Firefox 5 is a week away from being released as a final version. The browser is expected to be released as final on June 21. When you look at the changelog you will notice quite a few under the hood improvements that have not been talked about yet. HTTP Transactions sorted by CWND is one [...]

Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized the way people use the internet. Blogs and websites provide links to share information on the sites, and advertisers have completely restructured the way they approach internet marketing as a result of the power such websites have in suggesting particular products and services. Of course, most of us look at [...]

I have dealt with Firefox security add-ons about a month ago and promised to write another guide this time dealing with privacy related add-ons. So what’s the core difference between privacy and security anyway? I personally consider privacy to be a part of security, which explains for instance why Ghacks has only a security category, [...]

When you look at the top five web browsers on today’s Internet, which are undoubtedly Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari you will notice that all but one reduce their functionality to Internet browsing. Opera is the only browser of the five that offers an integrated email client. The idea behind SeaMonkey is [...]

Listening to music is a big part of the computer experience for many people. Having an organized music library is a point of pride for music enthusiasts, and even casual computer users tend to enjoy the ease with which albums and artists can be summoned with a computer. In their listening, many people grow partial [...]

Google’s customizable start page iGoogle is nice and all, as it gives users options to create their own unique homepage on the Internet. It is a module driven system where users can add modules like news, weather reports or applications to their page. The layout is however less than optimal for low screen resolution systems [...]

You may have heard about Webian Shell in the news. If you did not, here is a short article that fills you in on the details. Webian Shell has been released as a prototype a few days ago. Its developer describes it as a graphical shell for the web. The basic idea is to display [...]

Having an extension like Mega Button for Chrome to access often used features faster is nice and all, but it is not the fastest way to work with the browser. Shortcuts are faster, and they additionally do not add buttons or other clutter to the browser or menus. Google Chrome comes with a set of [...]

Both Google and Mozilla slim down the web browser interface with nearly every new browser version that the companies release. A downside to minimizing the interface is the fact that less browser controls become accessible directly which means that it will take longer to open those features or options whenever they need to be accessed. [...]

Google has updated the stable channel of the Google Chrome web browser. The Chrome browser is now at version 12.0.742.91 on the stable channel. The new release combines security fixes, other updates and even a few new features that have been added to that version that have previously only been available on the other channels. [...]

In the comments to Tips to Master Google Chrome you told us to post more Chrome tips. This article offers five Chrome tips that you may not have heard about before. These little tips help you in your daily Chrome routine, they may speed up things further or highlight a feature that may help you [...]

The Internet is global, which means that you can land on websites and pages that are written in a language that you do not understand. I’m currently experiencing this by following the latest news on Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8. The majority of information leaks are posted first on Chinese or Russian websites. Without [...]

Mozilla has released two new betas today. Thunderbird 5 Beta 1 is the first beta version of the upcoming version 5 of the Thunderbird desktop email client. Thunderbird users who are currently running a Miramar released should get update notifications soon. It is furthermore possible to manually check for updates to download and install the [...]

One of the biggest issues that I personally have with Firefox, and that for a very long time, is the fact that add-on preferences are not deleted when the add-on that has written them to the config is uninstalled in the browser. This means that the config file grows over time. Up until now I [...]

Google Chrome is one of the leading web browsers and it has become increasingly popular with tech savvy folks as well as those who aren’t quite as tech savvy. The simplicity, usability and technicality make it one of the best browsers. Google Chrome is compatible with almost all the Operating Systems such as Windows, Mac [...]

The new tab page of the Google Chrome browser offers little options to change layout or contents. The page displays the bookmarks bar, web apps, most visited websites and recently closed sites. Users who want to change the layout need to install extensions to do so. One of the extensions available is New Tab Redirect. [...]

Grab my Books is a handy Firefox add-on for users who want to convert multiple web pages into the EPub ebook format. The add-on offers functionality to add the active page, a linked page or a selection on a page to the ebook. Everything else is handled more or less automatically, even though there are [...]

