Firefox Beta For Windows

Firefox has recently fallen to third place behind Internet Explorer (number one) and Google Chrome (the new number two). In an effort to regain some market share, a new Firefox experience will soon be coming to your smartphone or tablet. Mozilla was a late entry into the mobile browser field and when they got involved their offering did not perform satisfactorily. They have decided to try again, this time partnering with Microsoft to create a specifically Metro style application, which should be available by the time Windows 8 is released. Microsoft is attempting to redefine the current operating system paradigm and Mozilla wants to be a part of the revolution. The project is still very early in the development process but Mozilla has given some hints as to how it will operate.

Mozilla will make Firefox more touchscreen friendly while also reducing its bulk to accommodate Windows 8 focus on mobile devices. Additionally, users can bounce between full screen views and fractional views all the while Firefox will optimize the information displayed regardless of the chosen display. The Metro/Firefox partnership is designed to offer users integrated access to lots additional content. Users will be able to share data and functionality between Firefox and any other application. Firefox for Windows 8 should be every bit as integrated with the system as Internet Explorer. The new browser will take advantage of Metro style apps ability to display real-time information on the front of the app tile. Firefox could display message alerts, contact location information, or something else they are still developing in secret.

Of course much of the success of the mobile Firefox project will rest on the success of Windows 8 and the Metro style interface. If both work as smoothly as planned, or at least close to it, metro style Firefox could help users reluctant to try tablets and touch screens by providing a familiar experience. Those individuals just starting to wade into the mobile/touchscreen pool will likely use a mobile browser as much like their desktop browser assuming it provides a similar experience. Mozilla would obviously like to be that browser.

Mozilla is a small company compared with Microsoft and Google but their products have a serious impact on their competitors. They can drive innovative changes in other industry players and they often do exactly that. One advantage Mozilla will have on its competition could be their early involvement with Microsoft's new style. That is probably not enough by itself to propel Firefox past all the other browsers but it is a good start. For those interested in getting the first taste of the Metro Firefox combination, Mozilla is reporting a beta version should be available to consumers for preview in the second half of 2012.

Browser Shootout: Chrome Vs Firefox - What Browser Is Best for You?

There is a lot of debate lately over which browser is better, faster, and more powerful than the other. Unfortunately, the answer is not as clear cut as this one is the better choice. This probably explains all of the hoopla over which is the right choice. The reality is there is not a right or wrong choice for the average browser. The answer is a bit more complicated for developers.

Unlike a few years ago, most websites are now compatible with Chrome, so the biggest issue preventing its use has been removed from the picture. With playing field regarding access leveled out, the positives of both browsers are pretty equal as well. Both Chrome and Firefox performed well when browsing under normal conditions. The speed and stability are basically the same with only unnoticeable milliseconds separating the two. If you are a stickler for facts, Chrome was the winner in most tests, but the average user would never notice the difference. As far as security and stability are concerned, each has slight edge over the other. Chrome performs better at preventing one tab from shutting down the whole browser. However, Firefox is quickly catching up and could have this resolved within the next few releases, so once again this is a non-issue. Firefox is considered stronger on security by most. Although Chrome does allow you to browse in stealth mode, the same strong security is often trumped by Google's use of tracking techniques which seem to wash out the privacy that stealth provides. Therefore, the browsers are again neck in neck.

The race gets a bit tighter for developers. Firefox is the darling of developers because of the multitude of plugins available. In addition, the ability exists to create plugins that fit a specific requirement with very few issues. It is for this reason that Firefox beats out Chrome for developers. However, the field is quickly narrowing in this venue, as well. At this moment, Chrome is busy creating plugins that mimic those of Firefox. The average user will have no problem finding a Chrome counterpart to the most popular Firefox plugins. However, developers that rely on more specialized requirements may need to wait a while before considering a switch to Chrome.

The Scoop on Firefox 4

Mozilla Firefox 4, finally made available for public download. This brand new version delivers lightning fast speed with an intuitive and artistically customizable browser design.

Mozilla Firefox 4 Features

Fastest Firefox Version to Date:

Speed and performance, Firefox is more than six times faster previous releases. With improved start-up and page load times, quick and improved web applications performance with hardware accelerated graphics, Firefox is totally optimized for interactive websites

New Streamlined Interface:

App Tabs Provides a permanent place to keep all your frequently visited sites, like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Web Mail, Flickr, etc.

Panorama:

Drag and drop Tabs into much more manageable groups to save lots of time while navigating with multiple open Tabs.

Switch to Tab: Find and switch easily to any open Tab from your Browser Bar without needing to open duplicate Tabs.

