Articles about Browser

Hi, my name’s Nick and I like the new Firefox Australis user interface. There, I’ve said it. However, it seems an awful lot of you hate the new look unveiled in Firefox 29, which is why you’ll want to install the Classic Theme Restorer 1.1.8 add-on immediately.

As its title suggests, Classic Theme Restorer pretty much dumps everything Australis introduces, except the new menu accessible via the hamburger-like button on the main Firefox toolbar. In its place is the Firefox you know and love, complete with Firefox button in Windows.

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Many people think nothing of grabbing the latest episode of Game of Thrones, Blacklist -- or whatever the current show du jour may be -- via one of a seemingly endless number of sites that provide access to pirated material. If you've ever visited such a site, you'll be aware that there is always something of a payload. You'll find advertisements -- usually of a pornographic nature -- fake chat windows, misleading links and all manner of other nasties. For the web-savvy, this is nothing new, but for every tech-minded torrent aficionado who is able to traverse through the online ghettos with an element of safety, there are countless others who are less well informed. And the world of pirate material is a dangerous one for the novice.

While this may not be news in itself, the figures involved are really quite surprising. A report published by The Industry Trust reveals that virtually every one of the most popular sites used to download or stream pirated films and TV shows are riddled with malware or credit card scams -- a staggering 97 percent. The report goes on to suggest that 75 percent of people who have made use of such a site have then experienced problems with their computers. The study was limited to 30 of the most frequently used pirate sites, and monitored them over a two week period. Just one site was found to be free from malware or credit card scams.

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Mozilla has released Firefox 29.0 FINAL for desktop, with Firefox for Android 29.0 also due for release shortly. Version 29 is a landmark release, sporting a major redesign of the program interface.

It also debuts a vastly improved -- and simpler -- Firefox Sync function using accounts, finalizes and enables the Gamepad API and offers a new interactive new tour to help step users through the new user interface.

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The regionalization of the internet can be infuriating. Anyone living outside the UK is prevented from accessing the likes of BBC iPlayer, while those outside the US can’t listen to Pandora or use other country-specific streaming services. At least that's the theory -- there's always a work around, isn't there? There are countless anonymizing services that can be used to make it appear that you are somewhere other than where you truly reside, or even appear that you are nowhere at all.

These tools and VPN services can be used to trick websites into thinking you're a legitimate user who should be allowed to get your streaming fix from anywhere in the world. But no more! At least if Hulu gets its way. The TV streaming behemoth has had enough of non-US streamers making use of its servers and it is clamping down on the use of VPNs. A report by TorrentFreak reveals that Hulu is blocking IP addresses associated with VPN services in a bid to prevent unwanted tagging on.

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Trend Micro has announced the availability of two free scanners for the Heartbleed bug, meant for Google Chrome and Android. The first, a browser add-on, allows users to enter and check any specific URL.

The second, an Android app, is a little more advanced. It checks whether your device or apps are directly affected by the bug, or whether any installed apps access a cloud service which is still vulnerable.

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In late-2012, Google released Chrome Remote Desktop, allowing users of the popular browser to provide and receive remote assistance. The feature has been especially useful to those who rely on Chromebooks, which have a much more limited app selection compared to traditional PCs where many tools, like TeamViewer, are available for such tasks.

Now, Google brings Chrome Remote Desktop to Android. Unlike on PCs where the feature can be added to the browser, this tool is a standalone app, designed for both phones and tablets.

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Emerging from what it describes as an "unexpected leadership transition", Mozilla announces its new CEO, albeit an interim replacement. The vacancy opened up a couple of weeks ago after the departure of Bendan Eich following outrage from developers that someone opposed to gay marriage should be placed at the head of a company. The pitchfork wielding and flaming torch brandishing mob, got their way as Eich "stepped down".

It's not really clear whether he jumped or whether he was pushed -- what is publicly announced is not necessarily representative of what has taken place behind boardroom doors -- but there's now a new man at the top. Announced with the Mozilla Blog, Chris Beard's appointment is apparently something that had been under consideration for some time: "we began exploring the idea of Chris joining the Board of Directors some months ago." Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker described Beard as someone who has "been actively involved with Mozilla since before we shipped Firefox 1.0, he’s guided and directed many of our innovative projects, and his vision and sense of Mozilla is equal to anyone’s".

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Google has released Chrome 34 FINAL for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

The headline addition is support for srcset, a new HTML attribute which allows web developers to specify multiple copies of a single image, with a range of resolutions. The idea is that the client device then requests the most appropriate version, so you might see a high-res image on your desktop, but a smaller, more bandwidth-friendly copy on your phone.

