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Firefox is a good choice for protecting online privacy, but there are some built-in features that users might want to change to better support that goal.

One such feature is the Firefox Health Report. The Firefox developers collect data about usage. To disable this feature:

• Open the Firefox Preferences dialog.
• Select the Advanced option.
• Select the Data Choices option.

Two search engines focused toward better privacy include startpage.com and duckduckgo.com. The latter is directly supported in Firefox. The startpage.com search engine requires a separate install from the Mozilla Add-ons site. To install, visit the web page and select the Download Now link.

To change the Firefox default search engine:

• Open the Firefox Preferences dialog.
• Select the Search option.
• In the Default Search Engine section, select the desired search engine from the drop-down list.

Related to the default search engine is the default Home Page. The Firefox default Home Page is a Mozilla web page. To change the default Home Page:

• Open the Firefox Preferences dialog.
• Select the General option.
• In the Startup section, type or copy and past the desired home page. For example, https://www.fast-air.net/.

Another option for Home Page is to configure Firefox to open a blank page.

Location Bar and search engine auto completion is a potential tracking mechanism. The Location Bar is sometimes called the Address Bar or URL Bar. This feature is also called Location Bar or Search Engine Predictions or Suggestions. This feature works by being interactive with the search engine. To disable this behavior:

• Open the Firefox Preferences dialog.
• Select the Search option.
• In the Default Search Engine section, disable the Provide search suggestions option.

Plugins, not to be confused with add-ons, often are used to track users. Often plugins introduce security risks. Common plugins include PDF, Java, Flash, and Silverlight. A good practice is to configure all plugins to be used only with user permission rather than launch automatically.

• Open the Tools menu.
• Open the Add-ons option.
• Select the Plugins option.
• Select either Never Activate or Always Ask to Activate.

There are several built-in features that are not supported through the standard Preferences graphical interfaces. To modify these privacy related features requires using the Firefox advanced configuration portal. The portal is easy to use:

• Click in the Firefox Location Bar.
• Type about:config and press Enter.
• Acknowledge any dialog box to be careful.
• Use the search text box to find a desired option.
• Double-click on the option to open the configuration dialog.

Here is a short list of privacy related options. Users wanting more privacy should change these options to false.

• beacon.enabled: Sends data to servers.
• browser.safebrowsing.enabled: Uses Google to determine whether various web sites are valid, but allows Google servers to track users.
• browser.safebrowsing.malware.enabled: Uses Google to determine whether various web sites are valid, but allows Google servers to track users.
• browser.safebrowsing.phishing.enabled: Uses Google to determine whether various web sites are valid, but allows Google servers to track users.
• browser.send_pings: Informs servers about links that users click.
• dom.battery.enabled: Provides web applications information about the battery status of mobile devices.
• dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled: Allows web site scripts access to clipboard contents.
• extensions.getAddons.cache.enabled: Sends information to Mozilla servers about installed add-ons and start-up times.
• extensions.update.enabled: Checks for updates of all installed add-ons, which reveals which add-ons are installed.
• geo.enabled: Allows geo-location information to be sent.
• media.peerconnection.enabled: Enables WebRTC, which is used for telephony and video chat functionality but leaks local and remote IP addresses.
• network.dns.disablePrefetch: Allows Firefox to prefetch DNS names.
• network.prefetch-next: Allows Firefox to prefetch web pages.

For confident Firefox users there are many individual Firefox related privacy options that can be configured using about:config. Rather than manually configure these settings, many Firefox users create a separate configuration file called user.js that is stored in the user’s Firefox profile folder. For confident and adventurous Firefox users, a fully-commented user.js file is available online.

More to follow.

Family time: What is a palindrome? Think you know? Search the web.

Next issue: Customizing Firefox

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Backwoods Geek

Backwoods Geek wrote his first computer program in 1977. He started using desktop computers in 1982 to write training and job aids. These days his home includes routers, switches, computers, a home theater PC, a laptop, and bluetooth phones. His professional career includes instrumentation and controls, computers, industrial training, technical writing, and teaching computer classes. Pastimes include sitting on the front porch, observing wildlife, cutting firewood, reading, watching movies, and tinkering with computers. He is uncomfortable around morning people until afternoon, likes dry and off-the-wall humor, and usually tells jokes with a straight face. He is a believer in the old adage that, "No matter where you go, there you are."

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