Secure Synchronization:

Firefox Sync: Access your Browser Bar history, Bookmarks, Passwords Open Tabs and Form Data across multiple computers and Mobile Devices.

New Add-ons Manager:

Easily discover and install well over 200,000 add-ons to fully customize all features and functionality of your Firefox Browser.

Privacy and Security:

Firefox is taking the lead for the Web towards a universal standard. The Do Not Track feature allows users to opt out of tracking used for personal behavioral advertising.

Firefox puts your privacy as priority, fixing many of the flaws for some Web standards to prevent anyone from accessing your browser history.

HTTP Strict Transport Security:

Firefox automatically establishes secure connections to stop the man-in-the-middle attacks to keep your sensitive files and data safe from interception during the login process.

Content Security Policy:

Prevents cross scripting attacks by allowing sites to explicitly instruct the browser whether the content you're trying to access is legitimate or not.

Web Developers Tools:

Firefox gives you uninterrupted browsing when there is a crash with the Adobe Flash Player, Apple QuickTime Player and MS Silverlight plug-ins. If one of these plug-ins freezes or crashes, it won't affect the rest of Firefox. just reload the page to restart the plug-in.

The HTML5 support in Firefox includes hardware accelerated, high-def video WebM, 3D graphics, with off-line data storage, true professional typography, touch-screen interfaces and the Mozilla Audio API for creating exciting visual experiences for sound or music.

Firefox 4 also improves existing tools such as CSS, SVG and Canvas to enable developers to make feature rich Web pages easily.

The JavaScript engine incorporates the new JagerMonkey JIT compiler, with many enhancements to the existing TraceMonkey JIT, as well as SpiderMonkey's interpreter for much faster page loading speed and better performance of Games and Web Apps.

Note:

Top 5 Firefox Social Networking Add-Ons

Social networking and social media now play an important role in people's life with those blogging for living demanding extended tools to publicize their writings online. In the past, most writers relied on manual submission to websites to popularize their articles but web browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome now offer great social networking and social bookmarking functionality through external add-ons. These tools are offered for free and provide great functionality to both webmasters and average users while most developers offer add-on versions that are compatible with all major browsers. The below list of the best free Firefox tools for social networking is based on download and usage statistics provided on the official Mozilla Firefox Add-ons page and reflects the popularity of these social networking extensions. Following is the list of the Top 5 social networking tools available for Firefox:

1. AddThis
2. Yoono
3. WiseStamp
4. Shareaholic
5. LinkedIn Companion

AddThis is an add-on that has been downloaded more than 3,550 000 times from Mozilla's website alone. The tool provides great functionality for sharing web pages and online content and supports Firefox versions 2.0 to 6.*, which is still in beta stage. This add is highly customizable allowing users to select between a sharing toolbar, context menu and navigation toolbar button. It provides support for numerous online sharing and bookmarking services, including: AIM, Blogger, Delicious, Digg, Facebook, FriendFeed, Friendster, Google Bookmarks, LinkedIn, Live, Mixx, MySpace, Orkut, Plaxo, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Twitter, TypePad, WordPress, and Yahoo Bookmarks. The complete list of supported services can be seen on the developer's website. In addition, AddThis supports most popular blogging platforms like Google's Blogger, WordPress, Typepad, Tumblr, MySpace, Joomla!, Drupal, and Movable Type. It also offers support for email newsletters and Flash, which is a functionality of special interest to webmasters. Yoono is the most downloaded Firefox social networking tool while usage stats rank it second behind AddThis.

It supports various platforms, including all major social networking services like Facebook, Foursquare, GoogleBuzz, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Yammer, and YouTube with many more available after installing the add-on. Developers of Yoono offer it for Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer, while versions for Apple's mobile devices are also available. Yoono users are allowed to share literary everything and update their status across various social networking platforms. WiseStamp is an email tool allowing users to take advantage of multiple email signatures, providing support for all major web email services like Gmail. Hotmail, and YahooMail. In addition, WiseStamp supports popular email platforms like Thunderbird, which can be used as a standalone email client, and AOL web email client.

