For safe browsing with FF, you need NoScript

[Jethro]

NoScript

http://noscript.net/

"The NoScript Firefox extension provides extra protection for Firefox, Flock, Seamonkey and others mozilla-based browsers: this free, open source add-on allows JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank), and provides the most powerful Anti-XSS protection available in a browser.

NoScript's unique whitelist based pre-emptive script blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even not known yet!) with no loss of functionality...

You can enable JavaScript, Java and plugin execution for sites you trust with a simple left-click on the NoScript status bar icon (look at the picture), or using the contextual menu, for easier operation in popup statusbar-less windows."

 

[Pablo]

I use it, and don't hate it, but sometimes it's a P-I-T-A with all the updates, and the pickiness. It doesn't work with PANDORA, yet doesn't tell you it's blocking it either.

 

[Quest]

I'm using FF 3.0 Beta 2 right now. Other than some small nagging bugs that would need to be fixed before the final release, most of the memory leaks and what-not that exists in ver. 2.x.x have been fixed.

Something to think about.

Q.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Quest
I'm using FF 3.0 Beta 2 right now. Other than some small nagging bugs that would need to be fixed before the final release, most of the memory leaks and what-not that exists in ver. 2.x.x have been fixed.

Something to think about.

Q.


Sounds great - I just like wait so all my extensions will work. I can't wait!!

 

[Jethro]

Yeah Pablo, the updates bug me too. If a competing extension comes along that does the same thing but without the near daily updates, I will switch in a heartbeat.

 

[Boss_429]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I use it, and don't hate it, but sometimes it's a P-I-T-A with all the updates, and the pickiness. It doesn't work with PANDORA, yet doesn't tell you it's blocking it either.


Yep, sometimes its a "REAL P-I-T-A"! I usually turn it off unless I'm going to some new sites.

 

[Jaymus]

Try Adblock. It shows you every script running on a website, and you can block the ones you want to.

But I should also add that I use Firefox 1.5 because of the excellent addons for it.

 

[DracoFelis]

Originally Posted By: Boss_429
Yep, sometimes its a "REAL P-I-T-A"! I usually turn it off unless I'm going to some new sites.

Personally I usually leave NoScript enabled/on, and just "white list" the scripts/sites I trust. And if/when I really have to run a script from a site I don't entirely trust (i.e. I want that site to function, and it just "needs" JavaScript to work at all), I just use the NoScript option to "temporarily" (for the current FireFox session only) enable scripting on the site. And this is very easy to do, as clicking on the NoScript icon will tell you exactly which site's scripts are blocked (and give you the option to override any given site's blocks, as long as you have NoScript configured to allow this).

However, I'm willing to make this (minor) trade-off, to get better security (not to mention, being able to easily avoid annoying JavaScript that various "advertisements" like to inject into things). But I realize not everyone is willing to make this minor change in browsing behavior. So for those of you who find "NoScript" too much of a PITA, you could try "YesScript" (which is pretty much the opposite of NoScript, in that it allows all scripts by default, and then lets you turn some of them off). Since I'm comfortable using NoScript, I haven't personally bothered testing out YesScript, so I don't have any personal experience with how well it works. But it is an option for those who would like some (customizable) JavaScript blocking, without also getting the "block everything by default" that NoScript has.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4922

And as another poster mentioned, AdBlock+ can block JavaScript as easily as it can block anything else that its filters match on. So it is a useful (security) add-on with or without NoScript (or YesScript). I personally use a combo of NoScript and AdBlock+ for even more protection, but even without NoScript/YesScript AdBlock+ will block any JavaScript that is in its block list. And remember, if you don't want to mess with setting up your own block list (I do use my own custom block list, btw), AdBlock+ does have the ability to "subscribe" to block lists that others have come up with. So if you take the subscription option of AdBlock+ you will get a lot of JavaScript (along with a lot of other traffic) removed from the get-go...

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865