MOZILLA FIREFOX

8 hacks to make Firefox ridiculously fast

Double your browser's speed in just five minutes

1. Enable pipelining

Browsers are normally very polite, sending a request to a server then waiting for a response before continuing. Pipelining is a more aggressive technique that lets them send multiple requests before any responses are received, often reducing page download times. To enable it, type about:config in the address bar, double-click network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining so their values are set to true, then double-click network.http.pipelining.maxrequests and set this to 8.

Keep in mind that some servers don't support pipelining, though, and if you regularly visit a lot of these then the tweak can actually reduce performance. Set network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining to false again if you have any problems.

2. Render quickly

Large, complex web pages can take a while to download. Firefox doesn't want to keep you waiting, so by default will display what it's received so far every 0.12 seconds (the "content notify interval"). While this helps the browser feel snappy, frequent redraws increase the total page load time, so a longer content notify interval will improve performance.

Type about:config and press [Enter], then right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) somewhere in the window and select New > Integer. Type content.notify.interval as your preference name, click OK, enter 500000 (that's five hundred thousand, not fifty thousand) and click OK again.

Right-click again in the window and select New > Boolean. This time create a value called content.notify.ontimer and set it to True to finish the job.

3. Faster loading

If you haven't moved your mouse or touched the keyboard for 0.75 seconds (the content switch threshold) then Firefox enters a low frequency interrupt mode, which means its interface becomes less responsive but your page loads more quickly. Reducing the content switch threshold can improve performance, then, and it only takes a moment.

Type about:config and press [Enter], right-click in the window and select New > Integer. Type content.switch.threshold, click OK, enter 250000 (a quarter of a second) and click OK to finish.

4. No interruptions

You can take the last step even further by telling Firefox to ignore user interface events altogether until the current page has been downloaded. This is a little drastic as Firefox could remain unresponsive for quite some time, but try this and see how it works for you.

Type about:config, press [Enter], right-click in the window and select New > Boolean. Type content.interrupt.parsing, click OK, set the value to False and click OK.

5. Block Flash

Intrusive Flash animations are everywhere, popping up over the content you actually want to read and slowing down your browsing. Fortunately there's a very easy solution. Install the Flashblock extension (flashblock.mozdev.org) and it'll block all Flash applets from loading, so web pages will display much more quickly. And if you discover some Flash content that isn't entirely useless, just click its placeholder to download and view the applet as normal.

6. Increase the cache size

As you browse the web so Firefox stores site images and scripts in a local memory cache, where they can be speedily retrieved if you revisit the same page. If you have plenty of RAM (2 GB of more), leave Firefox running all the time and regularly return to pages then you can improve performance by increasing this cache size. Type about:config and press [Enter], then right-click anywhere in the window and select New > Integer. Type browser.cache.memory.capacity, click OK, enter 65536 and click OK, then restart your browser to get the new, larger cache.

7. Enable TraceMonkey

TraceMonkey is a new Firefox feature that converts slow Javascript into super-speedy x86 code, and so lets it run some functions anything up to 20 times faster than the current version. It's still buggy so isn't available in the regular Firefox download yet, but if you're willing to risk the odd crash or two then there's an easy way to try it out.

Install the latest nightly build (ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/nightly/latest-trunk/), launch it, type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Type JIT in the filter box, then double-click javascript.options.jit.chrome and javascript.options.jit.content to change their values to true, and that's it - you're running the fastest Firefox Javascript engine ever.

8. Compress data

If you've a slow internet connection then it may feel like you'll never get Firefox to perform properly, but that's not necessarily true. Install toonel.net (toonel.net) and this clever Java applet will re-route your web traffic through its own server, compressing it at the same time, so there's much less to download. And it can even compress JPEGs by allowing you to reduce their quality. This all helps to cut your data transfer, useful if you're on a limited 1 GB-per-month account, and can at best double your browsing performance.

12 add-ons every Firefox user must have

A dozen extensions to fire up the 'fox!

Firefox's extendability is one of its great advantages, and there are thousands of plug-ins to choose from.

But having so much choice can be confusing, and it's often hard to tell which add-ons are worth installing and which are best left alone. So look no further - here's our 12 essential Firefox extensions. Download them now!

1. Copy plain text
Ever copied something from the web into a document only to have it ruined because the formatting is also copied? Fix this by getting Copy as Plain Text. Once it's installed, highlight some text, right-click on it and choose 'Copy as plain text' to do just that.

2. Get TinyURLs
This add-on lets you create shortened URLs without having to go to a separate web page. Install TinyURL Creator 1.0.5. Now browse to the site you want to share, right-click anywhere and choose 'Create TinyURL for this page'. The result is automatically copied to the clipboard.

