firefox Archives

IE 10 for Windows 7 is going to your system automatically

It was teased in 2011. Yes, it was in 2011 (not a typo) when Microsoft unveiled the first preview version of IE 10 for Windows 7. The second preview also can run on Windows 7.

But after that, IE 10 has been for Windows 8 only. Apparently, Microsoft attempted to use this IE 10 as a teaser for Windows 8 upgrading. It seems the attempt failed: instead of upgrading to Windows 8 to get IE 10, most users chose Chrome or Firefox.

Developers also accused Microsoft actually was holding back internet, because IE 10 supports more web standards. Yes, IE 10 finally has “60% increase in supported modern web standards”. This 60% increase is compared with IE 9. To be precise, this 60% means 30 new web standards. So, many or most web standards are still NOT supported in IE 10. Microsoft style!

Compared with IE 9, … Read the rest

Encrypted search for all Chrome users in Chrome 25

Daily digest, Safe Surfing Guide

As a Chrome user, you probably know the Omnibox, the combined search and address bar in Chrome.

But you probably did not notice the difference in search when you signed into Google and when you did not sign into Google.

If you sign into Google, the search is encrypted, i.e., the search is sent through https. But if you are not signed in, your search will be sent through plain HTTP, which means your search can be easily monitored/intercepted by others.

So, this can be a privacy concern for some users.

Of course, you can always get encrypted search through: https://encrypted.google.com. But for Chrome users, a lot of searches are sent directly through the Omnibox.

Encrypted search can protect your privacy. Actually, Firefox sent encrypted search since Firefox 14 in last July; Safari started to send encrypted search in last September.

Finally, Chrome 25 (now is in beta) starts … Read the rest

The looming browser war on Windows RT: Microsoft wants to go back to “Return to the Digital Dark Ages”

Daily digest, Safe Surfing Guide

Do you know or even heard about Netscape Navigator?

It has been the best browser from its initial launch in December 1994 to its death (almost dead, and bought by AOL) in 1998. It was buried by AOL in 2008.

Netscape Navigator was not defeated but was murdered, by Micro$oft. Sometimes, this is often referred to as the First Browser War. As a long time user of Navigator, I always believe Navigator was murdered. The murder is Mirco$oft. The ammunition used by the murder mainly includes: 1). monopoly in the PC operating system; 2). huge cash pile; and 3).the uninformed mass.

So, The notorious Internet Explorer dominated in almost all Windows PCs, and the digital dark age started. The antitrust slap on M$ could not revive Netscape Navigator. Thankfully, the Firefox, somewhat linked to Navigator and Mozilla, and Chrome, from the Chocolate Factory, lighted the sky.

Now, Micro$oft … Read the rest

Another April 1st joke: Internet Explorer provides best browser battery life

Daily digest, Safe Surfing Guide

We all know Internet Explorer sucks. We always recommend our readers to use alternatives, e.g., Firefox, Chrome, Opera, SeaMonkey. Even the old Netscape or Mozilla is far better than the IE.

Today, I read a report claiming Internet Explorer provides the best browser battery life (i.e., drain your battery at a slower pace). It sounds like an April 1 joke.

Usually, I did not pay much attention to such benchmarks: I rely on my own “experience”. That’s the major reason I switched from Firefox (which is far better than Internet Explorer) to Chrome (which is currently my favourite browser). User experience is the key factor to decide which browser is better for you.

Actually, based on the same test, Google Chrome is the fastest since September 19, 2011. This is consistent with my experience. The battery test results probably indicate that the Internet Explorer draws less juice because it … Read the rest

Keep My Opt-Outs: Chrome has the Do Not Track option for long time

Anonymous proxy, Safe Surfing Guide

Recently, Google has been in the crosshair of privacy groups. It was revealed that Google can bypass Safari’s privacy settings. Then Microsoft cried out that Google also bypassed the privacy settings of IE very easily (and naturally).

It seems people suddenly start to concern about their privacy. Do Not Track becomes a popular word, although most people do not really understand it. Even the politicians want to express their interest in solving this issue. The White House last week unveiled a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights”.

Mozilla reminded us that they invented Do Not Track in February 2011. If it was Apple, it was probably patented already, and now everyone would have had to pay for it except Safari users (they already paid when they purchased the fruity toy). According to the official page:

Keep My Opt-Outs is an extension for users who aren’t comfortable with personalization of the

… Read the rest

Another reason to dump Microsoft IE: Microsoft claims Google bypassed its browser privacy easily

Daily digest, Safe Surfing Guide

IE privacy setting is just a joke, now this is clear.

In our safe surfing guide series (part 4), we recommended you to dump IE and choose a better web browser, e.g., Chrome or Firefox, or SeaMonkey. Today, you get another reason to dump it forever!

On Feb. 20, Microsoft claimed that Google has been bypassing the user-defined privacy settings in Internet Explorer by using incorrect P3P identification terms:

Technically, Google utilizes a nuance in the P3P specification that has the effect of bypassing user preferences about cookies … By sending this text, Google bypasses the cookie protection and enables its third-party cookies to be allowed rather than blocked

Google’s response gave us a clearer picture.:

Microsoft uses a “self-declaration” protocol (known as “P3P”) dating from 2002 under which Microsoft asks websites to represent their privacy practices in machine-readable form. It is well known – including

… Read the rest

Silent update of IE from January 2012

Daily digest, Safe Surfing Guide

Finally, Micro$oft knows how to do a silent update for your IE browser. Maybe just learned from Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

Anyway, this is a smart move to stop or at least to slow down the loss of market share (to Chrome and Firefox). M$ won the browser war against Netscape by bundling IE to Windows since Windows 95. But is has been a loser in the same battlefield against Firefox, nor against Chrome.

Security, speed, and W3C standard are the major reasons tech geeks abandon IE. IE 8 and IE 9 did have some improvement in security and speed. But the compliance with standards is still not as good as Chrome or Firefox.

So, M$ silently updates the IE browser for most users; a lot of users will not know because they already switched to other better browsers.… Read the rest

Firefox 8 cracks third-party add-ons

Daily digest, Safe Surfing Guide

Everyday millions of third-party add-ons are installed for Firefox. Some of them can impose serious privacy and security holes for the computer.

Finally, in the latest release, Firefox 8 disables third-party add-ons. This is a correct step among so many mistakes in recent releases.

According to the official Mozilla Add-ons Blog:

These add-ons installed by third parties present a number of problems: they can slow down Firefox start-up and page loading time, they clutter the interface with toolbars that often go unused, they lag behind on compatibility and security updates, and most importantly, they take the user out of control of their add-ons.

So, in Firefox 8, users must opt-in to add-on installation. This means Firefox will disable the add-on until the user has explicitly opted into the addition.

Anyway, this is a positive move. What do you think about this?… Read the rest

How to surf safely? Dump IE, choose a better browser

Daily digest, Safe Surfing Guide

This is part 4 of the Safe Surfing Guide series. You may check other parts as well to read the complete safe surfing guide.

To surf safely, your browser can also play an important role. There are so many choices for browsers now: IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, SeaMonkey; all are freely available. But unfortunately, most users are still using the crappy piece of IE, simply because it is bundled by M$.

You should dump IE when you get your new PC. Most computer viruses or malware reply on IE, because M$ tightly integrate IE with the Windows OS.

In addition, IE is notorious for ignoring the web standards and trying best to drag the advancement in HTML standard. Although M$ changed gradually changed the strategy since IE 8, it is too little, too small.

Sadly, if you are not using Windows 7, you cannot disable or … Read the rest