Mozilla Firefox is one of the oldest and most powerful browsers. Learn more about the features and settings available in the Firefox Quantum desktop browser. Discover the main features of Mozilla Firefox that you should know
Web browsers aren’t known to focus on privacy, however things are quite different with Firefox, and for the better.
The browser contains thousands of privacy-related benefits, all of which lead to a secure and private browsing experience. One of the best parts of this browser is that it is open source and therefore anyone can take a look at its source code and check if there are any security vulnerabilities or other related statistics. I have always liked the Firefox browser and wanted to know more about its features. So, I did some research and came up with this.
Top Mozilla Firefox Features You Should Know
Although the browser weighs more on privacy, however, it is not its only USP. For starters, you get pretty much every other feature Chrome has to offer.
With that said, here are some of the Firefox features you should be familiar with. Let’s take a look
Tracking Blocker
The Mozilla Firefox browser has some pretty nifty functionality in the form of tracking blockers. For the unsuspecting, trackers monitor your online activities and collect necessary data that will help third-party services to further improve their services for you.
However, not everyone is ready to give up their online activities to these trackers, and if you also relate to this sentiment, then you might take a hint or two from Firefox’s Tracking Blocker feature.
Aside from that, it also blocks harmful scripts from loading. Added to the list are cookies, crypto miners, tracking content, and fingerprints, all of which are effectively dealt with by tracking blockers.
On that note, there are three different types of shelving protection available in Mozilla Firefox, let’s take a look at them:
- Standard: this is the default level that Firefox applies in all browsers. It strikes a balance as to how strongly you should block trackers and how it will affect the normal loading of websites. In other words, it strikes a balance between protection and performance. However, it does not block most third party trackers.
- Strict: As the name suggests, this model offers much stronger protection against trackers. It also blocks almost all third party trackers, cookies and other related files. But it also has a small drawback. With this extreme blocking, you may have problems with some sites as they will not be able to start normally. So if you think that site is trustworthy, you can switch to Standard mode or choose the one below.
- Personalized: Yes Standard is too light for you and strict disappears more in trackers lock, then you can try Mode personalized . It gives you complete authority over which of the components should be blocked and which should not.
All three of these modes can be accessed by going to the menu Setting and then selecting the function privacy protection . In Enhanced Tracking Protection , click Manage Settings. From there you can now choose Strict, Standard either Personalized.
Email Breach Alert
This is one of the most underrated features of Mozilla Firefox. At the present time, with privacy issues at an all-time high, it is of the utmost importance to monitor our accounts and emails.
However, despite your best attempts, it may happen that your email address has been compromised by a data leak. When that happens, Mozilla Firefox does a pretty solid job of informing the user that their email has been compromised and therefore they need to take action as soon as possible.
Sync functionality
Like Chrome, Mozilla Firefox also has cross-device support for various platforms. These include Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac. On top of that, you get a pretty awesome sync feature that not only syncs all your data, passwords, bookmarks, but also goes to great lengths to save your last open tabs. This way you could continue your work from a newer device from the last stop point on the old one.
Major UI overhaul
Firefox brought the Quantum update with v57, and even though the browser is now at v76, it continues the great Quantum era that the previous version bought with itself.
Quantum was responsible for bringing many new and improved features that the browser desperately needed. There were new and updated user interface designs. New icon packs and a new library section that stores all your downloads, synced tabs, and all the other activities you do online.
Going one step further, it made it possible to sync this section of the library with all your devices. Aside from that, Quantum also added some useful tools like the option to use the Windows 10 sharing tool and a screenshot editor.
Task Manager
While the Windows Task Manager allows you to control the entire browser as a whole, the Firefox Task Manager has built it in a way that allows you to have complete control over each tab.
First of all, to access the Firefox task manager, open the browser, click on the hamburger and then select More followed by task manager firefox. As soon as it opens you can now see four different sections like Name, Type, Energy Impact Y Memory.
The first one simply lists the name of all open tabs. The type indicates whether it is a plugin, an extension, or just a tab. The third is Energy Impact, which shows the processing power being used by the CPU as a result of each of these tabs.
Finally, you have the Memory section of the Firefox Task Manager which denotes the RAM consumption for each of these tabs. All of these sections combined can easily catch the culprit tab that acts as a memory hoarder. In addition, a similar Windows taskbar also shows the subtask, i, e. tasks performed by each of the tabs. Subtasks typically include subframes, trackers, and services.
However, unlike tabs, you cannot act on individual subtasks, at most you can close the entire tab, which will also close its associated subtasks.
Delete telemetry data
There are two different types of data: telemetry data and technical data. Before we go any further, let’s first see what these two data types are all about.
The telemetry data contains all the interaction between the user and the software, in this case, it details the data between you and Firefox. Just the number of tabs you’ve opened, the type of tabs you’re working with, the length of time each tab was open, are all contained within this Telemetry Data.
On the other hand, the version number of the browser, the device on which it is running, the operating system of the device and all its interactions with third-party plug-ins contain technical data. While the latter does not contain much personal information, it is the former that could be of concern to privacy lovers.
In this regard, Mozilla Firefox provides an important feature to delete all your up to date telemetry data.
- To do so, open the Firefox browser and click the icon overflow .
- Select Options from the menu, and then click Privacy & Security in the menu bar on the left side.
- Inside that, click on the function Data Collection and Use . Finally, uncheck the option Allow Firefox to send technical and interaction data to the option Mozilla .
extension support
This is one department where Mozilla Firefox goes toe-to-toe with offerings from the Silicon Valley giants (also known as Chrome). All the common, popular and important extensions that you have used in other browsers are also available for Mozilla Firefox.
From alerts, downloads, blogs, bookmarks, download management to social networks, tabs and security, there is a lot to check.
If you want to customize Firefox to your needs and requirements, there is a handy way to do it. Launch the browser and select the plugin manager options. Now, from the left menu bar, you can have full control over all extensions, tons of preloaded and user generated themes, and all plugins too.
There is also a tab for recommendations that will facilitate the customization of the browser. Besides, you can also rearrange all the settings and options. This can be done by clicking on the hamburger. menu and selecting the option Personalize . Then drag and drop all the options to your preferred locations.
Similarly, when you open a new tab, there are some highlights in the new tab section. This is selected based on your search history and most visited sites. However, if they don’t suit your tastes, you can customize them by clicking the three horizontal dots next to the Featured keyword and selecting the Manage Section option. To deal with individual stories, click on the three horizontal dots on that story and select the Dismiss/Remove from history option.
Opinion on the main features of Mozilla Firefox that you should know
All in all, we could say that there are some serious level customizations available at hand, as far as Mozilla Firefox is concerned.
But every browser also has some drawbacks, Firefox is no different. Although it does an excellent job of protecting your privacy online, it takes a backseat to other features.
While there isn’t a significant reduction in the number of non-privacy-related features, it’s enough to leave a handful of you disappointed, especially if you’ve used the Chrome browser before. The plethora of options we’ve listed in Chrome couldn’t make it to Firefox.
Though the usual UI tweaks and support for tons of extensions almost make up for its lack in other departments. But if you’re a privacy fanatic and keep online privacy at the top of your wish list, let’s face it,…
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