Unfortunately, you will find some of the plug-ins that promise a lot, actually harm your SEO experience. Before you recommend them to your potential customers, you should make sure they are plug-ins you really need to use.

There are a number of plug-ins and ways to download batches of them that actually cause a huge slowdown in a user’s experience, and even worse, infiltrate a user’s computer so much they are harmful.

I have, on more than one ocassion, had to remove and reinstall Firefox because it was better to get that pesky malware out of my computer. Here is a look at some of those extensions and add-ons that could kill the browsing experience.

Batch Loaders: There are a number of batch loading tools for Firefox. I have found them to cause a huge amount of turmoil with the browser. If you want to add a plug-in, do it one by one.

Some of these batch loading 3rd party plug-ins just seem to never want stop updating and offering hundreds of plug-ins. This is where those nasty malware extensions can sneak in.

Don’t believe the hype that these 3rd party options will filter out and give you the most popular and best add-ons to make your experience better. You will just be busy dealing with the thing and trying to get rid off it, and what it is putting in your browser and harddrive.

Malware: Despite Firefox claiming it is a much safer browsing experience than Windows’ Internet Explorer, there are many plug-ins that slip through the screening process. You might have downloaded them before the alert was given out. Sothink Web Video Downloader was one of them.

The Trojan in this extension will hijack your PC. This happens more often than not. It is always important that you read other user’s comments and experience when downloading an extension, add-on, or plug-in.

Very Dangerous Malware: Although I keep mentioning Malware, it is important you understand the extent of the dangers associated. In the past, there have been Malware extensions that have taken all your saved passwords and sent that information to a rogue site.

No virus scanner will even be able to pick up on this kind of attack because all of that nasty stuff is written in the Javascript inside the extension.

Broken Extensions and More: Some extension will actually cause your browser to freeze, and may even cause your computer to crash. Just because an add-on or extension is popular, don’t think that it is right for you.

Again, it is important for you to research and read other users’ experience. Some extensions can conflict with others. Some extensions such as TrackMeNot, will do a lot of useless work in the background while you surf, such as creating a lot of random searches on search engines, so your searching activities cannot be tracked.

While this is not broken, it will eat up your bandwidth and slow down your surfing time down. If you are in Australia, and you are paying for bandwidth by the amount you use, you could run into some huge internet bills.

If you have a site, or you are recommending plug-ins for your site, it is important you think about your Search Engine Optimization, to make sure your site runs as smoothly as possible. It is actually better if you don’t have to get your users to do anything but enjoy the experience.

Regardless of which browser you use, you always want to ensure that your web surfing is safe and secure at all times. Regardless of the amount of plug-ins on the computer, you can still pick up infections on your system as well as compromise personal information if you are careless.

The choice of the best browser is up to personal choice as all the top providers aim to integrate the latest and best security advances into the applications.

Google Chrome

This application has several security measures to keep you safe and is usually enabled by default, but it can be changed with the following tools:

• Malware and Phishing Protection: Google chrome warns if it detects malicious content on a web site you attempt to visit.

• Web content settings: Web content are available by default, however it can be adjusted to permit cookies, Javascript, pop-ups, plug-ins, images, and location sharing.

• Manage SSL setting and certificates: You must make sure that you enable SSL, as it will encrypt all sensitive data communications.

You will find these settings when you click on the wrench icon found in the upper right corner in the browsers tool bar. Select the “Options” button, followed by “Under the hood”, where all the settings will be displayed to change.

Internet Explorer

Windows offers with their latest version, the SmartScreen filter and it offers the following tools:

• Anti-phishing protection: It will identify impostor web sites which are out to take personal information such as passwords and user names.

• Application Reputation: Very high warnings will be issued for risky files, but allows reputable and well-known files.

• Anti-malware protection: Alerts which will prevent any harmful software to enter your computer.

It is easy to turn on when clicking on the “Safety “button in the Internet explorer, followed by “SmartScreen filter” and turning it on.

Mozilla FireFox

It has an icon named “favicon”, which shows an overview of the web site you want to enter and whether it is deemed safe, clicking it twice will display a detailed view, such as whether it saves passwords as well as times the site has been visited. The following other features are included such as:

• Virus protection: Will warn against Trojan horses, worms, spy ware, malarkey, viruses, or other attacks.

