Firefox Tweaks/Tricks, necessary Updates & any Questions you like

[den160593]

MUST HAVE addon that hasn't been listed here is: Read Me Later (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7661). Not to mention that is has won alot of awards. Very useful! Whenever I read up on Digg I can easily save the pages I'm interested in, and... wait for it... Read it Later :)

Keeps my bookmark bar free for sites I often visit, instead of those sites that I still want to read

[Mike Mitchell]

Australian dictionary is the only critical one!  :aus1:

[Vajras]

Auto Refresh Blocker

Have always been annoyed by web sites auto refreshing. You know the type, newspapers like the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian.

Not being a web master person, i have often wondered how i could stop them doing it esp. when i'm running low on the monthly download limit.

Just now, i've found and installed a nifty little "add-on" called.... wait for it .... RefreshBlocker - Home page - so far, so good. No auto refreshing this morning and am going thru my bookmarks and adding them to my White/Black lists

[PS - just noticed his site name is roughly called a vacuum-er packet - that would that be a"Hoover", no? biggrin]

[Vajras]

It works! After testing all day, no web site that defaults to an "auto refresh" every ...x mins/secs (generally 240 secs) has done so.

RefreshBlocker has both a white and/or black list that you can edit/add to and, if you also know enuf about regular expressions, you can customise those entries further.

[Mike Mitchell]

I've downloaded it but will wait until I finish doing what I am up to at the moment then I'll reboot Firefox and see what it is like. If it's any good, I'll give you a plus one. 

[Vajras]

Save your plus Mike, am not happy

here's what i posted to its site

"unfortunately, this started well but has deteriorated as time passed.

three websites that were successfully blocked have now, somehow, got past this add-on and it's only been 48 hrs since installing.

not quite what i had expected to happen but do look forward to a more complete version in future. "

[Mike Mitchell]

Oh well, these things take time to refine.

[kashi]

Have installed Adblock Plus and Flashblock after reading this thread. Very good.
Thanks to Vajras for starting the thread and everyone who posted.

I was already using English (Australian) Dictionary and also FX Currency Converter 1.3 for looking at goodies on Newegg. Most items from the Egg are still too expensive after agent's fees and international shipping are added but pricing trends show up there earlier than here.

[Furlozza]

Been reading this topic with interest..... and as most of the add-ons mentioned are in my Firefox... thought I'd add one more for those of us (you) with bad memories   or just plain old furgetful.

ReminderFox

On the bottom right of lower bar, shows up as a blue ribbon when no appts or biils to be paid...... and red when they are due. Can also be set to pop up from 5 days out so you don't forget paying phone or rent *grin*.... or going to bloody dole office to hand in the damnable form. You'll find it (I think) under calenders, and there is also one available for Thunderbird as well. (Would be nice if they were linked in some way... but can't have everything.)

[Vajras]

Recently posted Useful Firefox Shortcut Keys

and Complete Firefox Shortcut Keys Cheatsheet Download

[veebee]

VERY handy Vajras ... +1

[Vajras]

Firefox and security certificates
The right way to handle encryption with Firefox 3

Mozilla has revised the way Firefox 3 handles certificates. All sorts of information – even critical stuff like passwords and account information – is commonly sent over a connection in the clear, but if you want to keep eavesdroppers at bay, you have to use encryption. Encrypted web sites can be recognised by the "https" ("s" for "secure") instead of "http" in the URL.

How do you know for sure that the correct addressee is actually at the other end of the line? Complying with the advanced encryption standard (AES) in 256 bits is useless if some crook is sitting there, because you're giving information away at no charge. A server operator can have his identity confirmed by a reliable Certificate Authority (CA), so that your browser can check his digital signature and tell you if you're at the right place.

Up to version 2, Firefox did this by colouring the complete address line yellow and displaying a padlock icon. This, as long as you knew what it meant, was hard to miss and its omission was a clear indication of an unencrypted site. Since version 3, Mozilla, like Microsoft with Internet Explorer 7, has been concentrating on extended validation (EV) certificates. With these Certificate Authorities give an assurance that the identity of the applicant has been checked more thoroughly.

Technically, however, EV SSL (secure socket layer) certificates don't differ from conventional SSL certificates...

... and some more stuff regarding "You can improve this slightly by calling up the JavaScript pseudo URL about:config."

The rest is here

[Furlozza]

I don't know if this one has been mentioned before, but Flagfox is handy. Shows the flag of the country where the server you are talking to is located, and allows you to do whois etc if you have any doubts about the site.

(One of the first sites I checked out for this was Politico..... a presumably non-party aligned news source in the States. Trouble was that it came up with an Aussie flag.... and told me it was being hosted by Rupert Murdock.... via The Australian LMAO)

[Scott]

Interesting - I might look into that one.  I've had ShowIP for quite a while which shows the IP of the server but any further info needs to come from a whois.

[Vajras]

Clear Cache Button

Add this neat add-on to your tool bar - after installing (and restarting FF), right click the menu bar (the top one) and select "customize"