Noteworthy Add-ons for Firefox Users HTTPS Everywhere is an add-on developed by
The Tor Project and
Electronic Frontier Foundation that forces certain websites to use the secure HTTPS protocol instead of the standard HTTP protocol. At the moment, the number of sites it supports is limited to the more popular services on the web; Google, Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook to name a few. However, custom websites may be added so users can access other websites that use the HTTPS protocol. By using this add-on, or by accessing HTTPS websites where possible, you increase your level of anonymity. For those that are interested, here is a list of websites that are fully supported;
- Faceboook
- GMX
- Google
- Ixquick
- Live (Hotmail)
- Meebo
- Microsoft
- Mozilla
- NY Times
- PayPal
- Twitter
- Washington Post
- Wikipedia
- WordPress
WOT is an add-on that promotes 'safe browsing' and advises users which sites are considered 'safe' and which are 'not so safe' based on a ratings system. It uses traffic light colours to indicate the level of safety for a site; green is considered safe and trustworthy whereas red means not so safe and generally untrustworthy. With the program being so easy to use, any member of the family can use it, including children and the elderly. It's not just available for Firefox either, it's available for most of the major browsers including Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Opera. Once you've installed the program, you'll become part of the WOT Internet community, and have the chance to rate websites. WOT helps you make informed choices about the websites you visit, and by avoiding untrustworthy and potentially 'dangerous' websites, you increase your level of anonymity.
NoScript is a popular add-on that blocks JavaScript, Java and Adobe Flash elements. All of these are capable of revealing your true IP address and/or compromising your system. With NoScript, you can manually select which elements you wish to run. If you're the type of person that regularly watches videos on YouTube, then it's most likely that YouTube is obtaining your true IP address every time you watch a video, regardless of the fact you're using a proxy or VPN. I would suggest that you download the video via a service such as
KeepVid. NB: Some websites need Javascript, Java or Flash to work properly. Verify whether you trust the website and be selective.
CSLite is an add-on that controls how your system deals with cookies. Cookies are small files which store information about you on your visit to a website. They are stored on your local computer. Obviously, we don't want lots of websites to store cookies on our computer, so this add-on allows you to manually allow cookies for websites that you trust. NB: Some websites need cookies to work properly. Verify whether you trust the website and be selective.
AdBlock Plus is another popular add-on that blocks adverts on webpages. The reason why it's so popular is because it does exactly what it says on tin; it blocks ads making your web experience that little bit better.
Coming soon...DownloadHelper...JonDoFox...FireForm
Anonymous Search EnginesIxquick is the world's most private search engine and earned the first European Privacy Seal. Logs are destroyed after 48 hours and there are no cookies. It has a built-in proxy function to allow you to visit the search results anonymously via one of the company's own secure proxies. This provides an additional layer of anonymity when used together with one of the products listed above.
Scroogle is a simple anonymous search engine. It's basically a stripped down version of Google's official search engine without all your information being exposed. No frills, just anonymity.
Anonymous E-mailAnonymous E-mail is a truly anonymous e-mail service which uses random remailers of the mixmaster remailer network. Unfortunately, you cannot receive replies and can not track the e-mail. It can take up to 12 hours for the recipient to receive the message. In order to ensure your anonymity is not compromised, consider using one of the programs listed above.
Safe-mail is a secure and anonymous e-mail service. You can define your own e-mail address with the @
safe-mail.net domain. As a free user, you get a whopping 3 MB of storage, no downloads, no cookies and no ads. It also includes file storage, secure chat, photo storage, jotter, calender, your own secure messageboard, spam filters and virus protection. It works with most browsers and is compatiable with the following protocols;
Finally, a few tips;
- If you set a password, don't forget it! It is impossible to retreive it from them.
- Try to use one of the programs listed above with this service to increase your anonymity.
HushMail is an anonymous e-mail service. It's very reliable, secure and completely anonymous. You can define your own e-mail address or generate one and can choose from one of the following domains;
As a free user, you get a whopping 2 MB of storage! In order to keep using the service, you must login at least once every 3 weeks. Finally, a few tips;
- If you set a password, don't forget it! It is impossible to retreive it from them.
- Try to use one of the programs listed above with this service to increase your anonymity.
- Choose a good encryption question and answer to increase anonymity.
10 Minute Mail is a disposable e-mail service. This service is especially useful for signups and activations where you do not want to disclose your real e-mail address. This acts as a good spam prevention method. A random e-mail is generated and is updated automatically when e-mails arrive. As the name suggests, the mailbox only lasts for time minutes until it self destructs. However, if you need to use the mailbox for a little bit longer, you can request another 10 minutes quite easily and repeat as many times as required. Highly anonymous as your mail is destroyed after 10 minutes. You can not send e-mails using this service.
Yopmail is a disposable e-mail service. It is a little more sophisticated than 10 Minute Mail and allows you to define your own e-mail address @
yopmail.com or generate a random one. The accounts last for 8 days and then it expires. Again, useful for signups and activations where you do not want to disclose your real e-mail address. You can only send e-mails to other Yopmail users using this service.