Tips for Better Browsing


   You need a web browser to view webpages online. This webpage explains the choices available among web browsers and provides tips for optimizing and customizing Mozilla-based browsers (Firefox and K-Meleon).

Index of Help Topics

A Brief Description of the Browser Landscape

The Heyday of Internet Explorer

   In the late 90's Microsoft managed to convert nearly all Windows users to Internet Explorer(IE) through the clever scheme of embedding Internet Explorer into Windows. Microsoft made it appear that Internet Explorer was a part of Windows and attempted to blur the line between the Windows Desktop and the Internet, so that the average person never even knew they had a choice about whether to use Internet Explorer. As a result, up until about 2004, over 95% of Windows users were using Internet Explorer and Microsoft was widely regarded as "owning" the browser. The so-called "browser wars" were said to be over.

The End of Internet Explorer

   But there were problems with that situation: Security problems: Internet Explorer has become a virtually unsolvable security problem due to Microsoft's insistence on tying their browser so closely into the Windows operating system. And that problem is not helped by the fact that Microsoft typically takes weeks, or even months, to fix security bugs in IE. Outdated webpage rendering: Microsoft has not released any notable update to Internet Explorer since about 2000, when IE 5 was released, so IE support for current webpage code is lacking. User-control limitations: Internet Explorer configuration is a mess. With hundreds of obscure and often conflicting settings, spread across a dozen different locations, even an expert would be hard-pressed to control basic privacy and security options in Internet Explorer.

   With the release of Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft no longer even publishes a true browser program. IE7 is just a minor patch update that can only run on Windows XP with Service Pack 2. (And even then it will only install onto systems where people have been duped or pressured into installing Microsoft's "Windows Genuine Advantage" spyware). For all practical purposes, Internet Explorer has been abandoned in its dilapidated, circa-2000 state, unable to handle the modern webpage code that all other browsers recognize (Mozilla, Opera, Safari for Mac, and Konqueror for Linux), and now, as of IE7, it is unable to run at all on most operating systems.

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Browser Options
   Fortunately, other browsers have improved while Internet Explorer was being neglected. If the use of Internet Explorer online could be eliminated entirely, that would also eliminate most problems with webpage display and functionality, because all other browsers have been designed to conform to a basic set of standards in web design.

   For Windows users there are 2 basic browsers available, aside from Internet Explorer: Mozilla and Opera. All other browsers are actually just a modified version of either Mozilla or Internet Explorer.

Opera
   Opera, which was formerly adware, is now free. (It comes with no help file or support. Support is $29 per year.) Opera has a good reputation as a solidly built program, but it is also known for being inflexible in the way it renders HTML, causing poor display on many websites. Also note, Opera is spyware. When starting up, Opera attempts to contact xml.opera.com (213.236.208.95), for no apparent reason and without notification. To use Opera without being tracked, the 213.236.208.x range must be blocked.

Mozilla (Firefox, K-Meleon and Netscape)
   Mozilla is the basic browser program made by the non-profit corporation Mozilla.org. The different versions of that browser (Firefox, K-Meleon, Netscape) are mainly different only in their appearance and settings options. Netscape, rarely in use any longer, is nothing more than AOL's commercial version of the Mozilla browser. Firefox is the version of the Mozilla browser published by Mozilla.org. K-Meleon is a slightly different version of the same thing.

   Given the problems with Internet Explorer and the spyware aspect of Opera, the choices for a good browser on Windows arguably come down to just Firefox and K-Meleon. (Recent versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox are also spyware if the "phishing filter" is set to default configuration. See the Privacy Information page for a explanation of that.)

   Firefox is slightly more polished than K-Meleon. It has a better source code viewer and has some options that are absent in K-Meleon (like the option to view a website without styles applied). On the other hand, K-Meleon seems to be lighter and faster than Firefox. Both the startup time and the page-loading time are noticeably faster in K-Meleon. Firefox and K-Meleon share most of the same features and settings options, but there are a few notable differences, which are detailed below.

Firefox/K-Meleon vs Opera
   Opera requires some effort in order to get the full benefit of its advantages. There are a large number of useful configuration options. For instance, unlike Firefox, Opera provides the option (in the Advanced -- Style Options) to block "inline frames" or IFRAMES in the Settings window. In Firefox the same setting requires downright "esoteric" knowledge to make use of it. (See below.) Yet blocking IFRAMES is required to really block 3rd-party cookies. Inline frames are actually separate webpages embedded within webpages. Advertising companies like Doubleclick use IFRAMES in order to bypass privacy features so that they can follow you around the Internet and watch your activity (in order to "target" ads at you). But if you don't know all of that then you are unlikely to use or understand Opera's setting to block inline frames.

   So neither the Mozilla browser (Firefox, K-Meleon) nor Opera is really an adequate product for the average person who wants to use the Internet safely, and with a reasonable degree of privacy. Both browsers still require far too much technical expertise in order to accomplish the most basic necessities, like stopping intrusive Flash cartoons and animations or protecting one's privacy from sleazy operations like Doubleclick. Nevertheless, Firefox, K-Meleon and Opera all have numerous advantages over Internet Explorer.

