Firefox Security - Is It As Good As They Say?
The Firefox browser has had a lot of good press over the last couple of years. A lot of people hail it as being the solution to many of the problems that Internet Explorer spreads - things like viruses and spyware.
This is true to a certain degree, but even Firefox is not the magic cure for all your security problems.
A Bit of Background
The reason Internet Explorer is so prone to security problems is because of the way it is integrated into so many parts of Windows.
To make it more user-friendly and expandable, Microsoft gave it the ability to run other "software" called ActiveX, Javascript and more. This is a bit of a double-edged sword, however.
You can read more about the reason Internet Explorer is more vulnerable on my Internet Explorer Security page.
Firefox, on the other hand, doesn't run ActiveX software, so it is protected from many of the viruses and spyware out there.
There are still some privacy and security features in Firefox that you can adjust to make it even more secure.
Setting the Privacy Features in Firefox
The first thing you should do is make sure you're running the latest version of Firefox. The latest version as of the time I write this is 1.5.0.1 but you can always download the latest from www.getfirefox.com.
Once you have the latest version installed, you can adjust your privacy settings.
Go to the Tools menu, then choose Options.
On the windows that opens, click the Privacy button on the top menu. From there you can adjust the following items:
- History
This is the number of days that Firefox will "remember" the pages you have visited. If you don't want anyone to be able to see what pages you've been on, set this to 0 (zero). - Saved Forms
This option lets Firefox save the information you enter into forms on web pages. For example, if you fill out an order form with your name and address, Firefox can remember that information and automatically fill the order form next time.
If you have this turned on, anyone with access to your computer would be able to access your saved information. - Passwords
This option is similar to the last one, but it saves passwords for various websites you use. For example, you could save your login password for Amazon so it gets filled in automatically every time you log in to the site.
Again, if this is turned on anyone with access to your computer could get this information. - Download History
This is similar to the History option, but strictly for downloaded files. If you don't want anyone to be able to see what you have downloaded previously, set this to "Upon Successful Download".
If you have it set to manually, the list of downloaded files won't clear until you do it yourself. - Cookies
Cookies are a bit of a controversial subject on the internet. Most internet security software paints them as a bad thing, but they aren't necessarily so.
Cookies can track information about you, but they're also used for helpful things like tracking your preferences and settings for various websites.
If you have ever used Amazon's site, you'll have seen how they can show you items that are of interest, based on your previous searches and purchases. This is done through cookies.
Personally, I prefer to leave cookies turned on (Allow sites to set Cookies) but check "for the originating site only". That way, you'll be able to get the most out of sites like Amazon but you won't be "cookied" with tracking cookies from advertisers or other third-party websites.
I also keep cookies until they expire. - Cache
The cache setting shows how much space is used on your computer to keep copies of web pages you have visited.
If you visit a page that you have already been on, Firefox will use the cache for faster viewing. Instead of having to download the page all over again, it can use the information in the cache on your own computer to display it.
This is more helpful if you're on a slower internet connection, so if you're on dialup I would leave this as is. If you're on high speed and don't want the cache using up space on your computer (and being accessible to anyone using your computer) you could set this to 0.
For a more thorough look at setting up Firefox, take a look at my Firefox Security tutorial video. It goes through these options in a little more detail, and you can watch as I go through them.
It may take a few minutes to download if you're on a slower connection, so be patient :-)