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It's difficult to deny Microsoft at least some of the limelight this week as the Build developer conference generated some interesting news. Bringing Windows version numbers in line with each other, Windows Phone 8.1 was finally revealed, complete with a notification center and Siri-like Cortana. The highly anticipated Windows 8.1 Update (which you may have heard something about) was official unveiled and given a launch date of April 8. Wayne, for one, liked what he saw.

Microsoft came over all open source, making the Roslyn compiler as well as WinJS freely available. Brian was pleased with the tech giant's latest moves, proclaiming Microsoft is now back. Build also gave us a sneaky glimpse of an upcoming, but as yet unnamed, version of Windows that features the return of the Start menu -- all of this chopping and changing is getting confusing. Maybe next on the list of things to do with Windows will be getting rid of those apps and features that should have been killed some time ago.

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One of the great things about social networks is that it is possible to connect with people without the need to share email addresses. This means that you can remain "friends" with someone on Facebook, but not get to the point where you're handing out your email address and worrying about checking your inbox. The same is true of LinkedIn, but the difference with this "professional network" is that you're probably connecting with a larger number of people you would rather didn’t have your personal contact details. This comforting level of security was wiped out by Sell Hack.

This free browser extension -- available for Firefox, Chrome and Safari -- could be used to expose the email address associated with any LinkedIn account, regardless of whether you are connected to the person you are, essentially, spying on. Perhaps understandably, this caused a degree of upset and resulted in LinkedIn sending a cease and desist notice to the extension's developers. Sell Hack adds a "Hack In" button to social network pages which, when clicked, reveals the email address used by the account owner to create their page.

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Deceiving the user into downloading and installing malicious software is one of the most common ways of attacking endpoint systems.

A good web browser can be an effective aid in blocking these social engineering attempts and the latest research from NSS Labs looks at the leading contenders plus three browsers from China to see how good they are at keeping you safe.

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Microsoft has flirted with Apple's iPad on a couple of occasions this week. Early on in the week there was the case of a 12-year-old girl who wanted nothing more than an iPad Mini. Microsoft stepped in and managed to convince her that the Surface 2 was the way ahead. Way to spin! But this was not the big Microsoft-iPad news. In a move that many saw as almost sacrilegious -- but one that was welcomed by just about the same number -- Microsoft Office, finally, made its way onto iPad. This wasn't the only release from Microsoft this week -- the source code for early versions of MS-DOS and Word for Windows was made publicly available. Having faced criticism for the way it approached a recent investigation, Microsoft pledged that it would no longer read customer emails during the course of an investigation without getting law enforcement involved.

Windows XP may be in its death throes, but this isn't going to stop people from using it. To help keep these hardy fellows safe, Malwarebytes announced that it would keep its users protected for life. It's not just XP that Microsoft is lowering into the grave, Office 2003 also finds itself six feet under. As the door on XP closes, another one opens -- or closes, depending on how you look at it. The purchase of Nokia's Devices and Services division is due to close in April after initially facing some delays.

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When it comes to Linux distributions, there is quite a lot of software available. However, it is not always great. Many programs are third-rate, and the ones that are good, aren't the big name brands. Windows and OS X definitely have a superior selection of popular software.

One place where Linux does not lack, is web browsers. With the exception of Internet Explorer and Safari, all the other big-boys are represented -- Chrome, Firefox and Opera to name a few. One browser, Maxthon, was not available for Linux -- until now.

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Google offers many different services, and switching between them isn’t difficult. If you’re at Google News, say, click the Apps icon top right and you’ll see buttons for Search, Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Maps and more: just click whatever you need to launch that page.

This is simple enough, but not ideal. You need to be at one Google service before you can launch another; whatever you select replaces the current page, and there are at least two clicks required. If you’re a Chrome user then Black Menu for Google could provide an easier solution.

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Not a good week for Microsoft this week. Things kicked off as Mozilla shunned the Windows Store by opting to stop development of a modern version of Firefox and then things got a little awkward following the investigation of an employee involved in leaking information about Windows. The company then came under fire for accessing the email account of an individual, despite its claims that "Outlook and Hotmail email are and should be private".

There was better news as an LTE version of Surface 2 went on sale opening up a new income stream for the company and new mobile computing opportunities for customers. More good news for users came when OneNote was not only released for Mac, but also made free for all platforms. Mihaita wasn't overly impressed with the Mac version, though.

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