I recently stumbled upon the Firefox add-on InstaClick which maps the middle-click on links functionality of the browser to the right-click button instead. That way it is possible to open links in new tabs with a right-click, which is handy for users who work with laptop touchpads for instance or two button mice. Mapping that [...]

Internet users have lots of choice to add extra protection to their web browser. Those who have installed an Internet security software usually get a browser toolbar or protection plugin delivered with that. Those who make use of a standalone malware scanner can install popular browser extensions like Web of Trust or Link Extend for [...]

I’m probably not the only user who thinks that the increase in Firefox builds has made it difficulty to keep up to date with the latest features and improvements. Just like Google Chrome, it has gotten to a point where I’m less interested in keeping track of the development progress. The main reason for that [...]

When I want to copy text in Firefox I usually highlight it with the mouse and use the shortcut Ctr-c to copy it. Sometimes I right-click on the highlighted text instead and select Copy from the context menu. Both operations take time to complete. It takes three mouse-clicks for instance to copy text only with [...]

Nearly every modern web browser has an option to save a web page as a HTML file. The only problem with that approach is that the websites do not get saved as a single file but as multiple files. While that may not be a problem for saving a handful of sites, it could become [...]

Mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets, start to become popular for normal web related tasks like visiting websites, watching movies or playing games. This can be attributed to the advancement of hardware to make the devices faster and more responsive, software like Opera Mobile that make the most out of what little space and speed [...]

There is only that much that you can cut from a browser’s interface. You got the header area with the title-, address and tabbar and the footer with a status bar. Especially Google with its Chrome browser and Mozilla with Firefox have started to cut down on the interface. The latest trend is to display [...]

A major user complaint when it comes to Microsoft Internet Explorer’s functionality in general is the lack of a built-in spell checker to automatically correct spelling mistakes in the browser. That’s even more problematic if those users are working with browsers like Firefox as well which come with a built-in spell checker. It is not [...]

The Mozilla Firefox web browser offers several keyboard shortcuts to navigate through tabs in the web browser. Firefox users can use Ctrl-[1-9] to access the first nine tabs directly, or Ctrl-Tab to flip through tabs forward and Ctrl-Shift-Tab to move backwards in the tab row. There is also the option to click on a tab [...]

JDownloader is one of the most popular programs to download files from file hosting services like Rapidshare, Megaupload or Filesonic. It offers several advantages over downloading files directly from the file host’s website. Among the advantages are a download queue, comfortable integration of premium accounts, link verifications and the option to unpack downloaded files right [...]

Internet Explorer 9 supports a new pinned site feature that can be used to pin websites to the Windows 7 taskbar. The combination of IE9 and Windows 7 outlines that its reach is somewhat limited at the moment. Websites do not have to support the feature to make it usable. Internet Explorer 9 users can [...]

LessChrome HD for Firefox is an add-on that hides part of the Chrome user interface in the browser. The add-on hides the urlbar in the browser so that only the tabbar and Firefox menu are shown when the browser is used. This feature may remind you of the compact navigation feature in Chrome, that’s offering [...]

The first beta of the upcoming version 5 of Firefox has been released to the public. The release has been delayed by a few days which is a short time considering the delays during Firefox 4 development. The accelerated development cycle is now almost in full swing. The cycle is complete with the release of [...]

Firefox, like any other web browser, offers options to disable specific plugins or features in the browser settings. It is for instance possible to disable plugins like Flash or Java, scripting languages like JavaScript or the loading of images. Problem is, it is not very comfortable to make those changes in the browser, especially so [...]

I love shopping at Amazon. The shopping experience is comfortable and I love the fact that you can use your Amazon login to log into all Amazon stores. I make extensive use of that feature to buy my computer games in England, as they are a lot cheaper there. One thing that has bugged me [...]

When you run Firefox for the first time, you get the chance to make the browser the default browser of the system. You can uncheck that option which you may want to do if you want to test the browser first, or want that another installed browser remains the default browser on the system. You [...]

The Firefox history lists all web pages that have been visited by you in chronological order. What you do not see is how you got there, and how and if the history pages are interlinked. The Firefox add-on From Where To Where collects those information and makes the available in the browser. This can be [...]