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Getting Firefox, K-Meleon, or Opera
   If you want access to superior privacy/security options and you are not comfortable fiddling with various esoteric settings, avoid Firefox 2 and download the last version of Firefox 1.5. Firefox 1.5.0.12 is available (as are earlier Firefox versions) from Mozilla.org. The URL for English/US is:
http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/1.5.0.12/win32/en-US/.
Once there click on the link for "Firefox Setup 1.5.0.12.exe". Go "up one level" for other language versions.
   If you know about the Firefox configuration options (user.js, about:config, etc.) then the problems with Firefox 2 can be circumvented and you may prefer that over v. 1.5.
   The newer Firefox v. 3 is a similar case: It only supports Windows XP and Vista, and it's bigger than v. 2 with new "bloat creep", but for people who are handy and willing to research the details of new settings it may be of interest. (Example: The auto-complete options in the Location Bar now include History and Bookmark links. Some people may like that. Some people may not. If you don't know how to use about:config then you had better like it, because you can't turn it off!)

   If you prefer K-Meleon, you can download the latest version here:
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/

   For Opera, go to www.opera.com.

Warnings About Firefox and K-Meleon
Third-party cookie settings don't work:

   Unfortunately, with version 2 of Firefox, the Mozilla group seems to have headed in the direction of bloat and commercialism. Firefox has never been very good about providing extra options in the settings, beyond the basics. For example, simply disabling animated GIFs, which is easy to do in Internet Explorer, is not an option in Firefox. With Firefox version 2, more functionality was removed while the installer size grew by 15%. Important options were removed while silly functions (like turning bookmarks into active headlines) were added.

   Prior to v. 2, Firefox had two progressive and user-friendly features: the ability to block 3rd-party images and the ability to enable cookies while blocking 3rd-party cookies. A 3rd-party cookie is one that is saved on your PC by a website that you are not directly visiting. In other words, if an ad image on a webpage comes from Doubleclick then you may be vulnerable to receiving a Doubleclick cookie when that ad is loaded, despite the fact that you did not actually choose to visit Doubleclick's website. That means that a company like Google/Doubleclick can potentially follow your every movement online, since their ads are on the vast majority of webpages. There is no excuse for allowing "3rd-party cookies" from websites that you are not visiting. Cookies were orginally designed to prevent that sort of privacy intrusion.
   Was the option to block 3rd-party cookies removed to placate Doubleclick (now owned by Google) and other advertising companies that want to record peoples' movements online? That's a somewhat ominous possibility, given the increasing financial tie-in between Google and Mozilla.org.

   As though the problems with Firefox 2 were not bad enough, it turns out that 3rd-party cookie blocking never worked in the first place! If you visit this test page using Firefox 1.5 or 2, or using any version of K-Meleon, you will find that the option to block 3rd-party cookies does not work. Likewise, adding the custom setting network.cookie.cookieBehavior to the prefs.js or user.js file has no effect. If you really want to control 3rd-party cookies in Firefox/K-Meleon you must disable all cookies. You must also disable IFRAMEs because anything in an IFRAME, despite being loaded from a 3rd-party website, is not treated as 3rd-party, due to the fact that the IFRAME is technically a webpage in its own right.

   If you really care about privacy and security online, you should also consider using a HOSTS file, which is an easy way to block any contact at all with selected domains like Doubleclick.net, google-analytics.com, and other advertising/tracking servers that attempt to follow you around the Internet.

Beware the Phishing Filter:

   If you are concerned about privacy you will probably want to disable the ridiculous phishing filter that was added to Firefox starting with v. 2. In addition to being essentially spyware, the phishing filter depends on information that is likely to be outdated. The way the filter works is to check the website URLs you visit against a blacklist of known scam websites. The list is hosted by Google. At full functionality the filter reports to Google every site you visit, in real time. Google is also using (3rd-party) tracking cookies in these communications. So with the phishing filter enabled you will be inviting Google to watch you (and presumably customize the ads you see ... and presumably sell your "consumer profile" to advertising companies... ) as you travel around the Internet. Meanwhile, phishing websites can easily relocate once their URL has been added to the blacklist. If you want to avoid being caught by an online scam, a bit of caution and common sense is far more useful, and far less intrusive, than the Firefox2 (and IE7) phishing filters.

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Google Chrome - Cloud Computing Darkens the Horizon
"Cloud Computing" mania

   "Cloud computing", for anyone unfamiliar with the term, is the main tech. fad of 2008. It refers to the idea of running software from online, "in the cloud". This all started in about 1999. Around that time, PC hardware and software were both reaching a point of mature stability. PCs were finally fast enough and software was finally good enough and cheap enough, in general. But the prospect of people no longer needing to be on a constant diet of upgrades meant that software companies would be seeing smaller profits. So before long the "buzz" was all about "thin clients", "web services", "internet keyboards" that provided one-click access to important online activities, etc. Web services were going to be the way of the future. The tech. media in general was only too happy to herald the impending death of the desktop PC in favor of thin clients (stripped down, cheap, miniature PCs with little upgradeability) and web services. But of course the desktop PC didn't disappear.

