h4k.com

Some web sites request personal information from the user before granting them access to certain areas of the web site. Sites like online newspapers, forums, and businesses use this technique in an attempt to get more information about who is accessing the data but this can easily be circumvented by entering in false information. BugMeNot.com is a collection of generic accounts for many different web sites. Go to http://www.bugmenot.com, type in the website address and it will list any available logins sorted by a community-input percentage of either working or not. New accounts are added by visitors to the web site.

There is also a FireFox plugin available for BugMeNot. After installation right click on the login field of a web site and select “Login with BugMeNot”. The plugin will automatically cycle through any available logins to that site in its’ database.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6349

There are many problems with certain web sites that alter your web browser controls such as the address bar or control buttons for the sake of deception or design. Sometimes when visiting a web page it will hide the address bar in FireFox so the actual web site address is not visible. This is a security risk because it is now more difficult to tell which web site is being visited. Some web sites change the browser so that it cannot be resized making some information impossible to see. These problems and many more FireFox display control features can all be easily fixed with the two following steps:

1) In the address bar of FireFox type in “about:config” (without the quotes) and press ENTER.
2) Scroll down the alphabetically sorted list to the section where it says “dom.disable_window_open_feature.” for the series of variables below. By double clicking on the Preference Name it will change the value to it’s opposite value, true or false.

Preference Name : Description

close : Prevents the close button from being disabled.
directories : Prevents the bookmarks toolbar from being hidden.
location : Prevents the address bar from being hidden
menubar : Prevents the menubar from being hidden.
minimizable : Prevents popup window minimization from being disabled.
personalbar : Prevents the bookmarks toolbar from being hidden.
resizable : Prevents popup window resizing from being disabled.
scrollbars : Prevents the scrollbars on a popup from being disabled.
status : Prevents the status bar from being hidden.
titlebar : Prevents the title bar from being hidden.
toolbar : Prevents the navigation toolbar from being hidden.

By setting these all to true it gives you the most control over your browser. For the preferences to be updated all instances of FireFox needs to be completed closed and then restarted. (Reference)

The FlashBlock Firefox extension replaces any embedded flash code in a web page with a little flash symbol. Clicking on the symbol loads the flash object. This extension is great for preventing the many web sites that excessively use Flash objects from overwhelming Firefox. It also prevents sites from using Flash tracking objects and stopping other hidden malicious Flash objects.

http://flashblock.mozdev.org/

CERT has an informative how-to on securing your web browser. It details this task in Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari with screen captures on the optimal security settings. The essay also covers some of the current and popular technologies operating in conjunction with the web browser and the risks they pose.

One good recommendation is to disable your web browser from automatically playing movies or sounds embedded in web pages. Embedding a hidden malicious .mov file into a web site would be simple to implement and having your web browser automatically executes movie clips without warning could quickly result in an infected computer.

http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/securing_browser/

Firebug is a handy web development or research tool that can be used to analyze each individual component of a web page. From the home page:

Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843

When viewing a web site it can tell what web browser it is being viewed with, amongst lots of other data. Some web sites put up restrictions on accessing content based on what web browser is being used. These restrictions are occasionally used because the web site does not work with that specific web browser but sometimes the restriction is superficial and unnecessary. This can be easily bypassed with User Agent Switcher. If you come across a site that does not like Firefox simply install this tool, go to Tools –> User Agent Switcher and set the referrer to a new web browser then refresh the web page.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59

By default the extension only comes with three different user agents. Save the file below then import it into the extension to add many new options.

http://h4k.com/files/UserAgentStrings.xml

Screengrab! is an extension for Firefox that can save a web page as a single image. After installing it right click on the web page and select ScreenGrab! then Save and then choose an option. It offers the options to save the complete page or frame, save the visible portion, or save the selected area. A very handy tool for getting a quick copy of a web page.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1146

Tabbrowser Preferences is an extension for Firefox that expands the capabilities of tabbed browsing by creating new features such as load a new tab with the browser homepage and opening links in a new tab using the middle click button. After installation all new tab options are listed under “Preferences” in Firefox.

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/158

QuickJava is a Firefox extension that inserts two small icons on the status bar for enabling and disabling Java and Javascript. One click on the J icon and Java is disabled. Click on the J icon again and it is enabled. The same principals apply with Javascript on the JS icon.

Javascript is used at many Internet sites so disabling it is not always practical but QuickJava makes a convenient switch for enabling Java as necessary.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1237

When you click a button on a web site to submit information such as a user name, password, or query it is important to know where the data is being sent in order to ensure that it going to the proper destination. Phishing attacks work by having the end user submit data to fraudulent sites impersonating other legitimate sites. The FormFox extension shows where data is being sent from a web form just by putting the mouse pointer over the submission button. If the server the data is going to has a different name than expected, such as being at a web site that appears to be a U.S. bank but the data is being submitted to “bank.cn”, then the site is likely an impostor.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1579