just annoying. (3) Check "Use as master password for e-mail and wand." (4) Check "Enable Fraud Protection" for protection from phishing scams. Important, with this feature turned on, the browser will connect to Opera's web servers to check the web address before actually loading the webpage. Opera's privacy statement clearly states it does not keep any personal information; however, if you see this as a privacy risk then you can choose not to use it. With this feature enabled, there is a marginal increase in the time it takes to load a webpage.
6. Network: (1) If you use a proxy to connect to the Internet, click [Proxy servers] and enter your proxy settings. (2) Click [Server name completion]. To improve performance, you can disable prefix and suffix completion. Nowadays, there is very little use for the completion feature. (3) By default, the "maximum number of connections to a server" and "maximum total connections" is set to "8" and "20", respectively. The default settings are fine for dial up connections. However, if you are using a broadband connection, you can increase the values. I tend to keep the default value for maximum connections to a server but I increase the maximum total connections to "32" for improve performance. I don't recommend going higher than this value.
7. Shortcuts: Check "Enable mouse gestures."
8. Voice: Perhaps the most unique feature of Opera. Voice allows users to surf the web via voice command. This requires a separate download and you will need a headset with a microphone for best performance. I have never used the feature myself.

Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.1 for Windows

FileForum | Mozilla Firefox for Windows

Mozilla has released Firefox 2.0.0.1. It is still unclear as to what changes were added to this newest edition. But, based on the version number, it is likely only minor bug fixes were added. Users can either download the entire software program or current users can use Firefox's auto update feature. Currently, the latter is not available but will appear sometime later this week. In addition, Mozilla has also released Thunderbird 1.5.0.9. Like Firefox, it is unclear what changes were made in this newest version. Of note, earlier this week, Mozilla released the first beta of Thunderbird 2.0.

Microsoft speeds up phishing shield for IE 7

Microsoft speeds up phishing shield for IE 7

As many of you know, the new Internet Explorer 7 sports a new anti phishing feature. Unfortunately, with the feature turned on, there is a significant delay in loading a webpage. This is in large part due to frames in the webpage. This past Tuesday, Microsoft quietly released a patch to correct this flaw. The patch was not part of the 7 security patches released on Patch Tuesday. Instead, you need to manually download and install the patch. To download the patch, users will need to go through WGA validation process. Microsoft has set up a bulletin for the patch (link)

Opera 9.1x Fraud Protection

I have been a long time admirer of the Opera web browser. Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox might get all the publicity but make no mistake Opera is a stellar web browser. Many of the features found in Firefox and newly added to IE 7 have long been available in Opera, such as tab browsing, integrated rss aggregator, password manager, download manager and integrated search box. Unfortunately, despite Opera’s laudable history of innovation, it hasn’t really built a large community of users. However, there is one niche in which Opera has been successful in capturing; Opera is widely used in mobile devices (e.g. mobile phones) (link).

Opera 9.02 is the latest stable version; however, the first release candidate for Opera 9.1 is available for download. This future version refines on already existing features but there is one new addition I would like to talk about. Opera 9.1 will include a new fraud detection feature. It is no big surprise; Firefox 2.0 and IE 7 both have one. The threat of phish websites has been on the rise for some time now. Phish sites pose a serious problem because, just as one is discovered, it is replaced by another. So, browsers which use blacklists are not very effective since new phish sites appear every minute and blacklists quickly become outdated. Opera’s fraud detection works a little different than Firefox and IE’s fraud detection.

By default, Firefox 2.0 only uses a blacklist to detect phish sites. Users need to enable the real time protection feature. And, the real time problem is not without problems. The technology behind Google’s Safe Browsing extension was used to create the real time protection for Firefox 2.0. Some privacy advocates are concern since a record of sites visited by users are sent to Google (link).

“The built-in phishing protection is truly third-rate. There are two antiphishing options: Mozilla's weak blacklist-based protection (yes, seriously) and Google's antiphishing technology, which is both poorly rated and a privacy nightmare.” – Paul Thurrott

As usual, Google denies that it keeps any personal information and only the barest of information is recorded to determine if a site is genuine or malicious.

During installation of IE 7, the user will be prompted to either enable the phishing filter or not. If enabled, IE 7 will automatically check the webpage you are trying to load against an up-to-date list of known phish sites. The list is maintained by Microsoft based on suspected phish sites submitted by IE users. If a user declines to activate the phishing filter, he can still audit the current webpage with a single click (link). However, one annoying problem I noticed with IE’s phishing filter is that it significantly slows the loading of a webpage. It became so annoying that I disabled the feature and took my chances without the protection.

