BrowserFame reports the latest "nightly channel" of the Firefox browser, version 19, is warning browser users when it appears someone is hijacking the search engine results. This is to warn users when they may be "falling victim" to "search hijacking" according to the feature page. The page goes on to explain how the feature works in more detail: Some of these cases are triggered by aggressive malware that wants to steal search referrals, but other cases can be resolved by us simply resetting the pref to its default value once: - poorly written add-ons that legitimately change t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox

Firefox 14 has officially launched today, which means all Google searches are encrypted by default. However, due to a Google loophole, the encryption will not prevent things you search for from "leaking" out to Google's advertisers nor potentially showing up as search suggestions or in data reported to web sites through Google Webmaster Central. The Firefox team saidof the change: We automatically make your Google searches secure in Firefox to protect your data from potentially prying eyes, like network administrators when you use public or shared WiFi networks. This is true. The "secur [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: Analysis | Firefox | Google: Secure Search | Google: Security | Google: Web Search | Top News

The popular Firefox browser is on track to use a secure method of searching Google by default, a change that will help prevent potential "eavesdropping" of what people are searching for. It will also further reduce the ability for publishers to know how people find their sites in Google -- except for Google advertisers. A loophole in Google Secure Search continues to provide them with this data. "We are currently testing the change to use SSL for built-in Google searches in our Firefox nightly channel. If no issues are uncovered, it will move through our Aurora and Beta release channels befor [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: Analysis | Firefox | Google: Chrome | Google: Secure Search | Google: Security | Google: Web Search | Top News

Google and Mozilla have struck a deal that renews their agreement making Google the default search engine in Firefox browsers. No financial terms were announced, but Mozilla's blog post says the agreement extends the companies' agreement "for at least three additional years." The renewal comes about three weeks after the previous contract expired. The two companies previously had another three-year deal that expired at the end of November. A couple quotes from the Mozilla announcement: "Under this multi-year agreement, Google Search will continue to be the default search provider for [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Google: Browsers | Google: Partnerships | Top News

Twitter and Mozilla have struck a deal that makes Twitter search one of the default search options in the new Firefox 8 web browser. It's included in the Windows, Mac and Linux versions, which can be downloaded now. As Mozilla's blog post explains, the Twitter search option can be used to search Twitter usernames, hashtags and topics (without hashtags). It's available in four languages: English, Portuguese, Slovenian and Japaneses. Mozilla says more languages will be enabled in future releases. Twitter search was previously available as a separate add-on for the Firefox search bar. T [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Top News | Twitter: Business Issues | Twitter: Search

If you ever wanted proof that Microsoft has learned that for Bing to succeed, it needs to spread its wings beyond Microsoft, look no further than today's news that Bing is offering "Firefox With Bing." That's right, Microsoft is pushing a rival browser to its own Internet Explorer. Firefox With Bing In a blog post today, Bing invites people to download a version of "Firefox With Bing" where Bing is used as the default search engine for the Firefox search box and for searches conducted from the "AwesomeBar" address window: In most countries, Firefox uses Google as its default search engine [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Google: Chrome | Microsoft: Internet Explorer | Top News

Mozilla released its annual report (PDF) yesterday and reports came in that 98% of the foundation's revenue comes directly from search partners, including Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. Mozilla said it earned $121.1 million in revenue in 2010, up 19.3% from 2009's $101.5 million. Even with the growth of Google Chrome, Mozilla increased revenues through this model in 2010; will it in 2011? Mozilla said: The majority of Mozilla's revenue continues to be generated from the search functionality included in our Mozilla's Firefox product through all major search partners including Google, Bing, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Google: Business Issues | Google: Partnerships

Google has announced the end of supporting the Google Toolbar for Firefox. Google said the Google Toolbar works in versions of Firefox 4 or younger, but not the new version 5 of Firefox. Google explained, "many features that were once offered by Google Toolbar for Firefox are now already built right into the browser." So Google has decided the toolbar doesn't offer enough of a value-add on Firefox and thus is no longer supporting it. The Google Toolbar was first introduced over years ago for Firefox. Then later came to Internet Explorer. As you know, Google has their own browser, Chrome, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Firefox | Google: Toolbar | Top News

There are lots of different ways to speed up searching. Google, Bing and Yahoo all offer browser toolbars -- no need to visit their home pages, just search wherever you are. Google and Yahoo both have their own versions of "instant search," where search results appear as you type. Google's Chrome web browser lets you search right from the browser address bar. And they all fall short of my new favorite search tool: Slashtag.it. If you're really looking to search faster, this is the way to do it. Slashtag.it isn't a search engine; it's an interface that lets you access several dozen se [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Features: General | Firefox | Search Features: Shortcuts

