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Jul 14, 2009

16 More Improved Firefox (3.5) Features at Glance

1. Awesome Bar

A quick way to get to the sites you love—even the ones with addresses you only vaguely remember. Type in term into location bar (aka the Awesome Bar) and the auto complete function includes possible matching sites from your browsing history, as well as sites you’ve bookmarked and tagged in a drop down.

For example, you could enter the tag: “investments” to find “www.fool.com”. The Awesome Bar learns as you use it—over time, it adapts to your preferences and offers better fitting matches. New enhancements for Firefox 3.5 give you greater control over the Awesome Bar, and include privacy settings. (See Video)

2. One-Click Bookmarking

Manage your bookmarks a lot or a little. One click on the star icon at the end of the location bar bookmarks a site. Two clicks and you can choose where to save it and whether to tag it. File bookmarked sites in easy-to-access folders and organize according to theme (like “job search” or “favorite shopping”). Find your bookmarked sites in a flash by entering the tag, page or bookmark name into the location bar. The more you use your tags and bookmark names in the location bar, the more the system will adapt to your preferences. (See Video)

3. Super Speed

new Fasten your seatbelt: Firefox 3.5 includes the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, which gives the browser dramatically better performance than ever before. Firefox has always been fast, but this is the fastest Firefox ever (more than twice as fast as Firefox 3, and ten times as fast as Firefox 2), meaning Web applications like email, photo sites, online word processors and more will feel snappier and more responsive.


4. Customization

The sky’s the limit with a growing library of over 6,000 Firefox add-ons, little extras you choose to download and install for a browser that works your way. Manage online auctions, upload digital photos, see the weather forecast in a glance and listen to music all from the convenience of your browser. There’s no need to open a new window or tab for each task. If you’re not sure where to begin, try Fashion Your Firefox—a handy Web application that recommends add-ons based on your interests.

5. Anti-Malware

Firefox protects you from viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware. If you accidentally access an attack site, it will warn you away from the site and tell you why it isn’t safe to use. Firefox checks every part of a Web page before loading it to make sure nothing harmful is sneaking in the back door.

6. Anti-Phishing

Shop and do business safely on the Internet. Firefox gets a fresh update of web forgery sites 48 times in a day, so if you try to visit a fraudulent site that’s pretending to be a site you trust (like your bank), a browser message—big as life—will stop you.

7. Parental Controls

Enforce parental control settings you’ve entered on Vista—stop unwanted downloads and more.

8. Clear Recent History

Clear all your private data or just your activity over the past few hours with a few quick clicks. You have full control over what to delete, and then your info is gone for good—on your own computer or the one at your local library. It’s that easy.

9. Customized Security Settings

Control the level of scrutiny you’d like Firefox to give a site and enter exceptions—sites that don’t need the third degree. Customize settings for passwords, cookies, loading images and installing add-ons for a fully empowered Web experience.

10. Password Manager

We’ve seamlessly integrated this feature into your surfing experience. Choose to “remember” site passwords without intrusive pop-ups. Now you’ll see the “remember password” notification integrated into your view at the top of the site page.

11. Anti-Virus Software

Firefox integrates elegantly with your antivirus software. When you download a file, your computer’s antivirus program automatically checks it to protect you against viruses and other malware, which could otherwise attack your computer.

12. Pop-Up Blocker

Banish pop-ups (and pop-under windows) from your surfing experience once and for all. Or, find a happy medium—choose to view blocked pop-ups or create an “allow” list of sites whose pop-ups you’re okay with seeing.

13. Automated Update

Our open-source security strategy lets us find—and fix—security issues in record time, making Firefox the safest way to surf. Install upgrades when you receive automatic notification or wait until you’re ready.

14. Tabs

At first glance, they look like little labels living above the site you’re currently visiting. But they are a brilliant way to browse multiple sites at once. Simple and easy, you can think of them as the electronic version of a well kept filing cabinet, with the tabs as the dividers and the sites as the content kept in folders. Each new site appears as a new tab (not a new window) and can be accessed in one click.

15. Session Restore

Restart the browser without losing your place after you install an add-on or software update. And, if Firefox or your computer unexpectedly closes, you don’t have to spend time recovering data or retracing your steps through the Web. If you’re in the middle of typing an email, you’ll pick up where you left off, even down to the last word you typed. Session Restore instantly brings back your windows and tabs, restoring text you entered and any in-progress downloads.

16. Instant Web Site ID

Want to be extra sure about a site’s legitimacy before you make a purchase? Click on a site favicon for an instant identity overview. Another click digs deeper: how many times have you visited? Are your passwords saved? Check up on suspicious sites, avoid Web forgeries and make sure a site is what it claims to be.
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