• Phishing protection: It has a list of forged and phishing web sites and updated multiple times a day.

• Antivirus integration: It works together with the antivirus software.

To set the Firefox settings, you go to “Tools”, followed by “Options”. The next choice to select is “Security”. It is usually set by default, but it is safer to check that it is set before browsing as it will block web forgeries and reported attack sites. Following some of these steps will ensure that your Internet experience is a safe and secure one.

Software/Hardware used: Firefox 3.6 running on Mac OS X.

1. With Firefox open click Tools then Clear Recent History…

2. When the Clear Recent History window opens the first thing you need to do is determine the time range you wish to clear. When you click on the drop-down you will have several options: Las Hour, Last Two Hours, Last Four Hours, Today, and Everything. Make your selection.

3. Click on the small arrow to expand the options. Check the items you wish to clear from the list.

4. When you are ready click Clear Now. In a couple of seconds a dialog box will appear indicating that the items in the recent history are being cleared.

If you have any comments or questions please use the comments form below.

In this review/guide we will cover the following:

• Configuring the Sync Add-in on Your Computer
• Configuring Firefox Home on the iPhone
• Using Firefox Home

Note: I used an iPhone 4 running iOS4 and Mozilla Firefox 3.6 for this tutorial.

Configuring Sync on Your Computer

Before you get started, lets make sure you have Firefox installed along with the Firefox Sync Add-in.

1. Once installed you will be prompted to create an account (I’ve never used Sync before) or if you already have Sync setup on another computer use that option instead.

2. Choose the server type you want to use and enter your information, click A. Next to proceed.

3. Enter a Secret Phrase and confirm by entering it again.

Note: The Secret Phrase is used to encrypt all your data so only you can access it. It is never stored on the sever, so don’t lose this!

B. Click Next to proceed.

4. Enter a Computer Name to describe the computer this iteration of Firefox is running on.

5. Click on Custom Settings to tell Sync what items to synchronize, options are:

• Sync Bookmarks
• Sync Passwords
• Sync Preferences
• Sync History
• Sync Tabs

Once configured you can access Sync settings in Firefox by following the instructions below.

1. In Firefox click on the Tool menu item, place your cursor over A. Sync and B. and click on the option your wish to use from the menu.

• Disconnect – This will disconnect Sync from your account so no syncing will occur.
• Sync Now – When you click on Sync your profile will be updated.
• Preferences – In this window (see below) you will be able to update your Sync preferences.

The Preferences window for Sync will allow you to update your password, secret phrase, you computer’s name, and the items that will be synchronized.

Configuring Firefox Home on the iPhone

Download Firefox Home from iTunes/App Store.

1. Tap on the Firefox Home app on the Home Screen.

2. Since we have already configured a Sync account in the previous section of the guide we’ll tap on I Have a Sync Account.

3. Enter your Sync credentials and tap on Done.

The iPhone will be synchronized with your Sync profile.

Using Firefox Home on Your iPhone

1. The home page for the Firefox Home app is the Search page. Here you will be able to A. enter a Search query to locate Tabs, Bookmarks, and History.

2. When you tap on Tabs, you will be presented B. with a list of open tabs sorted by computer.

3. To access bookmarks from your computers on the iPhone, simply tap on the Bookmarks button. Here you will C. find a listing of all of your Bookmarks.

4. You can also configure the Settings, Sign Out of your account, and Refresh (Manual Sync) your account by tapping on the Settings button and choosing the appropriate option.

So what do you think of this App and the whole Sync function? Is it something you would use? Know of other alternatives for the iPhone and other devices? Use the comments section below.

• YouTube
• Google Video
• Dailymotion
• MEGAVIDEO
• Metacafe
• Veoh
• Vimeo
• Break.com
• Spike
• Current.com
• Facebook
• MySpace.com

For more details about formats and quality available, check out the Supported Websites section at the end of this article.

Keep Tube works similar to other websites that offer the same feature except that Keep Tube gives you various download options and the ability to select the quality of the videos to download (including HD). You can use Keep Tube with the Firefox add-on (tutorial below), copy and paste URL, a bookmarklet, and direct downloads.