Yesterday, Google and Firefox announced new tools to block behavioral targeting across the web. Behavioral targeting are a form of ads that use your online behavior to target specific ads to you, as you browse the web. Google calls these interest based advertising but most of the web calls them behavioral targeting. Google released a new Chrome extension named Keep My Opt-Outs. The extension helps block some of the personalized advertising and related data tracking performed by companies. I should note, Google has an older Chrome extension named IAB Opt Out that blocked Google's inter [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Firefox | Google: AdSense | Google: AdWords | Google: Browsers | Google: Chrome | Legal: Privacy

Bing announced that in the upcoming version of Firefox, Bing will be added as one of the standard set of search provider options. This will be on both the Mac and PC versions of Firefox 4. Bing said: We’re very excited to be included in the search engine choices in the upcoming version of Firefox. Having Bing in the "out of the box" list makes it easier than ever for the Firefox community to experience the benefits of Bing. Postscript From Danny Sullivan: The current default search engine in Firefox is Google, and that doesn't seem to be changing. However, it's a big boost for Bing to [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Business Issues | Microsoft: Partnerships | Top News

One of the most important online marketing tools is the referrer string. Little known to most web surfers, this is effectively the Caller ID of the internet. It allows web site owners and marketers to know where visitors came from. It's crucial marketing data, and data that might be going away. What's The Referrer? When you visit a web page, by default, every major browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome...) reports the last page that you viewed before clicking over to the current page you're viewing. IE, what page "referred" you to the current page. This information is known as the [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Features: Analysis | Firefox | Legal: Privacy | SEM Tools: Web Analytics | Top News

Wow. Asa Dotzler, community coordinator for Firefox marketing projects, is urging the world to add Bing to Firefox and dump Google, over comments Google CEO Eric Schmidt made about privacy. Does this mean Bing will finally be allowed into Firefox as a default choice for users? Hey Firefox – Let Us Pick Our Own Search Engine! from me last year covers how Firefox has consistently excluded Microsoft's search engine as a built-in option for their users. The most current version that I run doesn't include Bing. Heck, even Google's competitor to Firefox -- Chrome -- includes Bing as a built-in [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Features: Analysis | Firefox | Google: Chrome | Google: Critics | Top News

The Bing team tweeted last night that a new MSN Toolbar is now available at toolbar.msn.com. The new toolbar is supposedly now powered by Bing, Microsoft's new search engine. I am not exactly sure what all the new features are but as you can see, the MSN butterfly is now being placed inline with the Bing logo: [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Microsoft: Bing | Toolbars & Add-Ons

It appears that Bing is overriding the default search provider set by users of Internet Explorer 6. Several IE6 users have complained that since Bing launched, the search provided went from Google (which they set manually) to Bing. To makes things even worse, when the user tries to set the search provider back from Bing to Google, it doesn't allow them. To be fair to Microsoft, IE6 is very old and Microsoft is already up to version 8. I emailed Microsoft about the issue and they confirmed the bug. A Microsoft representative sent me the following statement: We're aware of the issue wi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Microsoft: Bing | Toolbars & Add-Ons

Microsoft's Live Search still isn't built into Firefox, but you can add it to your Firefox search box manually. Now, a new add-on from Live Search does this complete with the ability for the search box to auto-suggest terms you might be searching for. For more, see the Live Search blog. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Microsoft: Bing

My favorite search browser plugin, Inquisitor, is now available for Firefox and Internet Explorer. Inquisitor was Apple Safari's only solid third-party search browser plugin back in the day. Yahoo acquired them back in May and then provided an upgrade in mid-August. Now, Yahoo has announced they have made this plugin available for Firefox and IE. If you are running Firefox 2 or 3, you can download the addon over here. If you are running IE 7 or 8, you can download the plugin over here. I highly recommend you give it a try and check out some of the customizations I deployed on Inqui [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Toolbars & Add-Ons | Yahoo: Search

"Semantic web" is one of those phrases that's tossed around loosely these days, used to describe just about anything that goes beyond basic keyword search to surface relevant content on the web. But true semantic web applications, those that enable people to share content beyond the boundaries of applications or web sites, are still relatively few and far between. That's what makes Headup, a new Firefox plugin from the aptly named SemantiNet, so intriguing. Headup monitors your web activity, and based on what you're viewing can seamlessly and contextually "understand" how dispersed data acr [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox

Google announced that the Firefox 5.0 Google Toolbar is now available for download. The toolbar adds many of the features and improvements Google added to 5.0 for IE several months ago including: Custom buttons with gadget support Synchronized Toolbar settings Google Notebook integration Suggestions for navigation errors Improved AutoFill AutoLink Web History and more... To learn more about the Google Toolbar for Firefox, see over here. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Firefox | Google: Toolbar

TechCrunch reports Google has extended a deal to be the default search engine in Firefox for an additional three years, to 2011. The news comes the day after Microsoft released a beta of IE8. The deal is somewhat ironic in that Google has lobbied to to prevent Microsoft from making itself the default search engine in Internet Explorer but has no qualms about buying itself defaul rights in Firefox. Hey Firefox - Let Us Pick Our Own Search Engine! from Danny Sullivan has more about that. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Firefox | Google: Marketing | Google: Partnerships | Top News