   Nine years later, cloud computing is just the latest name for the online services gimmick. And many large companies are still hoping to turn that gimmick into a profitable trend. Microsoft has been talking about "Software and Services" - continuing to sell Windows while also renting software to run on Windows). Others talk about "Software as a Service" - renting software functionality. Google has been developing such things as an online office suite. Large tech. companies have been jockeying for years, trying to find a way to make a fortune by selling software usage rather than just software licenses. Part of that effort involves telling the general public, over and over again, that now that their PCs are finally cheap and fast... and now that the software they use is finally cheap and adequate to their needs... it's time to throw them out in order to rent the same software online. Even more ludicrous, the story goes that we'd all be better off letting companies like Microsoft and Google take charge of our personal files. And once again the tech. media is only too happy to keep talking up this new cutting edge "cloud computing". It's an easy headline, after all, to just publish press releases issued by the marketing departments of tech. companies.

The Face of the Cloud

   In September, 2008 Google released Google Chrome (GC), which they describe as a browser. However, GC is not a browser. It has a browser window that can display webpages, but the similarity stops there. GC is not really designed for web browsing. It's optimized for running those famous "cloud apps", like Google Docs and GMail. One of the few features in GC is the ability to create desktop shortcuts to online services that will then open in a stripped-down GC window, so that your GMail can appear and act almost like a Windows software program. GC is a big step in the effort to herd the public into online services by redefining the Internet as services, like a sort of interactive TV where the viewers use various ad-supported online services.

   GC is a radically intrusive piece of software that is deliberately designed with no respect for the privacy and property of a personal PC. After all, if all of your stuff -- both your software and your files -- is hosted online then your PC is just hardware, so who needs privacy? GC has no settings to disable javascript or Java. The single text input is both the address bar and the search bar. Whatever you type is sent to your selected search engine (probably Google), whether it's a search phrase or just the URL of a page that you want to visit. In addition to spying on your online activities, each copy of GC is also rigged with a uniquqe ID number to help identify you online. And that's not to mention the basic online tracking that Google already does via cookies, script and tracking beacons on the vast majority of commercial websites. Settings and privacy control are nearly non-existent in GC. Does GC even respect settings in the HOSTS file? Since it's not really a browser, maybe it doesn't.

   In addition to the limited settings options in GC itself, the GC Terms of Service goes further. It states that you have no choice but to allow Google to update GC in any way they wish, at any time. (Section 12.1). In other words, Google claims the right to change your installed software without notice or permission. The GC ToS also states that Google may or may not show advertising in GC, and may alter the way they show ads without notice. (Section 17.) Then, of course, there is the usual "Mickey Mouse" disclaimer that renders this and similar "legal" agreements absurd: Section 19 claims that Google might change their terms at any time and you have pre-agreed to whatever those changes might be!

   All of the above explanation is to say that the arrival of Google Chrome has done nothing to expand the list of usable browsers. Google Chrome is arguably neither usable nor a browser.

Further reading links:
Is Google Turning Into Big Brother?
EFF: We're concerned about Google's Omnibox

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Adapting to a New Browser
   In general, the Mozilla browser (Firefox or K-Meleon) is much easier to use than Internet Explorer. The standard settings are simple, clear and accessible. But Firefox only comes with the most rudimentary help file and K-Meleon comes with no help file at all. Since most people are not familiar with browser settings to begin with, that might be a problem.

You may have trouble with some webpages not displaying correctly in Firefox or K-Meleon...

   The original instigation for this page was a complaint from a friend who was trying to use Firefox to get airline reservations online, and who did not find a functional travel website until the 4th attempt. (Orbitz was the one that worked without problems.) The biggest reason for that kind of problem is that many websites, until recently, have been designed for Internet Explorer, and Internet Explorer is quirky. As Mozilla browsers have become more popular, most website authors have begun testing to ensure that their site works properly in Firefox/K-Meleon.

In addition to display problems based on browser differences, there can be problems related to browser settings...

   There is an awkward balance, in browsers, between functionality and security/privacy. Browsers were originally intended to just display pictures and text, but they've been pushed to provide far more functionality, including interaction between the website and the visitor. The current fad over "AJAX" and "Web 2.0" is trying to push even further, using obscure browser functionality along with javascript to create online webpages that respond like software. (Example: Google maps.) The Web 2.0 craze has "entrepreneurs" and business people everywhere excited by the possibility of turning the Internet into a sort of interactive TV and providing something...anything...that people will pay for on that TV. But there is always a tradeoff with that kind of functionality. The more a browser can do, the more it becomes vulnerable. So-called "Web 2.0" promises to open up an entirely new can of worms in terms of browser security.

   The vast majority of security problems require javascript enabled. The vast majority of privacy problems require javascript and/or cookies. So it makes sense to disable script and cookies for most websites. But doing that can often conflict with website display and/or functionality. Part of the reason for that is incompetence on the part of webmasters who write pages that unnecessarily require javascript to function. But a bigger reason is because commercial websites (and their advertisers) are often intent upon unnecessary privacy intrusions. They depend on the security problems with script and cookies. If you look at the source code of a typical corporate webpage you'll see a great deal of tracking code, attempting to link you to all of the website advertisers so that they can track your movements in order to "target" the ads you see. Corporate webpages are often designed to require script and/or cookies in order to enable this tracking.

   So there are two aspects to the problem of javascript and cookies: Script (and to some extent cookies) is often required to produce interactive webpages. And interactive webpages introduce privacy/security issues. There's no way around that. But that dilemma is made much worse by commercial exploitation online, making it difficult for people to turn off script and still see readable webpages. The ideal browser security would have people enabling script only for functionalty such as online banking and purchasing.