Note: I used Firefox 3.6 and Keep Tube 1.2 for this tutorial. The video I used for this tutorials is Lisa Lavie performing “Unthinkable”.

Install the Keep Tube Add-on for Firefox

1. Go to the Keep Tube add-on page.

2. Click on the Add to Firefox button.

3. When prompted by Firefox, click Install Now to continue the installation.

4. After the installation is completed, click on the Restart Firefox button.

A. When Firefox restarts you will notice that there will be a Keep Tube icon in the Status Bar.

B. If you visit a supported website you will notice that a Download (Keep Tube) button will appear.

Download Videos with Keep Tube

Before proceeding, go to YouTube and play one of your favorite videos.

1. Click on the Download button.

2. You will be re-directed to the Keep Tube website where you will be provided with various download options. Click on the quality and size you wish to download the video in.

3. The download box will appear, select Save File.

4. Click OK to begin the download.

Download in progress…

Once downloaded, open the video file in your favorite media player and enjoy your video offline.

Note: The first time you use Keep Tube you may see the following warning.

Supported Websites

Screenshot of supported websites from Keep Tube website.

Below I will show you how WiseStamp works and how to install and use it. If you have any comments or questions, please post them below.

Note: The WiseStamp website will automatically detect your browser and suggest the appropriate version you’ll need. I used Google Chrome browser for this tutorial.

Before proceeding with the how-to below, download and install the WiseStamp extension from WiseStamp.com.

Customize your Email Signatures

1. Once installed the WiseStamp icon should appear in the Chrome toolbar. Click on WiseStamp to open the menu.

2. Click on Edit Signatures.

3. The Email Signatures window will open. Click on the drop-down to specify the signature you will be editing. I chose Business for this guide.

Note: You can rename the signature by clicking on the Rename link.

4. Enter your email signature in the text box. Feel free to use the formatting bar to specify font, size, color, add hyperlinks, and even images.

Note: If you will be adding links to your social profiles, follow the steps below to get a very professional look.

5. Once you are done with the signature text box, now we can add the various social links available to your signature. Click on the drop-down to select a social network from the list. Once selected enter the URL (web address) for your profile on the selected service.

You can include additional services by clicking on the Add button. If you wish to delete a social link, click on the [X] to the left of the URL text box.

6. When you are ready, click on the Preview button to review your signature.

A small window will appear with the preview of your signature. If you wish to customize the social services icons, follow the steps below.

7. After you Close the Preview window and return to the Email Signatures window, click on the Settings button.

8. A small window will appear. Select how you would like the services to be displayed.

a. Customize the label, the default is My Profiles, but you can change it to something catchier.

9. Click OK to save the settings.

Click on Preview again to review the changes.

There are a ton of other features that can be added to your signatures, visit the WiseStamp Goodies for more details.

Insert Signatures into Your Messages

All you have to do is Compose/Create a new message and your WiseStamp signature should appear. If you’re like me and you’ve been using Gmail for a while, chances are that you already have a signature automatically inserted by Gmail, so you’ll end up with two signatures…

If you don’t remember how to remove your default signature in Gmail, follow the instructions below.

Remove Your Old Signatures

1. Open Gmail and click on the Settings link on the top right corner of the screen.

2. When the Settings page appears, make sure that you are in the General tab, click on No Signature from the Signature section.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Save Changes.

When you compose a new message only the WiseStamp signature should appear.

Fake antivirus scams are usually triggered when a user visits a website that is hosting this scam or clicks on an email containing a link to the malicious code. Users are then warned that they have a virus and must run the virus scan, the problem is that the virus scan is really malicious code disguised as a virus scanner. The usual response is to run the scan or if suspected closing the window by clicking the [X], however most of the time, these two actions actually trigger the malicious program to run and further infect your computer. Not a pretty sight.

Please share the PDF below with friends and relatives to help spread the word about fake virus scanners and how infections can be prevented.

By following the guidelines found in the poster below users can counter some of the threats associated with fake virus scanners. A summary of the PDF can be found below.