“Phishing Filter helps to protect you in two key ways.

• It operates in the background as you browse the Web, analyzing Web pages and determining if they have any characteristics that might be suspicious. If it finds suspicious Web pages, it will show a yellow warning, advising you to proceed with caution.

• Phishing Filter checks the sites you visit against an up-to-the-hour,

dynamic list of reported phishing sites. If it finds a match, Phishing Filter will show you a red warning notifying you that the site has been blocked for your safety.” – Microsoft.com

Well, enough about Firefox and IE 7, Opera has a solid phishing filter but they call it “fraud protection.” By default, the fraud protection is disabled. Users can enable it by going to Menu bar > Tools > Preferences > “Advanced” tab > check “Enable Fraud Protection” > [O.K.]. When loading a new webpage, Opera will automatically send the webpage’s URL to Opera’s server where it is matched against a list of known phish sites. To the right of the address bar, Opera will display either an “i” for a website known to be genuine or a “?” for unknown websites. However, if the website is a known phish site, Opera will block the loading of the webpage (see below).

Opera make every attempt to respect users’ privacy by not storing the sites visited on their servers. In addition, no cookies are created nor is any information forwarded to third parties. There is one feature which really caught my eye. Once a website has been declared safe, the browser will cache the website (link). As a result, if a user revisits the same website, Opera doesn’t need to check with the server since the website has been declared safe which saves time. While surfing the Internet with Opera, I hardly noticed any delay in loading a webpage.

“When you browse to a site you have not visited before, the browser sends a request for site information to our server. The requests contains the domain name of the site and a hash value of the URL. We don't send the full URL, but we need a fingerprint of the full URL in case you visit a dangerous page on a site that is otherwise harmless.

The reply from the server is an XML document containing the trust level of the domain. This reply will be cached by Opera for a time indicated by our server. This means that information about well-trusted sites can be cached for a longer period than for unknown sites.

We don't store information on our servers that let us track individual users. IP addresses are discarded and we don't use cookies or other session information. No information goes directly to third parties, all communication goes through our own servers. Our servers get the trust information from a database supplied by GeoTrust, who have a long experience with anti-fraud solutions.” – Opera Desktop Team

In closing, I would like to say that Opera is a solid web browser known for innovation. In addition, the Opera development team has done a remarkable job of creating a reliable and efficient fraud protection.

So did that tweak speed up my web browser?

Let me first start off by saying that this is not an article on how to speed up a web browser but rather illustrates a method to determine if a tweak does indeed speed up the browser. The same method can be use to compare time it takes to render a webpage for different browsers.

There is no shortage of good web browsers. On Windows systems, Internet Explorer is the most widely used browser. However, more and more web users are switching over to alternative browsers, such as Firebox and Opera. There is a growing dispute about which browser is the fastest. In addition, there are several articles offering tips and tweaks to optimize browser performance. Well, this brings up two questions:

Question # 1, How do you test the speed at which a browser renders a webpage?

Question #2, How can you quantify if a tweak(s) to your browser has indeed increase the speed of the browser?

Well, there is an easy way to find out. In the following paragraphs, I am going to describe how to measure the time it takes to render a webpage. The latter will give us a way to compare quantitatively the speeds of the various browsers and the effectiveness of the tweaks.

First, start up your preferred web browser. Second, clear the browser’s cache.

In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > General tab > under “Temporary Internet Files” click [Delete Files].

In Firefox, go to Tools > Options > Privacy > Cache tab > click [Clear Cache Now].

In Opera, go to Tools > Preferences > History > under “Disk Cache” click [Empty Now]

Once you have finished clearing the cache, go to http://www.numion.com/stopwatch/. Under “Enter the URL to be measured,” type in a convenient web address, such as www.lifehacker.com or www.pcworld.com. The key is to enter in a web address which has both text and images. Once you have typed in an address, click [Start Stopwatch]. Your browser will load the web address you entered previously. What Stopwatch does is to display the time it takes for your browser to go from its [Stopwatch] homepage to the web addressed you entered. Write down the time displayed. Next, go to your next web browser and repeat the above steps. Afterwards, compare the times for each web browser. Viola, you now have a quantitative measure of a browser’s speed to render a given webpage.

This procedure can also be used to calculate if a particular tweak(s) to a web browser has indeed improve its speed to render a webpage. Just remember to always clear the cache before starting the stopwatch.

Webpages Not Loading Correctly in Internet Explorer 7. How to Fix the Problem.

