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Content index
As you suggested 1 on our reporting platform (Codeberg), we decided to try to create an updated mini-guide for Firefox, how to configure Firefox for more privacy and which extensions are important to install. In this way, later we will be able to link only to this article when talking about Firefox, avoiding repetitions and errors also due to the aging of the articles.
As you pointed out, in fact, we have created many articles on the subject (This, This and also This) but no one who took the subject head on. Let's try to fix it! In the meantime, we tell you that many of the configurations we suggest are already preset on LibreWolf and we'll talk about it further below!
The steps forward made by Firefox
Until a few years ago, in order to use Firefox in a decent way (in terms of privacy), many (too many) precautions were necessary, which has always pushed us to recommend the use of Browsers Brave: a decent compromise and solution all included. However, in our opinion, the efforts made by Firefox in the latest versions go in the right direction, such as the excellent update with the Total Cookies Protection or the HTTPS-Only Mode.
It's still not enough and Brave it probably remains better in the "standard" version, i.e. without touching any settings as can also be seen from the site PrivacyTests, but thanks to the new updates of Firefox the additions to be made are minor and this makes it more interesting for daily use, especially in the eyes of a person with little technical knowledge.
Let's take inspiration from what we consider the best privacy-oriented project when it comes to Firefox i.e that of arkenfox. The main feature of arkenfox is that of edit the user.js file: we leave you the link to do it but we will not translate it or recommend it to beginners because it is, in fact, an important modification and not easy to implement.
Attention: we are not saying that these changes are not necessary or important but which we believe only bring confusion in the minds of those who "just want to change Browsers”. As said, we leave you the link to the project if you are interested. If you want a version of Firefox with most of these features take a look at LibreWolf.
The suggestions here are used to protect your privacy by trying to keep advertising agencies, social networks and other invasive entities at bay. Don't think you are invisible.
How to configure Firefox for more privacy
•We divide the article into two categories: important things to do and optional things. The important ones are in our opinion absolutely necessary if you want to use Firefox and are therefore highly recommended. The optional ones, on the other hand, are also based on your preferences: the privacy risk is lower and you may want to maintain some different configurations for personal needs.
Important configurations and extensions
Once you have installed Firefox, we suggest you first change the Search engine going in Settings/Search and using it one other than Google and set it as Browsers default. To do this, simply go to Settings and press "Set as Browsers default“.
Advanced anti-tracking protection
Afterwards going in Privacy and security we advise you to select Restrictive in Advanced anti-tracking protection. If a site doesn't work for you, it will suffice disable it for that site only.
Always in Privacy and security our advice is to eliminate Cookies and website data at the closure of Firefox (here too, there are exceptions in case you need them).
HTTPS only mode
Check that out in the section HTTPS only mode the box is checked Activate in all windows.
Extensions to install: only uBlock Origin
Always remember that extensions can be real open doors for attackers 2 therefore it is good practice to keep them to a minimum and install only those you need really trust me.
uBlock Origin it is the most important of all extensions: ubiquitous and almost perfect. The basic setting it comes out with should be fine (it's the Easy mode), however if you want to change some settings you can follow this guide and increase the level of protection (the more things you add the more sites will risk not working).
Optional configurations
Saving forms, credit cards and passwords
In Settings – Privacy and security you can remove automatic filling of forms and credit cards and also credentials and passwords. Our advice is to use a password manager to fill in these fields and not leave them clear on the Browsers.
If you choose to use Firefox Lockwise, i.e. the Firefox system for saving passwords, is warmly It is recommended to enter a password on your profile because otherwise anyone who has access to your computer will also have access to your passwords. Always find your password setting Credentials and passwords under the heading: “Use a master password“. Alternatively we recommend using a password manager as Bitwarden.
Custom shortcuts
In Settings – Home page we recommend removing the flag on “Sponsored shortcuts” and on “Recommended by Pocket” and “Sponsored articles”. It's true that these links can help Mozilla get by but they are also a tracking risk and for this reason we include it here among the optional settings.
Search suggestions
In Settings – Search It is recommended to remove search suggestions to ensure that only what you really want comes through past to search engines and only after you have pressed Enter.
Chronology
Also in this case our suggestion is to minimize the data collected clearing the history when Firefox closes: here too you can decide if and what to delete, we suggest everything except "Website settings“.
Firefox data collection and use
Firefox collects usage data anonymous by default. If you do not agree with this choice you can uncheck the boxes "Allow Firefox to send technical data to Mozilla" And "Allow Firefox to display personalized suggestions“.
Optional uBlock Origin changes
uBlock filters – Annoyances
This list, which you can find below Third Party Filters – Annoying Elements, it will make sites cleaner by removing many annoying elements. It can also be helpful if any advertisements slip through the cracks at first glance.
AdGuard URL Tracking Protection
This list, which you can find below Third party filters – Privacy, will help you keep your address bar clean by eliminating superfluous parts used only to track you. Open uBlock settings, go to Third-party filters open the call list Privacy and enable "AdGuard URL Tracking Protection“.
Actually Legitimate URL Shortener Tool
This list allows you to automatically eliminate unnecessary parts in URLs that are only used for tracking and profiling. The URLs are essentially left intact, do you know when you go to Amazon and find a URL full of question marks and other things? Well, thanks to this list the URL always remains short and simple without tracking or anything else. To add it you will have to go to uBlock Origin where you find the lists, scroll down to the "import" item and enter there this URL.
