Browsing the internet should be simple, safe, and secure without the worry of getting a virus or being tracked by the internet stalkers. The most common misconception I get from people is “I don’t visit those kinds of sites so I have nothing to worry about” which is everything but true. There is malicious sites out there just waiting for you to click their link and once you do, it’s all over. Simply searching Google Images and clicking an image you like takes you to the malicious pages all without knowledge to you. Next thing you find out your computer has been taken over by the popular fake anti-virus scams or you’re getting alerts from your anti-virus solution telling you it blocked a threat.
How about ad tracking, or as I call it, cyber stalking from various advertisers to make sure you see relevant ads on the sites you view. After searching the internet for a bit about a certain subject, pay attention to the advertising you’re seeing. You will probably see ads that are very similar to the subjects you usually view. They may have figured out enough, based on using Facebook, Twitter, and other sites, know who you are and they have compiled a database of your browsing habits. With that information they can place even better ads geared towards you and your interests. I don’t know about you, but I am not a fan of it at all. What are you going to do about it?
One way of stopping these cyber stalking advertisers and attackers is to block them before they even see you. With these Firefox add-ons, you can make your internet browsing experience safer and more secure.
Practice Safe Browsing
Ghostery - This add-on gives you several options of blocking known ad marketers preventing them from building a database of your browsing habits or target advertising. You can choose to block all, some, or none based on your preferences. You will also be able to block cookies from these ninja marketing engines.
NoScript - My favorite internet security add-on for Firefox. This one blocks JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plugins found on sites and allows you to pick them temporarily or even permanently for sites you trust. Blocking these plugins unless you choose otherwise will help prevent you from becoming infected. You will also be protected from XSS or Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities. This in definitely not a replacement to your anti-virus but should be running along side your preferred anti-virus solution.
BetterPrivacy - Protects You from LSO’s or Long Term Super Cookies that are not deleted by simply using Firefox’s ‘delete cookies’ option. BetterPrivacy warns of you new LSO’s and allows you to delete any that are currently stored on your drive. LSO’s never expire and are able to stay on your computer for an unlimited amount of time.