   Part of the reason for the success of Internet Explorer - and also part of the reason for its security problems - is that the IE security and privacy settings are very difficult to adjust, even for experts. As a result, nearly everyone using Internet Explorer has script, ActiveX and cookies fully enabled, all of the time. That makes many commercial webmasters happy, but it also means that Internet Explorer users are usually "sitting ducks" in terms of security and privacy risks.

   Controls for script and cookies should really be on the main toolbar, where they can be easily toggled. While no browser has that feature, with Firefox and K-Meleon the settings are at least fairly easy to access and change.

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Page Display Issues in Firefox/K-Meleon

   The display, or "rendering", of a webpage is dictated by the HTML and CSS code of that page. HTML tells the browser what to put on the page and how to set it up. CSS adds more "style" information that tells the browser more specific details about how the page should appear in terms of layout and graphical style. Problems with rendering can come from several sources. Often the cause is just poorly made webpages. Another problem for non-Internet Explorer users is that IE has been so universally used until recently that some website authors have just not bothered to test their website functionality to make sure that it works in all browsers. Some of the more common webpage display problems, and possible solutions, are listed here.
Browser-based incompatibility
Symptoms: Symptoms may range from minor display irregularities up to failure of the page to load at all.

   This problem can range from distorted page display to total rejection with a message that tells you your browser is outdated and the page cannot be viewed. Many webpages have been unwittingly designed to accomodate the quirks of Internet Explorer, and many webmasters are ignorant of the fact that their pages may not display properly in all browsers. Hopefully, the increasing number of Firefox users will result in curing that problem soon.

   Microsoft is one of the biggest problems in this regard. They have refused for years to put their browser in compliance with common web standards, acting as though their software is the only software used and determined to "rule the Internet" with their browser. In addition to Internet Explorer, Microsoft's other software compounds the problem. People who create webpages with Microsoft's Front Page program (or worse, MS Word) end up (for the most part unwittingly) writing webpage code containing nonsense HTML tags and attributes that Microsoft made up, and that no one else recognizes. (If you look at the code of a Front Page or MS Word production by clicking View -> Source in your browser, you will probably see numerous code elements that begin with "MSO". There is no such thing as a webpage code element that begins with "MSO", except in the strange, parochial world of Microsoft.)
   Microsoft even blatantly refuses to work with other browsers in some cases. They require the use of Internet Explorer at the Windows Update website and many other Microsoft websites.

   Indeed, it could be argued that incompatiblity is the "secret sauce" in popular Microsoft software such as Internet Explorer, Front Page, MS Office, etc. If Microsoft made their software conform to common standards they would have to compete solely on the merits of their products, accepting that they are just one company making tools for use in a mature, wide-ranging world of computing that is far bigger than them. But there is no reason to expect that Microsoft will change on that score. In a Sept. 26, 2005 interview with BusinessWeek magazine, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, "We will win the Web. We will move fast, we will get there. We will win the Web." "Win the Web"?. Mr. Ballmer sounds more like a crazed, panting warlord going into battle than a businessman overseeing software production. So it appears that bringing compatibility and ease-of-use to the Internet will require no less than the elimination of Internet Explorer.

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Style Sheet problems
Symptoms: Page elements jumbled or piled onto each other. Page layout nonsensical. Multiple, separate blocks of text displaying in one and the same space on the page, rendering them all unreadable.

   Some websites, even some large, well-travelled sites, have been designed with faulty "style sheets". That is, faulty CSS style code that may cause problems. Often the problem only involves small amounts of jumbled text that are still, at least, readable. Other times the entire webpage is a jumbled pile of confusion, as though all the parts "fell off the page" into a heap. In Firefox there is a simple cure for that: On the Firefox menu, go to   View   ->   Style   ->   Page Style     and select   No Style   . That will cause Firefox to ignore all style settings for the page and display only the HTML layout. The result is usually less attractive but will render the page clearly readable. K-Meleon (as of v. 1.02) does not have an option to display pages with no style.

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Image display problems
Symptoms: Missing images on page. Websites that use dynamic images malfunctioning. Buttons such as "Search" or "Next" missing from the page.

   Firefox(pre-v. 2) and K-Meleon have a very clever and useful setting for images that is not found in Internet Explorer. If you go to   Tools   ->   Options   ->   Web Features   in Firefox, or   Edit   ->   Preferences   ->   Privacy   in K-Meleon, you will see that in addition to the choice of whether to load pictures, you can also choose to load them "for the originating website only". That means that only images on the same website that you are visiting will be loaded. (In K-Meleon select the option "Accept site images".)

   In the vast majority of cases, an image coming from somewhere else ("3rd-party") will be either an ad or a "tracking beacon" (usually both), from an advertising company such as Doubleclick, that allows you to be tracked between websites. So this setting works as an ad blocker and privacy aid. (See the Privacy Special Note section below for further explanation about that.) However, a few sites will not function properly if you block the loading of 3rd-party images. Mapquest, for example, will not display maps. And some sites, oddly, are created to reside on more than one server. For example, CNet news is at news.cnet.com, but their stylesheets and images load from an entirlely diferent domain - com.com. So anyone who blocks unsolicited 3rd-party files in their browser sees the CNet site as a bland combination of black text and blue links, like a typical webpage from the mid 1990s. The new search engine cuil.com makes the same mistake. Their website is at cuil.com but most of the content is coming from cuilimg.com. With 3rd-party blocking the cuil.com homepage is little more than a black field!
   If you want to maintain your privacy, reduce the clutter of webpage ads, and reduce risks of cross-site security problems by blocking 3rd-party images, then you'll just have to put up with the minor problems caused by poorly designed sites.