3. Use hyperwords
For the Swiss army knife of text add-ons, get Hyperwords. Once installed, it provides you with a dizzying array of options for highlighted text through its right-click menu. Choose 'Search' and then select from Google, the current site or a range of news sites and social-networking services for immediate search results. You can also look up the selection in a range of reference sites, including Wikipedia and the Urban Dictionary. There are also options to translate the text or share it with others.

4. Resurrect pages
When a website that you need goes down, you can hunt through each of the various caching services manually to find a snapshot of it, but this can be time-consuming. The Resurrect Pages extension does the hard work for you, replacing the standard 'page cannot be displayed' message with one that includes links to web cache services. Use these to quickly see if a service has a cached version of the page you want.

5. Avoid typos
It's easy to make a mistake when typing in a web address. URL Fixer 1.5 anticipates common mistakes and sets them right so that you're not left with a broken link. It won't catch every slip, but it will help reduce your irritation levels a little.

6. Block ads
Adverts can be a big irritation. The AdBlock Plus extension enables you to block adverts that you don't want to see while allowing you to permit them for other sites. You can also set it up to block content from a number of different subscription services, and opt to turn off its filter for sites that you approve of.

7. Block script
Some sites execute code without your explicit permission. In a few cases, like that of the Twitter worm Mikeyy, this can be abused. No Script blocks all third-party scripts – including JavaScript, Java and Flash objects – until you give your permission for them to run. You can also identify sites as trusted so that you're not constantly vetting scripts on familiar pages.

8. Pretend to be IE
Some webmasters are wise to the fact that Firefox users can block ads and scripts with plug-ins, so they prevent access to their sites for people using Firefox. User Agent Switcher disguises your browser as Internet Explorer to get round this restriction. The utility adds a sub-menu to the Tools menu that enables you to select the browser and OS that you want to display to sites.

9. Run IE in Firefox
Some sites need Internet Explorer to render properly. Rather than close Firefox, try IE Tab. Right-click and choose 'Open Page in IE tab' to open a new tab that emulates Internet Explorer.

10. Add Google Bookmarks
Use the GMarks extension to integrate your Google Bookmarks with Firefox. Log into your Google account to replace the existing Bookmarks menu and Bookmarks Toolbar folder with GMarks. This is a handy way to keep all of your bookmarks in one place.

11. Add bookmarks from IE
Another bookmark synchronising add-on is Xmarks that has evolved from an earlier extension known as Foxmarks. You can use it to synchronise your bookmarks with Internet Explorer and Safari, meaning that you'll have quick access to your favourite pages no matter which browser you're using. It also provides site suggestions and community feedback.

12. Check site security
McAfee's Site Advisor add-on provides a service that's focused on making sure that you're safe online. When you run a Google search, each result is either rated as 'safe' or has any potential problems flagged. Hover over the Site Advisor icon next to the result to find out more.

How to 8 Easy Firefox Tweaks for Super Fast Web Browsing

Fast loading web pages while surfing the Internet may have more to do with your web browser settings and preferences than your Internet connection speed. Try these easy tweaks and you'll see that you're surfing the Internet from 3 to 30 times faster!

Open your Firefox web browser. In the address/location bar type [about:config]and then press your Enter key. (NOTE: DON'T TYPE THE BRACKETS.)
In the Filter bar type [network.http.pipelining]. Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.
In the Filter bar type [network.http.pipelining.maxrequests]. Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name and change the value from 4 to a higher number anywhere from 10 to 30. I set mine to 30.
In the Filter bar type [network.http.proxy.pipelining]. Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.
In the Filter bar type [network.dns.disableIPv6]. Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.
In the Filter bar type [plugin.expose_full_path]. Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.
In the Filter bar type [network.protocol-handler.external.ms-help]. Now, you are going to create a new Preference Name with an Integer Value. To do this, right-click on this line under Preference Name and select New, then Integer.
In the New Integer value box type in [nglayout.initialpaint.delay] and click OK. Then in the Enter Integer value box type [0] (that's a zero) and click OK.
In the Filter bar again type [network.protocol-handler.external.ms-help]. Now, you are going to create another new Preference Name with an Integer Value. To do this, right-click on this line under Preference Name and select New, then Integer. In the New Integer value box type in [content.notify.backoffcount] and click OK. Then in the Enter Integer value box type [5] and click OK.
In the Filter bar again type [network.protocol-handler.external.ms-help]. Now, you are going to create another new Preference Name with an Integer Value. To do this, right-click on this line under Preference Name and select New, then Integer. In the New Integer value box type in [ui.submenuDelay] and click OK. Then in the Enter Integer value box type [0] (that's a zero)and click OK.