• Be weary of pop-up messages that claim your computer is infected. These messages are part of a wave of fake antivirus scams that target web users by prompting them install a virus disguised as a virus scan application.
• Be weary of pop-ups from unfamiliar programs, specifically if they are from a browser stating that you need a virus scan or a similar message
• DON’T CLICK on unsolicited pop-up messages
• DONT CLOSE unsolicited pop-up messages

To Close the Unsolicited Pop-up

1. Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete on your keyboard

2. Scroll through the dialog box and locate the name of the pop-up window and select it

3. Once selected, click on the End task button

Note: This is the only way to safely close the pop-up message and prevent possible infection

Image below is linked to downloadable PDF Poster

So you’ve got two computers at home and one at work which you browse the internet and are constantly bookmarking your favorite sites to. The problem is that unless you copy those bookmarks to a flash drive or other media you will not be able to access the same bookmarks on all three computers. Don’t worry there is a solution.

Xmarks allows users to synchronize their bookmarks across the web. Users install the add-on for their favorite browser (currently support Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari), create an account that will be used to store and synchronize your bookmarks, and bookmark. That’s it. Xmarks will store your bookmark and if enabled your web site log-in information on their servers (encrypted) in case your computer crashes or if you simply want to synchronize among all of your computers.

The guide below will walk you through the installation and configuration of this wonderful add-on. If you have any questions or have a suggestion for another tool that is similar, feel free to post it below.

Note: I used Firefox 3.011 for this tutorial

Installation

Download Xmarks from the Xmarks web site

1. Before download starts you may encounter this message, click Allow so that the add-on download.

2. You will be prompted to allow installation. Click Install to proceed.

Installation Progress

3. You must restart Firefox by clicking on the Restart Firefox button in order for installation to complete. Make sure that you save any work in any tabs before proceeding.

Configuration

1. Once Firefox restarts you will notice that the Download Xmarks tab will also open. Click on the Almost Done! prompt to configure Xmarks.

2. Click Next to Proceed with the configuration wizard.

3. If you’re installing this program for the first time you most likely do not have an account. Select No. Create an account for me and click Next

4. Enter the information for the highlighted fields above. Add a check mark to the Remember my password checkbox. Click Next to proceed.

Note: Make sure that you are installing this add-on on a private computer and not a shared/public computer.

5. When you received the Account Created message above, click Next to proceed.

6. If you wish to use Xmarks password sync feature you can enable it by selecting Yes and clicking Next to proceed. Otherwise proceed to Step #9.

7. Enter the PIN Xmarks will use to encrypt your passwords. Make sure to add a check mark to Remember this between sessions to prevent having to re-enter the information for new sessions. Click Next.

Note: If you need help with strong passwords head on over to 8 Ways to Secure Your Privacy in the Cloud and read #3

8. Click Next twice – On this screen and the next screen.

Xmarks will begin bookmark & password synchronization

9. Congratulations, setup and synchronization have been completed. Click Finish to exit the setup Wizard.

You will receive the message above when the wizard window closes.

10. To access Xmarks settings or perform an unscheduled Synchronization, click on the the Xmarks icon located on the bottom right of the browser window. Select the action you wish to perform.

Note: The screen shot above was taken of Xmarks on Firefox

If you click on the Xmarks icon located at the far right of the browser address bar you will receive information about the web site and other related sites.

As you will soon see in the video below, a lot of people don’t know the difference between a web browser and a search engine. Before you watch the video, chew on this…

“Less than 8% of the people who were interviewed on this day knew what a browser was”

I’m going to take this opportunity to try and help others understand the difference between browsers and search engines. Remember not everyone understands this concept. In order to better understand this difference I’m going to use the same format and order of the questions asked to explain these two concepts. If you have any comments please let me know.

What is a Browser?

“A search engine – Where I search through – Where you put your search terms – Google, where else? – I use Yahoo”

The answers above were provided by the people questioned in the video. Although they are somewhat true in that a browser is a search engine – sort of.

The image below highlights how the Firefox browser has a built-in search box that enables users to select a search provider and enter a query. The user will promptly be taken to the search results page. Like Firefox – Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, Chrome, and other browsers include this feature and as such it can blur the lines that distinguish the functionality of a browser and a search engine. This is probably where some of that confusion arises.

Back to the definition of a browser…according to the several dictionaries and online sources, a web browser is defined as;

“…a program used to view HTML documents.”

“A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web”

“Software used to display the World Wide Web and often the Internet in general. Examples include Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari and Google Chrome”

“An easy-to-use software tool for accessing the World Wide Web and the Internet.”