Internet Explorer 7 has been released to the public for several weeks now. Unfortunately, there are numerous complaints from IE 7 users that their favorite webpages are not loading correctly. Why? The answer is disturbing. It seems with all the time put in to updating IE6 to IE 7, Microsoft created a new version which is less compliant with web standards than the one before it. Yet another example of Microsoft ineptness.

Read what some critics had to say about the matter.

Downloadsquad:

"Windows experts and web developers are unhappy with Microsoft. Yes, again. Since Internet Explorer 7 was announced, Microsoft has promised that supporting current web standards was high on its list. It turns out, though, that by at least one report, IE7 will only support 54% of the CSS 2.1 standard, as compared to 52% in IE6 and 93% in Firefox 1.5 and 96% in Opera 9." -- written by Jordan Running, Downloadsquad.com

Windows IT Pro:

"Microsoft blames backward-compatibility problems for the stalemate over true Web standards compatibility. Put succinctly, the company has gone its own way for so long and now has to support so many developers who use nonstandard Web technologies that it will be impossible to make IE Web-standards-compliant without breaking half the commercial Web sites on the planet. Furthermore, by halting all IE development for several years before reconstituting the IE team to create IE 7.0, Microsoft has set back Web development by an immeasurable amount of time." -- written by Paul Thurott, WindowsITPro.com

Now, how to fix the problem. Microsoft has developed a workaround for problems with webpages not loading properly in IE 7. The workaround is to change the user agent string for IE 7; instead of identifying itself as IE 7, IE 7 will identify itself as IE 6 to webpages. Microsoft has developed a small free utility to change the user agent string; the download link is (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=70356). This will correct the problem for many webpages; however, it doesn't work for all of them. I have seen the same workaround in the Opera web browser, which includes a feature to identify itself as either Opera 9.x or Internet Explorer.

For information on the workaround and solutions for other common problems with IE 7, go to Microsoft's IE Support page (http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/ie/support/default.mspx). Below, you will find the excerpt, pertaining to IE 7's user agent, from the support page.

"Question: My favorite websites don't load correctly, or don't seem to work at all in Internet Explorer 7. What should I do?

Answer: If you encounter a site which does not recognize Internet Explorer 7, a new tool known as the User Agent String Utility has been created to help you work around the problem. The utility comes in the form of a small executable that opens an Internet Explorer 7 instance that emulates Internet Explorer 6 by sending the Internet Explorer 6 user agent string. It also provides a mechanism for you to report problem web sites to Microsoft so that we can follow up with the affected site owners. Download the tool here."

If you continue to experience problems then you should seriously consider uninstalling IE 7 and restoring IE 6. The support page also has instructions on how to do so.

Editing Firefox Configuration For Improve Performance and Usability

Firefox has many praise worthy features. But, one which stands out above the rest is its ability to be customized. Use the all powerful about:config to optimize Firefox performance and usability. To edit Firefox's configuration, create a new tab and type "about:config" (without the quotation marks) in to the address bar > [Enter]. Below, I have included my favorite tweaks with links to the references for each tweak.