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Script and cookies problems
Symptoms: Links or buttons do not respond (script). Information entered into forms is lost (cookies).

   Some sites do not work properly without script and/or cookies enabled, which is unfortunate because script and cookies are security and privacy risks that are usually not actually necessary to the functionality of a given site. Adding to the problem, many sites will not inform the visitor that script or cookies must be enabled. Instead, the site simply won't work and you are left to figure out why.

   A common symptom of script problems is buttons or links that do nothing when clicked. But having script disabled can also sometimes cause a page to load wrong, resulting in a partial or blank page. Some website authors even design their site to malfunction without script because they want you to see their cute animation effects.

       Firefox has javascript adjustment options. When you enable javascript, the   Advanced   button will be enabled. Click the button to show 6 specific functions that can be enabled or disabled. To some extent you can use these options to make script both safer and more functional.
   You must enable Change images for the Google maps website to work. The other options should probably not be enabled. There is no reason to let any website block you from seeing the status text (at bottom left) that tells you where you are. And there is no reason to let any site disable your right-click context menu.
   Note that K-Meleon does not have most of the javascript options in the settings, and in Firefox 1.5 the "change Images" option is missing. Any javascript adjustments not available through the settings window must be made through about:config or by editing user.js.

   A common symptom of cookie problems is when you fill out a form on one page and the information is all lost on the next page. Or you enter a password on one page, click "Next", and end up back at the same password prompt again with no explanation. The reason for that is because cookies are often used to carry information from one page to the next. To enable cookies go to   Tools   ->  Options   ->   Privacy   in Firefox, or   Edit   ->  Preferences   ->   Privacy   in K-Meleon, to change the setting. Then reload the page. (Click the reload button, the double, circular blue arrow icon on the toolbar.)

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Standard Settings Options

   Firefox and K-Meleon settings are straightforward for the most part (unless you want to access settings that are not made available in the menu), and they are far easier to manage than the multitude of confusing and obscure settings in Internet Explorer. With its 5 "zones" and extensive security settings, IE probably has more than 200 individual settings related to privacy or security, in about a dozen different places. Yet IE provides less choices for customizing how the browser actually works.

All of the standard Firefox settings can be found in the   Tools   ->   Options   menu. In K-Meleon that would be the   Edit   ->   Preferences   menu. The following is a listing of some of the more important or unusual settings.

Privacy
   UPDATE WARNING: This topic formerly described cookie options in Firefox and K-Meleon. Those settings do not work properly. See details above.

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Web Features
Block Popup Windows can be activated while still enabling script. That option will block many popup ads but may occasionally need to be disabled for interactive websites that use popup windows for legitimate purposes.

Allow websites to install software is a Firefox-only setting that enables the quick online installation of Firefox plug-ins. That's a rather dubious design idea, however, and there have already been security problems linked with the enabling of that feature. It might be best to enable this only if, and when, you want to install a Firefox plug-in.

Load images...for the originating website only provides the option to block images coming from websites other than the one that you are visiting. This feature is described above in the "Image Display Problems" section. In general it is an easy way to block the majority of ads and tracking beacon "web bugs", but a few sites will not function properly with this option selected. (This option is in the   Privacy   section in the K-Meleon settings and has been removed from Firefox in v. 2. See the Firefox 2 warning section about that.)

Enable Java: Java is rarely needed and constitutes a security risk. There is no reason to enable it unless for a particular interactive website that requires it. (This is in the   General   section in the K-Meleon settings.)

Enable JavaScript: It is safer to disable this. The majority of browser security problems are connected with javascript. On the other hand, many sites use script and script is not as risky in Firefox as it is in IE. Since the Firefox/K-Meleon settings are easy to access, this option can be switched on and off as needed. (The javascript option is in the   General   section in the K-Meleon settings.)

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Advanced
Tabbed Browsing provides the option to load new pages into tabs in the same window, or to have each new webpage open in its own window. (In K-Meleon tabs are referred to as "layering". To enable layers go to   Edit   ->  Preferences   ->   Plugins   and enable the "Layered Windows Plugin".)

Software Update (Firefox only) will cause Firefox to search for updates by default if not unchecked.

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Custom Settings Options

   Firefox and K-Meleon have a number of features that do not show in the standard settings window but which are adjustable. Most of these features are not available in Internet Explorer at all, even though several of them (such as the ability to control the referrer header) should be available in any properly made browser.
   Unfortunately, the documentation for these settings is limited, while the format and system for the naming of settings is excessively "geeky". The system for adjusting these settings dates back to the early days of Netscape and it seems that no one has thought to modernize it since then. In fact, it's only getting worse! For example, the setting to block 3rd-party images, and even the meaning of the possible values used in that setting, have changed for no apparent reason in Firefox 1.5.

   Many of the settings are the same as settings documented for Netscape 4, so Netscape documentation may provide some help if you want to research further. But neither Netscape nor Mozilla.org seems to have published a fully comprehensive documentation.