In other words a browser is an application or program installed on your computer that allows you to view web pages that reside on the World Wide Web/internet. We’re going to stick to this definition for simplicity’s sake.

List of Popular Browsers with Links

• Mozilla Firefox
• Internet Explorer
• Opera

What is a search engine?

I know it wasn’t one of the asked questions, but without it I could not answer the next question without leaving too many unknowns.

A search engine unlike a browser does not reside as an application on your computer. The search engine resides in the cloud (the internet). It is an index of ALL the websites in existence, in other words it keeps track of all the web pages ever published. This index allows search engines to provide you with results to your queries or searches.

When you hear someone state that they are going to “Google” something, they are simply stating they are going to search for something using Google.

List of Popular Search Engines with Links

• Google.com
• Yahoo!.com
• Bing.com
• Wikipedia.com
• Answers.com

What is the difference between a search engine and a browser?

Not exactly? – I don’t know? – A browser is when you know what you’re looking for, a search engine is when you’re searching.

I hope that by now you can see the very distinct difference between a search engine and a browser. A browser allows you to reach a search engine, submit a query, and display the results of that query in the browser window. Got it?

I believe that this short and visual explanation will help readers understand the difference between a browser and a search engine. If you have any suggestions on how I can make this article better, please post them below.

Which browser do you use? Why?

An open question to readers.

As more computer users flock to the cloud to store their information, the amount of personal information online is increasing at an exponential rate. Along with that growth is the increased risk associated with the exposure of private and sensitive information over the internet. When we upload personal data to services like Google Docs or transfer our emails to Gmail, we face an added level of risk exposing our personal and confidential information on the internet. I’ve been meaning to write this article for quite some time, but never got around to it. A recent comment by one my readers confirmed my reservations over the increased use of online services to save and work on potentially sensitive and private information.

In this article I will summarize some of the things that I do and that you too can repeat to reduce the likelihood of a breach to your personal information online. If you have a method you use and would like to share it or have other information that is useful please post it below. Browse safely.

1. Use Trusted Devices

Although elementary in nature, how many times have you signed on to your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, or another account on a computer other than your own? If you know anything about keyloggers or other forms malware, you would think twice about signing on with any computer.

The bottom line is unless you trust the device that you are on, don’t use it. So how do you access you accounts if you have no choice? Please read #2 & 3.

2. Use Travel Accounts When Away from a Trusted Device

Travel accounts? What the heck is that? Like many people I have accumulated enough email addresses to warrant a spreadsheet that lists all of the user names and passwords…yes…that many. In reality there are 2 accounts that I use for sensitive information (bank statements, bills, receipts, personal information, etc) and those two use very strong passwords (see #3). The rest of the accounts use strong passwords as well, but contain information that is less sensitive (comment updates, subscriptions, etc). These accounts are normally setup to forward email to the sensitive accounts.

When I travel I disable the forwards to the sensitive account from the non-sensitive accounts and then enable fetching of emails on the sensitive account from the non-sensitive account. I then make sure that the leave emails on server option is enabled. This ensures that emails are fetched by the sensitive account, but remain in the non-sensitive account so that I can read the messages while traveling.

Refer to the diagram below for a visual explanation of this information.

3. Would the Strong Password Please Stand Up?

Your daughter’s birthday or sparky’s name are not very good candidates for passwords. Instead try something like 1b45Hd-45gO as a password – oh it’s too long? Well just so you have an idea of how weak sparky or someone’s birthday is, I have listed how different password types vary and the length of time it takes to crack them by a supercomputer.

*Denotes that the password is 5 characters in length

A Class F attack is an attack performed by a supercomputer which can generate 1,000,000,000 password combinations per second. Of course there aren’t supercomputers run by individuals for the sole purpose of cracking passwords, but considering that a fast dual processor computer can generate 100,000,000 password combinations per second one has to be aware of the simple fact that your password can be cracked. Luckily there are different controls in place that prevent passwords from being tried again and again. For instance there are several web portals that only allow 3 password tries, if you fail on the third try your account is either locked until verified or locked for a number of hours.