Therefore, one can use WiseStamp to popularize his or her website or blog via multiple email accounts. Small businesses are allowed to incorporate a legal disclaimer into their web email signatures and add a corporate logo. Shareaholic is another great social networking add-on that supports all major platforms and is available for different web browsers. In addition, to all social networking platforms supported by AddThis and Yoono, it enables users to utilize URL shorteners, including popular services like goo.gl and bit.ly and. A major advantage of Shareaholic's is its not compulsory registration policy: users are not required to register in order to use the service. It is a resource friendly tool which is not slowing down one's PC, in contrast to other extensions that can freeze browsers run on slower computers. LinkedIn network managed to gain 90 million users since its launch, and offers valuable social networking options to professionals worldwide. LinkedIn Companion is designed exclusively for LinkedIn users and provides access to LinkedIn profiles of people who are sending emails to one's email account. It also supports several major job search engines allowing users to see links to profiles of LinkedIn members that are linked to hiring managers. Overall, a useful tool for those who rely on LinkedIn to maintain and expand their professional contacts. Of course, you can find many more social networking and bookmarking add-ons on Mozilla's website but these are the best tools to publicize your online content or simply share your favorite web pages with friends and colleagues.

A Review of Mozilla Firefox

Spend some time and think how life will be using a car without any tires. You'll be rendered immobile completely. That is the exact thing that applies with a browser. Without one, you can't have the ability to search or browse anything on the net; you cannot be able to view any webpage, or basically do anything within the cyberspace. If you are like lots of people, most likely you are using Internet Explorer, the default browser that comes with Windows. Many people settle for less and continue employing this web browser not understanding that they may get a better and improved internet browser for free... yes the Mozilla Firefox free download.

As it is with other things in the world today, there is a large number of web browsers to choose from, but the Mozilla Firefox software appears to be taking the world by storm, thanks to the many user-friendly features and also the ease of accessibility that the web browser has become. Needless to mention, as the name implies, this is a free web browser for all to use and has significantly gained in popularity among web-developers and internet administrators.

As stated, Mozilla Firefox incorporates a lot of wonderful features, features which makes this web browser unique from the rest with the likes of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The following are a few of the many features you are going to experienced when you opt for this user-friendly Mozilla Firefox.

Particularly, Mozilla Firefox supports all web standards, at least the basics like XML, XHTML, HTML, CCS, DOM, SVG, XSLT, JavaScript, XPath, and MathML among numerous others. To many, especially web-site designers and web developers, this is great news as they can have the ability to customize the browser to suit their needs. Also accompanying your Mozilla Firefox is the capability to use a profile or whatever platform you select since a similar profile format is maintained irrespective of the platform. What this consequently means is that whether you have stored your profile on the FAT23 division or on an NTFS via FUSE, you can rest assured you will access it whether you are utilizing a USB flash drive, Windows, or Linux. This feature of the Mozilla Firefox also comes as good news to people with the habit of dual-booting their computers.

Whoever said the best things in life are free was probably thinking about Mozilla Firefox because despite the fact that it is free of charge, it doesn't dissatisfy security wise. So many security features happen to be integrated to guarantee users of the highest level of safety they will ever need online. Notable security measures incorporate a phishing detector, sandbox security model, external protocol whitelisting, same origin policy, and ability to clear private data like browser history and cookies. Further, Mozilla is an open source software meaning the source code is available for all to view giving you the chance to review your source code if you are having security threats, whether legitimate or not.

A Fast Examination of Mozilla Firefox

The well-known internet browser Mozilla Firefox is built for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux Ubuntu and is available in over seventy languages which makes it among the most common open-source software.

In order to fix the bugs of its older version (3.5), the browser's latest release puts the focus on rapid execution of Web pages just like its rival, Opera currently offers. The new version also continues to improve performance, stability, and security compared to prior releases, according to the Mozilla Foundation. Firefox now offers its users the option of "private browsing" that's already present in other competitors such as Safari.

Another element designed to enhance and facilitate the work of web designers; there are now numerous functions that permit designers to make more engaging websites. But it is the architecture and especially the performance of the engine which makes the difference. In truth it is on this aspect that Mozilla is trying to keep its leadership on the market.

On the list of latest development we've the automatic detection of extensions to ensure that they are compatible with newer versions of the browser before updating, new Personas, full screen videos, a greater number of fonts, along with added support for cutting edge CSS features. Concerning personas, which had made the success of the browser, the choice has been integrated into the browser, so you will no longer have to download the extension and for that reason no need to restart Firefox to see changes.

Firefox is a Internet browser more and more popular because of its many features and plug-ins which are very practical for its users and that perform faster than other browsers like Internet Explorer 8 that are less intuitive.

Nevertheless during recent times there's been more aggressive competition from the rivals. Internet Explorer just isn't far behind nowadays and has made some serious catching up. Google Chrome is undoubtedly a significant threat considering the fact that it is also open-source software and is backed up by the financial strength of Google. Up to now Firefox has been able to survive and we're expecting that it'll keep doing so and it is the other browsers which will have to be cautious about losing share of the market.