Opera Software has officially released Opera 11.11 Final a few seconds ago. The version has been available on Opera’s ftp server since yesterday, and many software download portals like Softpedia or Betanews have offered the new version since then. While it may be tempting to download a new browser version a day early, it is [...]

I’m currently testing new RSS feed readers, and one of the programs that I have been looking at is the RSS reader in Opera, or more precisely in Opera’s Mail module. RSS Feeds have been supported for quite some time in Opera. Depending on how you use Opera, you may have troubles figuring out how [...]

Friends on the social networking site Facebook are not necessarily only people that you know. It is actually very easy to befriend someone on Facebook, and almost as easy to unfriend them again. Unfriend in this context means to remove the person from the friendlist on Facebook. Some Facebook users may want to know if [...]

The new tab button has been first integrated in Firefox 3.5 and has been part of the Firefox web browser ever since. Its plus icon is placed on the right side of the tabbar next to the dropdown menu to display a list of all open tabs. A click on the icon opens a new [...]

One thing that’s been annoying YouTube users for quite some time is the subscriptions bar that may be automatically displayed at the bottom of the screen. Many users refer to it as the gray bar as it may pop up for playlists, favorited and liked videos as well as for subscribed videos. So what functionality [...]

I like my web browser UI as compact as possible. To achieve that I have no problem of getting rid of some of the lesser used interface elements. Basic examples are compacting the menu or the bookmarks into a single button to save screen estate. Yes, even on a 1920×1200 monitor. Most developer efforts to [...]

Firefox keeps track of all websites that you open in the web browser. It stores those information in a global history, and individual histories for each tab that you have open in the browser. You can access a tab’s history only on that tab. The history is not inherited if you open links in new [...]

Google has just released an update for the stable branch of Google Chrome that brings the version of the web browser to 11.0.696.68. The update, which is available for Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, Linux and Chrome Frame platforms is a security update that fixes two security vulnerabilities in Chrome. Both security issues that have been [...]

The Internet offers global shopping opportunities. I can buy items in England, the United States, Japan or any other country of this world. One problem that international shoppers may run into regularly are different currencies used by the countries that they shop in. It is then necessary to convert the country’s currency into a local [...]

I remove broken links regularly here on Ghacks. Today I stumbled upon a review of a proxy extension for Google chrome. The extension had been discontinued, and I made the decision to try and find a suitable alternative for that extension. The quest for the best available proxy extension for Google Chrome had started. I [...]

I use online file viewers for two core reasons. First, they allow me to view files even if the computer system I’m working on has no compatible viewer installed, and second, they mitigate the risk of opening files from questionable sources. Sandboxing is an alternative for the latter, but that’s a rather technical solution, and [...]

Unless you are running the new experimental search interface on Google, you can make use of a feature called similar pages directly on the search results page. This feature displays a list of related, or similar, websites, directly in the search results. Say you are fed up with Google Search and want alternatives. Instead of [...]

Seesu is a small software that combines the vast Last.fm music library and database with mp3 libraries on VKontakte and Soundcloud. At its core, Seesu is a music player with integrated mp3 download capabilities. It is available as a widget for the Opera web browser and Apple dashboard, as well as an extension and app [...]

Two of the core reasons for installing Google Chrome are the browser’s speed and security. Especially the latter with its sandboxing approach proved to be very effective against many common attack forms and hacking attempts. Even the security experts at the Pwn2Own conference were not able to penetrate Chrome’s defense system, most did not even [...]

When I look under plugins in the Firefox add-on manager I notice many plugins there that I never use. Among them illustrious plugins like Google Update, iTunes Application detector, Microsoft Office 2010, Windows Activation Technology or Windows Live Photo Gallery. To be honest, I sometimes do not even know what purpose they have. Google Update [...]

Content Security Policy is a standard developed by Mozilla designed to protect against cross site scripting (XSS) attacks. Cross site scripting attacks use vulnerabilities in websites to inject JavaScript code into pages or urls of that site. The injected JavaScript code is then executed when visitors open a specifically prepared link or page on the [...]