1. Disable Third Party Cookies: There are many legitimate reasons to use cookies, such as saving passwords on login websites and saving user's preferences for a website. However, there are many reasons why you wouldn't want to use cookies, such as tracking cookies which record your movements on the Internet. Here is a tweak to accept cookies from the originating website but to block third party cookies (link). Third party cookies are usually cookies left behind by advertising companies which sponsor the website. You may choose to block all cookies but, be careful, many websites require cookies. Enter "network.cookie.cookieBehavior" (without the quotation marks). Set the value to "0" to accept all cookies. Set the value to "1" to accept cookies only from the originating website. Set the value to "2" to block all cookies.
2. Disable Prefetch: Firefox has a prefetch feature which tries to anticipate which links you might want to go to and it downloads those webpages (link). You can disable this feature and download only those webpages in which you want. Enter "network.prefetch-next" and toggle it to "false."
3. Enable Pipelining: Pipelining is a relatively new technology (link). Normally, a web browser will send only one request to a website's server. In addition, it will wait until it receives a response from the server before continuing. With pipelining, multiple requests are made and the browser does not wait for a response from the server. This cuts down on the time it takes to load a webpage; however, not all web servers support pipelining and you might experience problems using it. To enable pipelining, enter "network.http.pipelining" and toggle it to "true." Do the same for "network.http.proxy.pipelining."
4. Increase the Maximum Number of Connections: This tweak is more for those who have a broadband connection. It doesn't work well with dial-up and it may even be detrimental. In Firefox, you can open several simultaneous HTTP connections (link). By default, the number of connections is set to "24." I recommend increasing it to "40." If you notice Firefox takes longer to load a webpage, back it down to "32." To change the value, enter "network.http.max-connections" and select modify to change it.
5. Increase the Maximum Number of Connections per Server: This is a continuation of setting maximum number of HTTP connects. However, in this case, it is the maximum number of HTTP connection to a single web server. The default value is set to "8." But, you can increase the value to "16." To change the value, enter "network.http.max-connections-per-server" and select modify to change it.
6. Disable Trim on Minimize: If there is one thing Firefox fans have to complain about, it is memory leak in Firefox. There are a number of items which causes Firefox to use an enormous amount of memory. First, Firefox caches webpages as you surf the net. Caching allows for faster reloading of previous viewed webpages. The more caching results in more memory used. Second, many Firefox extensions can cause memory leaks(link). Firefox's trim on minimize is one way Firefox tries to curb memory usage. When you minimize Firefox, the memory used is "trimmed" (i.e. reduced to 10MB). However, the juggling of memory during maximize and minimize Firefox deceases performance. To disable trim on minimize, enter "config.trim_on_minimize" and toggle it to "false."
7. Optimize Page Rendering: Firefox, by default, waits 250 milliseconds (i.e. 0.25 seconds) before rendering a webpage (link). You can decrease this time to "0." To change the value, enter "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set the value to "0."
8. Increase the Disk Cache: Firefox uses two types of caches. They are the disk cache and the memory cache. Many of you are familiar with the disk cache which stores webpage content for faster retrieval. By default, the disk cache is set to 50MB. You can increase the disk cache to store more webpage content (link). This is especially useful if you use the same websites over and over again. You do not need to edit the configuration to change the disk cache. Instead, go to the menu bar > tools > options >advanced > network tab > under cache, increase the cache to "100MB."
9. Increase the Memory Cache: While the disk cache is saved on to your hard drive and is accessible until it is deleted, memory cache is cleared when you exit Firefox. You can significantly increase Firefox performance by increasing the memory cache. However, you run in to the same old problem, Firefox using too much memory. If you have at least 512MB of RAM, increase the memory cache to "64MB." To change the memory cache, enter "browser.cache.memory.capacity" and change the value to "65536."
10. Disable Firefox's Anti-Phishing feature: Some of you might have noticed Firefox 2.0 is significantly slower than Firefox 1.5x in loading a webpage. This because of Firefox 2.0 new anti-phishing security feature. Before loading a new webpage, Firefox matches the webpage you trying to load to a blacklist of know malicious websites. If the webpage does not appear on the blacklist then Firefox will load the webpage. If not, Firefox will display a warning that the webpage you are trying to load is suspicious and might be a malicious site. The process of matching the webpage to the blacklist slows Firefox. If you are confident that you only view safe websites, there is really no need for this security feature. You do not need to use about:config to disable it. Instead, go to the menu bar > tools > options > security and uncheck "Tell me if the site I'm visiting is a suspected forgery" > [O.K.]. (link)
    

Mozilla Ships Firefox 2.0 ... It's a Dud

Computer guru, Paul Thurrot, is less than impressed with Firefox 2.0. In fact, he recommends that users stick with Firefox 1.5.0.7. Why? Despite being touted as a major update, Firefox 2.0 doesn't add much. Changes in the user interface do more harm than good. There are fears that Google is using the antiphish feature to spy on users.

read more | digg story

Make Firefox 1.5x extensions work in Firefox 2.x.

Make Firefox 1.5x extensions work in Firefox 2.x. As many of you know, Firefox 2.0 was released this Tuesday, October 24^th. Unfortunately, as with previous major updates to Firefox, many of the extensions do not work in Firefox 2.0. However, it is relatively easy to edit the extension so take it can work in Firefox 2.0. Here is how to do it. First, set Windows to show file type extension. Open Windows Explorer. From the menu bar, choose Tools > Folder Options > “View” tab > scroll down to “Hide extensions for known file types” > if it is not already unchecked then uncheck it now. Now, choose an extension you want to edit. Right click it and choose “Rename.” Change the file type extension from .xpi to .zip and click [O.K.] when Windows ask if you are sure you want to change the file type. By the way, .xpi is an archival file type, much like .zip or .rar. Once you have renamed the extension, unzip the new file. You can use WinZip , a shareware, 7-Zip , a freeware, or any unzipping application. Once unzipped, there should be 2 folders and 2 files. You are going to edit the file “install.rdf.” Right click the file and choose “Rename.” This time, change the file type extension from .rdf to .txt. Use Notepad to open the newly created .txt file. There are several lines; scroll down until you see the following line:

In this case, the extension is set to work with Firefox 1.6 and older versions. Edit the line by changing the max version to 2.0. So, it should look like this:

Save the file and exit Notepad. Now, you need to do everything backwards. Change the .txt file back to .rdf file type. Next, create a new .zip file which contains the 2 folders and 2 files. Once you have the .zip file, change it back to .xpi. Now, you can install this new extension on Firefox 2.0.