So the next times that you will need to set up a new browser on your laptop or desktop computer, don't forget about Mozilla Firefox and you'll not regret it.

5 Great SEO Plugins for Firefox

Whether you're just looking to improve your website's ranking, or you're an SEO with multiple clients, its important to have the right tools for the job. Below are five of the most useful SEO add-ons I've found for the Firefox browser.

1. NoDoFollow - Quickly determine if a website offers DoFollow links.

Link building is a crucial strategy for any SEO campaign. Even more important than the number of incoming links your site has, you need quality links. What are quality links? Links from trustworthy websites, with good PageRank, good domain authority, good anchor text, and ideally from a niche related site. The other vital element your link needs is a DoFollow attribute. This allows search engines to pass link juice to the site your trying to optimize. The alternative is a NoFollow link, where no link juice is passed. Its said that its best to have both nofollow and dofollow backlinks, but if you're looking to raise your ranking in search engines, you'll have much better luck acquiring dofollow links. How do you find out whether a link is nofollow or dofollow? You could open the page Source Code, use the 'find' command with a search for 'follow', locate the "rel=" rule found in front of the link, a rel="dofollow". OR, turn on the NoDoFollow Firefox add-on. If a site has nofollow links, they'll be highlighted in red, if they are dofollow, they're highlighted in blue. Done deal.

2. SEObook Toolbar - LOTS of SEO tools here: Quickly view PageRank, examine backlinks from Open Site Explorer and Majestic SEO, and just an all around must-have add-on for SEO.

Determining the 'true' number of incoming links to your website is impossible really. Instead, follow the trends. Are they increasing or decreasing, where are your best links coming from, how much traffic are they referring?

3. SEOmoz - Again, Lots of SEO tools. Best for determining a site's Domain Authority.

When its comes to determining a site worthy of a backlink. I've found PageRank and Domain Authority to be the best measurements. Recently, there have been plenty of reports that PageRank is becoming less and less of a major factor for site quality, while site's with good Page and Domain Authority seem to offer the best link juice.

4. Web Developer Toolbar - Quickly disable/enable browser cookies, javascript, or clear the cache.

It's a good idea to view your website with cookies disabled, since search engines, and some browsers, do not accept cookies when they're looking at your site. The Web Developer Toolbar lets you easily disable, delete or clear cookies. Saving you time, and giving you an option to temporarily disable them, rather than deleting. Which is nice, because it keeps you from having to re-enter various logins and passwords you may have had stored previously.

5. User Agent Switcher - View a page as if you using a different browser, or as a bot from from multiple search engines.

Why would I do this? One great thing about this plugin is it allows you set your user-agent to Googlebot, which lets you see your page as Google most likely sees it. This helps you uncover possible cloaking issues that could be taking place. Cloaking is a tactic where a website shows one thing to human users, but something different to search engines - to manipulate search rankings. This is a good tool to verify your website is on the up and up with Google. After any site updates, its also good use this tool and view your page through different browsers. As any developer can tell you, just because your updates look right on 'your' primary browser, does not mean it will look right on a different browser, i.e. Internet Explorer.

There's a lot of other fun and useful add-ons for SEO, but these five are my go-to's when I want to do a quick audit of a website.

What Handy Tools Has Firefox Added For Web Developers?

At the beginning of February, Firefox for Windows, Mac and Linux released some handy tools for web developers that will allow them to change the look and feel of a website in real time. This will make the job of a developer much easier and will allow them to do some incredible things with the internet. But what are some of these new tools and what do they mean for the web development industry?

• Page InspectorThis will give web developers access into a web page's structure and layout without them having to leave Firefox. This will allow developers to navigate efficiently between page elements and viewing the HTML documentation for the page.
• Style InspectorThis will make editing the style of the website much easier. Developers will be given access to CSS Properties and will be able to view or change the values for their website all within Firefox.
• Scratch PadThis feature uses the Eclipse Orion code editor to highlight syntax, as well as including other features that will make it much easier and simpler to write JavaScript for developers.
• Full-Screen APIThe Mozilla Full-Screen API for websites and web applications will allow developers to build online experiences that make use of the entire screen. Essentially, this will allow web developers to create full screen games (creating an experience that rivals that of a gaming console), engrossing video experiences, and presentation sharing.
• WebGLThis is actually a web standard that allows websites and web applications to display hardware-accelerated 3D graphics without the use of any third-party software. Firefox now supports an Anti-Aliasing feature for WebGL that will allow web developers to create objects that blend and move smoothly. Firefox now also supports CSS 3D Transforms, which will allow developers to animate 2D elements into 3D without the use of third-party plugins.