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There are two ways to make the custom adjustments:
1) Enter "about:config" (without quotes) in the address bar and then press the Enter key. A long list of settings options will appear. (Some are the same settings available through the standard settings window.) You can switch True/False settings by just double-clicking on them. Double-clicking on numeric or text settings will open a text input window to enter the new setting.

2) Create a file named user.js in the user folder. The path in Firefox is Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[username].xxx\user.js. The parent folder name can vary. The Application Data folder is in the Windows folder on Windows 95/98/ME. It's in the Documents and Settings\[UserName] folder on Windows 2000/XP. In K-Meleon the path is Program Files\K-Meleon\Profiles\[profile name]\xxxxxxxx.xxx\user.js

The user.js file has a specific format. Example: 
user_pref("autoupdate.enabled", false);
"user_pref" is always the first part. Then the name of the setting, in quotes, appears within parentheses, followed by the setting value as shown here. Setting values do not appear in quotes except when they are string data, such as: 
user_pref("image.animation_mode", "once");
A semi-colon ends each line, and each setting must be on its own line. A setting can be temporarily deactivated by "commenting" it with 2 slashes, like so: 
//user_pref("autoupdate.enabled", false);
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Some useful settings
   The following are settings that have not been made available in the Firefox settings window. These settings can also be used in Netscape.
Block 3rd-party cookies
// cookie behavior: 0-accept all cookies. 2-no cookies. 1-no 3rd-party cookies.
user_pref("network.cookie.cookieBehavior", 1);
UPDATE WARNING: This setting does not work! The 3rd-party image blocking may also not work. See detailed explanation above.
Block 3rd-party images
   One of the most useful and insightful new features in Mozilla browsers is the ability to block the loading of 3rd-party images. The option is not in the settings menu with Firefox 2 or Netscape, but is still available (presumably) through user.js. The original setting was changed as of Firefox v. 1.5, so it's best to enter both the old and new setting: 
// Image behavior: 0-accept all images. 2-no images. 1-no 3rd-party images.
user_pref("network.image.imageBehavior", 1);
user_pref("permissions.default.image", 3);
Block IFRAMEs
   There is also another, less accessible setting that can improve your results when you block 3rd-party images: Blocking IFRAMEs. IFRAMEs have always been a security risk in connection with "cross-site scripting". More recently, advertisers have been putting their 3rd-party ads inside IFRAMEs (a type of HTML code) in order to bypass the 3rd-party image blocking. An ad inside an IFRAME does not look any different, but an IFRAME is a separate webpage within the webpage that you are viewing. So an image inside an IFRAME is not a 3rd-party image, no matter where it is coming from! Fortunately, IFRAMES are rarely used (aside from this new advertising trick) and are not necessary. (The same effect can be accomplished with: DIV {overflow: scroll;}) IFRAME was not even supported in Netscape browsers until fairly recently. So you can block IFRAMES altogether and run little risk of missing anything.

   To block IFRAMEs, you cannot use the about:config or user.js file methods detailed above. Instead, you must create a file named userContent.css. Put userContent.css in the Chrome folder, which is inside the user profile folder, if the file does not already exist. (The path of the user profile folder is explained above. It's the folder that contains the prefs.js file and possibly a user.js file.) Inside the userContent.css file, on its own line, put the following: 
IFRAME {display: none !important;}
   If you use the 3rd-party image block and the IFRAMEs block, combined with a HOSTS file that blocks advertisers like doubleclick (see the Privacy Special Note section below) you'll find that most webpages you see will be nearly ad-free. That's because almost all ads these days are also web bugs and are loaded from 3rd-party advertising company websites.

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Image animation
This will prevent animated GIFs from repeating: 
// Image animation mode: normal, once, none.
user_pref("image.animation_mode", "once");
Prevent blinking text
user_pref("browser.blink_allowed", false);
Turn off "What's related?"
user_pref("browser.related.enabled", false);
//  Load WR? 0 = Always, 1 = After first use, 2 = Never 
user_pref("browser.related.autoload", 2);
Stop Firefox/K-Meleon from sending referrer header
This blocks sending of the referrer header, which tells a website where you are coming from if you click a link. That information is used by websites to find out what other sites are linking to them. That's not especially problematic, but if you would prefer to maintain your privacy you can turn the function off. The Firefox settings have two versions, so probably both should be set: 
user_pref("network.sendRefererHeader", false);
user_pref("network.http.sendRefererHeader", 0); 
user_pref("network.http.sendSecureXSiteReferrer", false);
Control UserAgent
   The UserAgent string is a string of text that the browser sends to websites in order to identify the operating system and browser. That is normally harmless, but in some cases a webpage may render better if you pretend to be using a different browser. K-Meleon has userAgent options in the main menu, but Firefox does not.
   Firefox will normally send the relevant UserAgent string for your operating system and browser. You can change that with the setting "general.useragent.override". Below are examples of typical UserAgent strings for various operating system/browser combinations. (Use only one of these settings at a time.) The format is: 
user_pref("general.useragent.override", "xxx");
where "xxx" is the UserAgent string in quotes. The following samples can be used to mask your system as a different operating system and/or browser. Replace xxx with one of the lines below. (The lines that begin with "//" are comments to include in a user.js file for clarification. They are not part of the UserAgent string.): 
 