Internet Explorer 7 Add-Ons

As many of you know, last week, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7), a much needed update for the venerable web browser. IE 7 added many of the features already available in Mozilla's Firefox and Opera web browsers.

It seems Microsoft has also taken a page from Firefox's play book by adding its own version of extensions. One of the appeals of Firefox is the ability to add extension, which enhances and/or adds functions to the web browser. Microsoft, not to be out done, created add-ons for IE 7. Microsoft developed its own website to host IE 7 add-ons. The selection is small relative to the extensions available for Firefox but it is growing steadily. Unlike Firefox's extensions, some of the add-ons are commercial and require you to pay to use them. The website tries to make it easier for users to find what they want by dividing the add-ons in to categories, such as: security, time savers, browsers and entertainment.

Hopefully, some motivated IE users will create their own add-ons and make them available to the IE community - much like the extensions created by Firefox aficionados.

Mozilla Releases Firefox 2.0 for Windows

FileForum Mozilla Firefox for Windows

A day early, Mozilla releases the latest version of its popular web browser Firefox 2.0. As of this morning, Firefox 2.0 was available on Mozilla's ftp servers. For those who are already using Firefox 2.0 RC 3, there is no need to update since the final version is identical to RC 3. What will you find in Firefox 2.0? Well, version 2.0 adds built in spellchecking, antiphishing protection (i.e. developed from Google's Safe Browsing extension), search suggestions for the search box, improve tab browsing and improve javascript compliance.

Final Version of Mozilla Firefox 2 Will Be Released Oct. 24

PC World - Final Version of Mozilla Firefox 2 Will Be Released Oct. 24

On Wednesday, Mircosoft released it long anticipated Internet Explorer 7. As many of you know, there is a great deal of rivalry between Microsoft's IE and Mozilla's Firefox web browsers. Both organization were working very hard to have their product released before the other. In this respect, Microsoft won. However, Firefox users don't have to wait too long as Mozilla plans to release Firefox 2.0 early next week, October 24th. Unlike Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2.0 will only add some moderate changes to the web browser, nothing earth scattering. Some new additions include: better tab browsing, integrated spell checking, anti-phishing security and suggestions from the integrated search box.

Opera hit by security flaw - TechSpot News

Opera hit by security flaw - TechSpot News

Opera web browser users are urged to update to Opera 9.02. A new security flaw has been discovered in Opera which can crash the browser and even allow hackers to gain control over the computer via the browser. This security flaw affects versions 9.0 and 9.0.1. Opera version prior to 9.0 are not affected.

Microsoft: IE7 Flaw Really in Outlook Express

BetaNews MS: IE7 Flaw Really in Outlook Express

Some of you might have heard the rumor that Internet Explorer 7 has a critical security flaw, discovered less than 24 hours after it was released. Well, like many rumors, you should ignore this one as well. The security flaw is actually found in Outlook Express and not IE 7. Microsoft will continue to investigate the alleged IE flaw and see if there is any truth to it.

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer for Windows XP

FileForum | Internet Explorer for Windows XP

Microsoft has officially released Internet Explorer 7. After months of anticipation, the popular web browser gets a major update. Internet Explorer 7 offers features long seen in other web browsers, most notably Mozilla's Firefox. IE 7 might even attract Firefox users to return to using IE. Who knows? Regardless, IE 7 is a very welcome update with many much needed security fixes.

FileForum | Mozilla Firefox 'Bon Echo' for Windows

FileForum Mozilla Firefox 'Bon Echo' for Windows

Today, Mozilla released Firefox 2.0 RC 3. In all likelihood, this will be the last release candidate before the final version is released. Many speculate that the final version will be released sometime this month or the early part of next month. As many of you know, Microsoft plans to release its final version of Internet Explorer by the end of October. It is going to be a close race to see who comes out first. Since the fall of Netscape, Firefox has been the only real challenger to Internet Explorer's title of web browser king. If not for Firefox, it is likely Microsoft would have continued sitting on its laurel without updating Internet Explorer 6. Is Internet Explorer 7 going to be able to win back converts to Firefox?