How-To Speed Up, Customize, and Secure Firefox, Chrome, IE8, and Opera

MaximumPC has a post on  How-To: Speed Up, Customize, and Secure Firefox, Chrome, IE8, and Opera.

Lots of good advice on improving your browsers performance.

Folders4Gmail for Greasemonkey and GMail

Folders4Gmail for Greasemonkey allows you to easily create folders in Google Mail (Gmail) using the Greasemonkey addon and this addon in Firefox.

How to configure and use NoScript

Dave’s Computer Tips has a post on How to configure and use NoScript.

Firefox users with the NoScript addon can prevent every site from running code until and unless you say it’s okay.

With all the malware being installed on websites — even legitimate, normally trustworthy ones — these days, it’s becoming a good precaution.

BTW (By The Way): you need Java enabled to run on the campus and library web sites, and it is safe to do that.

Xenocode browser sandbox

Xenocode lets you Run IE8/IE7/IE6, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera from the web.

Now you can test out how your website looks in a variety of browsers without having to have them all on your own computer.

Microsoft’s SuperPreview

Microsoft’s SuperPreview is a ZDNet post on the “tool allows developers and designers to see how their sites look and work with different browsers so they can debug them more easily.”

“SuperPreview is part of Microsoft’s forthcoming Expression Web 3 release. Microsoft made available for download a subset of the full SuperPreview tool — the part that developers and designers  can use to compare how their sites look in Internet Explorer (IE) 6, 7 and 8. The full release of SuperPreview will allow developers to also compare how their sites look in Firefox, Sarari…”

Xmarks now syncs bookmarks across browsers

Xmarks is the new incarnation of a personal recommended favorite add-on for Firefox, but now it is available for IE and Safari!

Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) is a free bookmark synchronizing service, which now can be used with Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari browsers.  Now you can sync your bookmarks (including your bookmarks toolbar) in any of these browsers (just install the freeware on the computer you’re currently using) and it syncs all the bookmarks to the latest ones you have.

If you’re using Firefox, it also syncs your Sage RSS feeds too.

U3 version: Firefox 3 Final Portable U3

[update 2009.3.7]

(The Firefox on the regular U3 sites may still be only version 2.)

Oops!  The link for the original version of this post has been hijacked or forwarded to something unrelated to Firefox 3 for U3.

There are versions out there, but I can’t be sure if they are safe (uninfected, no trojans, etc.)

One possible source is here or more directly from here.   I can’t guarantee safety of this version.  Click on the “free user” dial and wait for the countdown, then proceed as instructed.

You’ll need tell it to update as soon as you get it installed, and then get the latest versions of your addons.

Xoopit for Gmail and Firefox

Xoopit is a Firefox plugin for Gmail users.

1.	Browse photos & videos from Browse all your email and web photos and videos in one spot. Photo and YouTube links sent to you are automatically collected, saving you the hassle of going to these sites.
2.	Easily find and access your files Never misplace an attachment again.
3.	Quick share to friends, Facebook or your blog Stay connected with your friends, comment on their photos, or pass them along.
4.	Search your stuff, not your messages Filter around people or keyword and find the photos and files sent to you.

KLS Backup to backup your email

KLS Backup 2008 is an easy backup program for Windows Mail/Outlook Express/Thunderbird and even Firefox profiles and email.

Freeware.  Windows 2000/XP/Vista.

Sxipper addon for Firefox handles passwords and more

Sxipper is a Firefox addon which handles passwords and more.

“Sxipper is a free Firefox add-on that saves you time by keeping track of an unlimited number of usernames and passwords as well as the personal data you share every day over the web.”

Use at your own risk, but this should be safer than just the regular Firefox password save.

Transmute converts your bookmarks between browsers

Transmute is a “freeware bookmark conversion utility.”

“This amazing utility will help you to try out different web browsers, synchronize bookmarks between systems, organize bookmarks, convert bookmarks for use in bookmark managers, share bookmarks with others and more. And best of all, it’s free!”