    // Firefox 1.0.3 on Windows 2000, Language: English US:
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.7.7) Gecko/20050414 Firefox/1.0.3

   // Mozilla on Windows 98:
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Windows 98; rv:1.7.12) Gecko/20050915 Firefox/1.0.7

   // Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP:
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1)

   // Netscape 4 on Mac:
Mozilla/4.76 (Macintosh; I; PPC) 

   //Netscape 4 on Linux:
Mozilla/4.61 [en] (X11; I; Linux 2.2.13-33cmc1 i686) 

   // IE 6 on Windows XP with SP2 and the .Net runtime v. 1.1:
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)
   As you can see from the sample UserAgent strings, they can contain various types of information. Most of it is not critical. When websites are checking to determine what the browser is, the presence of "MSIE" is typically assumed to indicate Internet Explorer. Mozilla browsers (Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape 6+) are the only ones that use "Mozilla/5.0", but most sites seem to skip that detail and check for "Gecko" instead. If "MSIE", "Gecko" and "Opera" are all absent then the browser will probably be treated as Netscape 4.
   Note that while masquerading as a different browser can sometimes help to render problem webpages, it can also sometimes cause problems. For example, this website provides special code to Internet Explorer because IE is too old to understand the normal code for the main menu. If you visit jsware.net using IE, but with a UserAgent that says it's Firefox, then the main menu will not work.

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Stop Prefetching
   Prefetching is an idea of questionable value that is nevertheless part of the HTML specification. The idea with prefetching is to allow a website to take advantage of the time when your browser is not busy. For example, if your browser has finished loading Page 1 of an article, a special prefetch link on that page could force the download of, say, a large image that might be needed later if you decide to go on to Page 2 of the article.

   The problem with prefetching is that it's rarely likely to be useful, it takes control away from the visitor, and it can allow unrequested and undesired files to be stored in your browser cache. For instance, there is nothing to prevent a webpage prefetching ads, undesired webpages, and possible cookies that go with them.

   Unfortunately, prefetching is one of several relevant settings that the "Mozilla team" seems to think are too complex for the browsing public to understand. From the Mozilla.org explanation of why prefetching is not included in the Options window:

"...our theory is that if link prefetching needs to be disabled then there must be something wrong with the implementation. We would rather improve the implementation if it does not work correctly, than simply expect users to locate some obscure preference in the preferences UI."

    That sort of arrogance is why Firefox, despite all of its good features, is badly lacking in options for people to easily control settings. The prefetching setting must be adjusted through about:config or by adding a line to the user.js file. If you are using a user.js file, add the following line:
user_pref("network.prefetch-next", false);
   If adjusting the setting in about:config, find the value network.prefetch-next and set it to False. The setting is the same in both Firefox and K-Meleon.

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Settings Specific to K-Meleon

   Firefox is made with the open-source Mozilla browser. K-Meleon is a very similar product, also open-source and also based on Mozilla. K-Meleon may be a desirable alternative to Firefox v. 2. It is so similar to Firefox that the transition is effortless, but K-Meleon provides superior access to important settings. In particular, K-Meleon provides all the privacy options in Firefox 1.5 and then some, while Firefox v. 2 sees the removal of important privacy options. K-Meleon even includes an optional ad-blocker plug-in.

K-Meleon Settings
   K-Meleon is very similar to Firefox, but there are a few notable differences. This section explains some of those. One important difference to note is that the profile folder is kept in the K-Meleon program folder. When Firefox is uninstalled it leaves all settings behind, in a subfolder of Application Data. If you upgrade K-Meleon you should first back up your custom settings by copying the settings files from \Program Files\K-Meleon\Profiles\default\xxxxxxxx.xxx, where "default" is either literally "default" or a user name, and "xxxxxxxx.xxx" is a random, nonsense folder name. In the following notes the randomly-named folder will be referred to as the Profile folder.

K-Meleon Bookmarks
   The Bookmark plugin that installs with K-Meleon by default enables the use of Netscape/Firefox-style bookmarks. With that plugin enabled (    Edit   ->   Preferences   ->   Plugins ) just copy your Firefox bookmark file (bookmarks.html) from the Firefox Profile folder, into the K-Meleon Profile folder. (The Firefox profile folder is Documents\Settings\[username]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[username].xxx or Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[username].xxx.)

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K-Meleon Privacy
UPDATE WARNING: K-Meleon cookie settings do not work as expected. See detailed explanation above.
K-Meleon Appearance
   K-Meleon is not quite so polished as Firefox in terms of toolbars, etc. The default icon, notably goofy, seems to be a smiling dinosaur cartoon. But K-Meleon is adaptable. In   Edit   ->   Preferences   ->   Display  , choose a skin. "Phoenity" is the up-to-date skin. Once a skin is selected, go to the program folder and find the corresponding subfolder in Skins. In other words: \Program files\K-Meleon\Skins\[skin name]\.

Toobar background image:
   Place a BMP file in the Skins subfolder. Then open K-Meleon, type about:config into the address bar and press Enter. Set the value of kmeleon.display.backgroundImage to the full path of the BMP file. Set the value of kmeleon.display.backgroundImageEnabled to True.

Program icon:
   In the Skins subfolder, replace main.ico with an icon of your choice. It should be a 256-color icon with both a 16-pixel and 32-pixel size contained in it.