Extra
On your advice 3 Let's insert a couple of extra extensions:
- Snowflakes, is a very important extension especially in this historical period. It is a service offered by Tor to help those who live in a country where censorship reigns supreme. If you don't want to install extensions you can also use Snowflake directly from yours Browsers by going to this page: https://www.lealternative.net/snowflake/
- Firefox CSS Store, the new graphical interface of Firefox called Proton is not to everyone's liking. Within this project Open source 4 you can find various themes for Firefox, a sort of store for unofficial themes. Thanks for your report.
- DarkReader, for lovers of the dark theme.
What extensions not to use on Firefox
As mentioned, Firefox has made great strides lately and some extensions (formerly suggested and useful) can now be considered inappropriate.
In the previous version of this article there was a list of extensions that should no longer be used. As it was recommended to us 5 we decided to remove it so as not to fuel excessive anxiety.
The general rule to follow is: few but good. Substantially the most important extensions are those suggested above. All others may be redundant or useless. In rare cases they can also be harmful, especially if you don't have the good habit of reading changelogs (i.e. the changes made during updates) to prevent an extension from Good has become in the meantime bad. Or that it becomes dangerous because it has not been updated for many months/years.
For this reason, the extensions we have suggested are the ones that are safe and are constantly updated and currently have no problems.
If you then feel ready or able to install other extensions that you consider useful, remember to always check which permissions it requires and what is changed during updates.
LibreWolf
•If all the previous part has bored you a little because you are looking for a Browsers “all inclusive” then perhaps you might be interested in LibreWolf. It is a very interesting version of Firefox, it already contains all the necessary changes and is among those that protect privacy most of all out of the box 6 i.e. with the default settings.
If these settings seem excessive for your use, always remember that you can also use more than one Browsers according to your needs!
DRM
LibreWolf it's very fast and works well with most sites, however you may encounter problems with protected content such as those of Netflix And Spotify. To make everything work you just need to enable i DRM going in Settings/General and selecting Play DRM-controlled content (why are they disabled?). Alternatively, a message should also appear at the top, when necessary, whether you want to enable them or not.
Resist Fingerprinting
Another thing that might break sites is the resistance to Fingerprinting: if you see that some site is not working correctly you can try going to Settings/LibreWolf and in the section Fingerprinting disable Enable ResistFingerprinting. However this makes you vulnerable to Fingerprinting and then you should think about installing CanvasBlocker.
WebGL
Another thing you might need is to enable WebGL (it is useful for many things), even in this case you can always activate it in that section.
LibreWolf and synchronization with Firefox Sync
LibreWolf is compatible with Firefox Sync, to activate this option simply go to settings/LibreWolf and activate it. Some time ago, to activate it it was necessary to go to about:config but fortunately this has been improved in the latest versions.
Automatic updates
Speaking of updates, LibreWolf is present for all desktop platforms, For Windows is also available LibreWolf WinUpdater (included in the installation file) which allows you to set periodic checks or you can install it directly from Microsoft Store.
Others Browsers derived from Firefox
Just a little quote for Waterfox And Floorp. Both Fork of Firefox (but how many Firefoxs exist?) the first with several extra settings and a little more focused on privacy while the second is based on Firefox ESR and has an infinite number of extra features (it's a bit, if you like, the Vivaldi with Firefox engine).
And on Mobile?
Everything we have written here applies only to Browsers on desktop. For smartphones, if you are on Android, you can try the Browsers called Mull which implements the arkenfox changes. However, always remember to install uBlock Origin!
What extensions to use on Firefox? The conclusions
And then that's it, it seems like everything to us. As you have read, you can use Firefox by installing a few extensions and making a few changes Or you can choose LibreWolf remembering that it is a Browsers very customized and may break some sites but with the few exceptions and settings, as we have seen, they will go the 99% of the sites.
As a last alternative, as always, we suggest you use Brave Browsers which almost without being touched protects well and is still an excellent compromise.
- Create article about extensions for Firefox #58[↩]
- Understanding Web Security Checks in Firefox (Part 1)[↩]
- Codeberg[↩]
- Firefox CSS Store on GitHub[↩]
- Vega on Telegram[↩]
- PrivacyTests[↩]
Join communities
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4 comments
Puoi commentare questo articolo dal tuo account sul Fediverso! Se hai Mastodon o Lemmy (Feddit.it) cerca il link di questo articolo e commenta dal Fediverso! .
@skariko Great guide, thanks! Especially useful as it clarifies some questions (or refers to useful links) regarding localCDN and similar.
@skariko Congratulations: I see the post from my corner of the Fediverse! 🎊 Two more small notes: 1) the index is compressed into a series of sentences without spaces and with senseless 'new lines' 2) similarly the titles of the paragraphs are not spaced even by one line from the body of the following text 🖖 I think that with a little compatible formatting are all problems that can be overcome and in any case thanks again for this new attempt! ;D
@skariko test comment from Friendica. I confirm that you can also see the article on the home page.
@skariko I would also add 1) the title of the article at the beginning of the toot and 2) immediately below a link to the article to view it on your website: perhaps a "Read on our site..." visible only by viewing the article from another platform ?Is it possible with a string of code that is automatically hidden from the site and instead appears on any other platform?I think it's a way to prevent interoperability from leading to locks in a single platform (however decentralized) ;D