Firefox has also placed an emphasis on improving its add-on compatibility by making them compatible by default. This has been a feature long worked on by Firefox's web developers and is finally ready to be utilized after many failed attempts at improving compatibility.

Through the use of these handy and revolutionary tools, web developers using Firefox around the world will be able to change the internet as we know it. By making it easier and simpler to change websites in real time (without having to leave Firefox), developers will be able to create better and more user-friendly projects.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6889148

How to Make Your Mozilla Firefox Browser Secure

Your internet\web browser is a medium for you to connect to the internet or online world. On the other hand, it is also a medium for those online threats like Trojans, viruses, spyware, spam, fake free online virus removal software (which are threats themselves ) etc. to slip in to your computer.

Considering the risk of rising online threats, privacy infringements, and data\identity thefts etc., it should be your priority to safeguard your web browser. How you can do this is explained here in this article. This free Mozilla Firefox support guide will help you tighten the security noose around your Mozilla Firefox browser and prevent malware, phishing, spam etc. from intruding in to your computer.

Procedure:

Mozilla Firefox -

If you are using Mozilla Firefox as your web browser, check these instructions to make it secure. Open Mozilla Firefox from the desktop shortcut. Alternatively, you can open it from the Start button, All Programs. Click the Tools tab and point down to select Options. Depending on the type of your Firefox version, the first tab you will see will either be General or Main. Under this tab, look for the Always ask me where to save files option.

This option will be disabled by default. Instead the Save Files to option will be set by default to the Downloads folder or any other default directory. You will need to select the Always ask me where to save files option. It will enable you to have more control on the downloadable items that will seek for your permission before being automatically downloaded to the Downloads or any other location in your computer.

Now click the Privacy tab. look for the Remember What I enter in forms and the search bar option. This will enabled by default. You will need to disable this option. To do so, click to uncheck the box beside this option. Depending on your Firefox version, you may see Remember search and form history instead of Remember What I enter in forms and the search bar. Uncheck this option and move on to the next option which is Accept cookies from sites.

This option will be enabled. From the drop-down menu next to Keep until, you will see the default option set to they expire. This means that your browser is set to remember and keep all the cookies (small files that keep track of your online activities) until they expire. Now you can understand that this can be very dangerous, at least in case of phishing, malware websites that create and roll out malicious add-ons, virus, malware software, fake online virus removal software, malware removal software etc. Cookies of these websites track and collect your online activities and personal information for their own advantage.

Thus, set this option to enable the user permission. Click the drop-down arrow next to Keep until and select ask me every time. From the next time onwards, whenever you will open a website, Firefox will seek your permission to either allow or deny cookies to run on that webpage. If it is trusted website like Firefox or Microsoft, you can click the Allow button or simply Allow for Session button. If you choose the latter option, the cookies will save and track your activities only for the time till the webpage is opened. So, Firefox will no longer save cookies when the webpage is closed.

For malicious or suspected websites, you can simply hit the Deny button. You can even view the cookie information and decide accordingly whether to allow or deny a cookie. Now click the Security tab and verify that the Warn me when sites try to install add-ons option is checked. If it's not, check it. Under the Passwords section, click to check the box beside Use a master password option. This option not only lets Mozilla Firefox manage all your stored passwords but also encrypts your computer data. Choose this option only if you trust Mozilla Firefox.

When you choose this option, it will ask for your current password (blank if it is not already set) and new password. Confirm the password and hit the OK button. Now click the Content tab and deselect the Enable Java box. Now click the Advanced button next to Enable JavaScript. In the Advanced JavaScript Settings window, remove checkmarks from all the boxes and hit the OK button to close it. Besides, enable the Block pop-up window option.

When done, click the OK button to save the changes and close the Options window. Firefox might prompt you to restart the browser to save these changes. Hit the Restart button and Firefox will close and reopen. When done, download these plug-ins viz. HTTPs plug-in, AdBlockPlus, and Ghostery. You must download the Firefox version of all these plug-ins.

Besides, use an antivirus program that scans and protects your Firefox browser from different tracking cookies, malicious websites, malicious scripts, spam add-ons etc. A number of antivirus programs like McAfee have a site-scan feature that proactively warns you about a website's genuineness and maliciousness.

Besides these settings, you must download and install latest browser updates and patches whenever these are available. Though Firefox always prompts you to download install whenever an update is available, but you can also manually download them from the Firefox website. Choose what suits you best, but do install latest updates.