Toolbar buttons:
   Toolbar buttons can be removed by editing the file toolbars.cfg in the Skins subfolder. It is fairly self-explanatory. Just use a hash mark to comment out any buttons that you do not want to be visible.

Note that the graphic options above only apply to the current skin.

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K-Meleon - Fixing Multiple Window Problem
   One odd default setting in K-Meleon is that it opens bookmarks in new windows. That behavior is unconventional and may not be desired. To make bookmarks open in the same window, open K-Meleon, type about:config into the address bar and press Enter. Find the setting kmeleon.plugins.bookmarks.openurl. If the value is ID_OPEN_LINK_IN_NEW_WINDOW then change that to ID_OPEN_LINK.
K-Meleon - Stop PDF Files Loading
   Adobe has been downright obnoxious in their tireless effort to make PDF files a web standard. By installing browser plugins without asking, Adobe has fooled many people into thinking that PDFs are like webpages - in hopes of selling more copies of Adobe Acrobat. The problem with Adobe's behavior is that in most cases it makes more sense to save PDF files to disk rather than to load them in the browser. A PDF is good for flexible printing and very little else. PDF files are not especially convenient for reading text onscreen. Yet it can sometimes be difficult to just save a PDF to disk because Adobe's plugin jumps in and takes over.

   In Firefox, the treatment of mime types can be adjusted in   Options   ->   Downloads   ->   View and Edit Actions  
There one can choose whether to open or save PDF files.

   K-Meleon, by contrast, has no options to control plugins, and the user-pref settings may be ignored. To stop K-Meleon from loading PDFs in the browser, find the Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin folder. The path should be something like ..Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat x.0\Reader\Browser. Or find the path by doing a search for the file nppdf32.dll. (That file is the Netscape PDF plugin.) Once the path is found, rename the file or rename the parent folder, to something like "noBrowser", so that K-Meleon cannot find it. Or just delete the DLL file if you know you don't want Acrobat Reader opening PDF files in your browser. Also check to make sure another copy of that file is not in the Program files\K-Meleon\Plugins folder. That should stop Acrobat, but K-Meleon is especially badly behaved when it comes to plugins. Not only are plugin settings hidden - if the Acrobat plugin is not found K-Meleon may even try to hunt down the Acrobat Reader program on your system and force that to open PDF files! If you have that trouble, it may help to also add this line to your user.js file:

user_pref("browser.helperApps.neverAsk.openFile", "application/pdf");
K-Meleon - Other Settings
   Unlike Firefox, K-Meleon does not seem to recognize a UserChrome.css file, which prevents some of the the GUI customizing possible in Firefox. K-Meleon does recognize UserContent.css, in the [Profile]\Chrome folder. That file can be used to block IFRAMES, as explained above for Firefox. It also seems to be where the settings are set to include the ad blocker and flash blocker, if those are used. Unfortunately, after initial setup those options seem to disappear from K-Meleon's available settings options. If you did not choose to use the ad blocker during setup you can still do it later. The ad blocker is just a long list of CSS settings. (And actually there are a number of versions available online.) It works by blocking out various IFRAME and IMG tags with specific dimensions that are likely to be ads. If adblock.css is in the chrome folder just add this line to UserContent.css:

@import url(adblock.css);

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The SurfSet Utility

   SurfSet is a small utility program that is being made available free of charge. It is for people who want to take advantage of custom Firefox settings, but who may not feel comfortable writing their own configuration files. SurfSet provides easy access to a number of the settings, including the ones listed here. It also provides access to a number of hidden and/or little-known settings in Internet Explorer - many of which are security risks.

   For more details and download see the SurfSet page. (Note: As of this writing SurfSet does not recognize K-Meleon.)

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Special Note: Privacy and Ad Blocking with Firefox and K-Meleon

   With a bit of work, nearly all ads and "tracking beacons" can be removed from webpages viewed in Firefox and K-Meleon. The method involves using a combination of browser settings and a HOSTS file. Some people may feel that it's somehow dishonest to block ads, but no honest ads are blocked by this method. That is to say, any ads that are actually on the webpage you visit will not be blocked by browser settings and HOSTS files.

   Unfortunately, most ads are not actually on the webpage you visit. Most commercial sites link to ads coming from Doubleclick or other advertising companies. You are being sent to the advertising site secretly. You never chose to visit their website. Worse, these links to advertising websites allow your activity to be tracked in great detail. The advertising website is able to record your movement from one website to another. Some webpages contain links to two or more advertising or data mining sites, loading ads or invisible "tracking beacon" GIFs to record your visit. Tracking is possible because if you load anything at all from the advertising website then they have your IP address. That address will show up in their records for each website where their ads are linked. By combining that record with data collected at each individual site that you visit (such as what you clicked on while you were there) advertising companies can create extensive dossiers about who you are, what websites you visit, and what you do when you're there.

   For very effective ad blocking and greatly improved privacy, use the following method:

1) Block cookies except where absolutely necessary to the functionality of a webpage.
2) Block IFRAMES. (Also explained in the "Block 3rd-party Images" section above.)
3) Use a HOSTS file to prevent loading any data at all from advertising and tracking URLs such as Doubleclick. Directions and a sample HOSTS file are available on the Privacy Tips page.

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