Firefox is one of the most well-known and secure browsers available in the market. Though it has some great default settings, the best options are not always the ones that are left on by default. Additionally, the browser is highly customizable and you can add extensions to further enhance your privacy. The browser is also fast and lightweight. We will tell you how to optimize the browser and make it perform at optimum levels.
Things to Consider
Of course, there are a few things you need to consider when customizing your browser. There is not a one-stop shop for all sites, so there are a few things you need to take a look at.
Browser Fingerprinting and Add-ons
While you may be tempted to add a number of extensions to help protect you, this can sometimes be a double-edged sword. That is because the more add-ons you have, the more unique your browser becomes. When that happens, you are easier to track. Just remember, that more is not always better. The truth is, there are many add-ons that duplicate each other. If you have too many, it will definitely slow down your performance. That is why you should take a balanced approach.
Be Cautious
Keep in mind that modifying some of the settings we are about to mention may “break” some websites. That is a common issue because many websites rely on various trackers to operate completely. In this case, using an incremental strategy is probably your best bet. If you use MacOS, you will see the word “preferences” instead of options. Follow these steps to start customizing your Firefox.
- Disable telemetry – To do this, go to the Open Menu > Options > Privacy & Security > Firefox Data Collection and Use. Now, you will want to uncheck the boxes there.
- Do Not Track (request) – Simply put, this is a request because it does not block anything. It can be found at Menu > Options > Privacy & Security > Tracking Protection > Send websites a “Do Not Track” signal…’ select Always.
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Change default search engine – You can do that by going to Menu > Search > Default Search Engine. While there are not many options, here, you can always select the “Find more search engines” option for alternatives.
- Enable Tracking Protection – This one is achieved by going to
Menu > Options > Privacy and Security > Tracking Protection and then click Always.
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Firefox Config Settings – This can be accessed by typing about:config in the address bar. Make sure you click the button that says “I accept the risk“. Be warned, though, doing this may cause issues in your browser if you modify the preferences.
- WebRTC – This particular issue can cause websites to find out where you are by exposing your email address, even if you are using something to help protect your privacy. To fix this issue, type in the search feature in the about heading media.peerconnection.enabled. You will want to change the value on this one to “false“.
- Resist Fingerprinting – To help prevent browser fingerprinting, you will want to enter privacy.resistFingerprinting. To activate this one, you need to change the value on this one to change the value to “true“. Another useful one to help prevent fingerprinting across different websites is the privacy.firstparty.isolate value. Change the value to true for this one.
- WebGL- This is another security risk. To fix this issue, you will want to type webgl.disabled and change the value to “true”
There are other settings besides the ones we mentioned above, but those are the big ones that make a difference.
Good Add-ons to Use
There are some great add-ons that you can use. From protecting your privacy to blocking ads, these will definitely help. Be sure to check out
There are a few others and some of these should not be used together. Again, there are other options as well.
As you can see, Firefox is one of the best all-around mainstream browsers. Feel free to share this post with your friends so they can configure their Firefox browsers as well. Follow us @VPNFan for the latest deals and guides.