Yes, an eight character numeric password will be cracked instantly by almost any computer. A password using alphanumeric characters and symbols will take approximately 83.5 days to crack. Conclusion use a longer password when possible and make sure to use the a combination of numbers, upper/lower case letters, and finally symbols.

4. Tier Your Passwords

Another strategy that I use to help protect my password is password tiering. Password tiering is simply classifying certain websites, applications, and other password driven devices into tiers. I currently use 3 tiers for my passwords. The reason for password tiering is so that you don’t use the sensitive email account password to log onto say, Twitter or another website that does not support HTTPS. The same applies for online banking, you certainly don’t want your banking password to be the same as your Digg account do you?

Below you will find an example of the tiers that I use for my passwords, you are free to duplicate it or come up with your own.

5. Use HTTPS when Possible (otherwise follow #3)

Every time you sign on to Gmail you are transmitting your user name and password via an encrypted browser connection, which means that if intercepted the information could be used by someone else. You can tell Gmail to use HTTPS connections only.

To enable this feature go to Settings > General and select Always use https, click the Save Changes button. Next time you visit gmail type;

https://mail.google.com

You can confirm your secure connection by verifying the favicon located on the address bar (see #7) and by locating the small lock in the browser status bar (bottom right of the window – see below).

Note: The location of the lock icon varies by browser. I used Firefox 3.1 for the screen shot above.

6. Secure Your Mobile Phone

Until a recent scare I didn’t have a password to get into my BlackBerry, I considered it a nuisance and an additional step to use my phone. When I lost (caught misplaced) my phone a couple of weeks ago I had a panic attack. My browser was setup with all of my accounts for auto log in, Google Calendar Sync had access to my calendar, and the Gmail App had access to my sensitive email account. Luckily I found that the phone had fallen out of my pocket and was safely tucked under the driver seat of my car.

This scare prompted me to enable password protection to my BlackBerry. You can enable password protection by navigating to Options > Security Options > General Settings and enabling the password prompt. Note: You will be able to make emergency phone calls without the password.

The proliferation of mobile phones with internet access increases the chances of phone loss, but more importantly the loss of privacy and personal information. I urge all of my readers to learn from my experience and secure your mobile phones.

7. Backup Files from the Cloud

As we place more and more data on the cloud we need a way to ensure that we have a backup of that data locally. Since I mainly use Google Docs and Gmail on the cloud I will go over some of the steps you can take to safely backup those services locally. If you would like information on a specific service not mentioned here, please drop me a line in the comments below or via email and I’ll try my best to cover it in a future article.

I found that one of the easiest and surest ways to backup a Gmail account was to use Outlook Express or Outlook with the IMAP protocol to download your messages to a local store. I have covered this method in a previous article that can be found by following the link below.

Transfer Your Outlook Emails to Gmail

To backup your Google Docs files use the Google Documents backup utility which can be downloaded from the GDocBackup website.

I will include detailed instructions for using GDocBackup in a future article.

8. Use a Safe Browser with Extensions

I personally use Firefox because it can be customized to my needs using add-ons that can be downloaded for free. However one of the reasons I really like to use Firefox is because of its security and safety. Some of those features are highlighted below.

Anti Phishing/Malware – this is one of those features that are extremely useful. Ever get an email from a Paypal wannabe? How would you know? Firefox alerts you when you visit on of these phishing sites and it really does a good job of it.

website Identification

Aside from the lock designating a secure connection, as mentioned in #3 above, Firefox provides users with additional validation for the site that they are visiting. By clicking on a website’s favicon a pop-up window will appear with information about the identity of the website being viewed. When the More Information button is pushed the you will be able to look at the number of times you have visited the website and whether or not passwords are saved for that domain. So next time you are at a website and it seems fishy, click on the favicon and discover the site’s true identity.

Firefox Plug-ins I Use to Keep Me Browsing Safely

I use WOT (Web of Trust) which indicates, based on user feedback and other databases, whether or not the site being visited is safe or not.

Download WOT from the WOT website

I also use AVG’s Search-Shield plug in which alerts me of potential threats when I’m searching the web. The screen shot below illustrates the dialog box you will see if you attempt to access a website that is deemed unsafe by AVG.

Now that I’ve covered some of the steps that I take to secure my information in the cloud, do you have any tips to offer?

Password combination information obtained from lockdown.co.uk