When you want to try out a different browser, this is one way to convert your bookmarks to the new browser.

Transmute is the first and only bookmark converter to export bookmarks between all of the major web browsers:

Google Chrome
Transmute supports the new Chrome browser, including dev channel releases.
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox 1 & 2 are supported as well as Firefox 3, with its new database model.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Vista are fully supported.
Opera
Opera browser hotlists are also well supported for easy importing and exporting.
Apple Safari
Safari is the web browser from the people behind the iPhone and iPod.
Chromium
Chromium is the open-source project behind Google Chrome.
Flock
Flock is a social web browser based on Mozilla Firefox.

Firefox 3: 8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do

PC Magazine looks at Firefox 3: 8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do

These are small but effective tips to improve your use of Firefox 3.

iMacros for Firefox

CNet has iMacros for Firefox which was designed to automate the most repetitious tasks on the Web. If there’s an activity you have to do repeatedly, just record it in iMacros. The next time you need to do it, the macro will run at the click of a button. Version 6.0.7.5 supports Firefox 3.1 Alpha 2, bug fixes and enhancements.

Freeware. Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista, Mozilla Firefox 1.5 – 3.0b2.

Top Twenty Firefox Add-ons = Researcher’s Browser of Choice

The Res Ipsa Blog posts Become an Efficient Researcher: Top Twenty Firefox Add-ons that Make Firefox the Researcher’s Browser of Choice.

Some of these are techniques, some are add-ons.  Handy for doing research for your papers.

CyberNirvana offers 8 hacks to make Firefox ridiculously fast

CyberNirvana has a list of 8 hacks to make Firefox ridiculously fast.

These are settings inside Firefox that can speed up your use.

Firefox Extensions: Mozilla Crowns Best Firefox 3 Extensions

LifeHacker brings Firefox users the Firefox Extensions: Mozilla Crowns Best Firefox 3 Extensions.

Some of these might be just what you need!

MR Tech’s Toolkit for managing Firefox and Thunderbird add-on extensions

MR Tech’s Toolkit add-on for Firefox and Thunderbird.  “The primary goal of this extension is to provide the tools needed to install and manage extensions and themes locally. To do this the extension provides multi-extension installation support, hacking capabilities to the Extension/Theme manager windows, features to find and troubleshoot Extensions/Themes Build, GUID and Profile information.”

Takes the place of a lot of other add-ons.

4 Stylish Scripts To Make your Web Look Better on Firefox

4 Stylish Scripts To Make your Web Look Better uses the Stylish Firefox add-on extension and CSS to change the look of standard web sites.  There’s some neat looks in here for Google, Gmail, Last.fm, and MySpace.

Requires Firefox browser.

Firefox 3 tweaks from Lifehacker

Lifehacker has a list of tweaks to improve your Firefox 3 browser’s style sense.

GSpace for Firefox – store your files in GMail

If you have a Google GMail account, you might be able to use all that space they give you for something other than email.

GSpace is an extension for the Firefox browser that helps you to store files, even large ones, in your GMail space.

“This extension allows you to use your Gmail Space (4.1 GB and growing) for file storage. It acts as an online drive, so you can upload files from your hard drive and access them from every Internet capable system. The interface will make your Gmail account look like a FTP host.
After the installation, you’ll get an option called “Gspace” in your “Tools” menu, which opens the GSpace window.
It’s great for storing/sharing files with your friends. Also very good to backup photos and music files (as you can view/listen to them from Gspace).
If you have any problems with the extension, please look at the FAQ page (http://getgspace.com/faq.html). If your question is not listed or the solution doesn’t apply to your specific question, please email the current developer (Fon Labs).
* DISCLOSURE: Gspace uses statcounter.com service to track the usage of the extension”

Note: this is NOT an official Google GMail function, so use at your own risk.