Currently there are a large number of web browsers, the most widely used and known with Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge. Today, web browsers are the order of the day for searching or for accessing our favorite websites. Firefox is one of the best browsers if you care about preserving your privacy on the Internet and having security when browsing. In recent times, Mozilla has incorporated a large number of features focused on the privacy and security of its users. Today in this article we are going to explain all the built-in features.
Firefox is oriented to the privacy of users
Firefox is one of the best web browsers if you are interested in preserving your privacy and security. Although by default in Windows operating systems it is not installed, you simply have to access the Mozilla portal and in a few minutes, you will already have one of the fastest and most complete browsers that currently exist, and take advantage of most of its features.
Once we are done with the installation, we can have a quick look at the most important features it offers. First of all, you can import your bookmarks, passwords and other data history, even if they come from other browsers. We know that this is a functionality already available in all browsers. However, it is good to remember that possibility, especially if you are thinking of changing your main browser.
On the other hand, it is possible to surf the Internet with a little more peace of mind thanks to «Monitor» a tool that is geared towards data leaks. This integrated tool in the browser informs you about the potential data leakage events in which our own data could be involved. This is a very important additional feature today, since data breaches (emails, passwords) have claimed millions of victims, in addition, other browsers currently available do not incorporate this by default.
In addition, it has a password manager that allows you to organize and maintain with visibility all the passwords of the various accounts you use. Remember that it is important to have a password manager, especially if you have many accounts on different portals. In this regard, it is not recommended to have similar passwords for all portals. Whenever possible, make all your passwords different and respect basic security considerations: including numbers, special characters, not including your username in the password itself, and others. We recommend you read our complete guide on how to create a strong password .
It is clear that the new image of the browser and its way of taking advantage of it is completely oriented towards privacy. In addition, it has its own characteristics of online privacy that can be exploited according to the needs of each user. That is, you can use only one, several of them or all the characteristics in question. Next, we quote the most outstanding characteristics.
Tracking protection
One of the great risks that we run when using an online service is the possibility that we will be tracked. Now, what would a cybercriminal want to know about our online habits? With all the information that is collected, we could create a complete profile of ourselves, including our tastes, the preferences we have, what type of topics we explore, the scope of the news, what type of products we view through the Internet and more.
When you visit a website, you are not only allowing your data to be shared with the site in question, but also to as many pages at the same time. There are even cases in which sites collect data from users and those automatically go to other companies such as those specialized in marketing, advertising and even those aimed at collecting user data to re-sell it to other companies (the Data Brokers). .
According to the Mozilla portal, the Firefox browser has tracking protection enabled by default. They report that you are protected from the main trackers that even collect every click you make, both during general browsing and the purchases and payments you make. They report that they have more than ten million trackers blocked and, if for any reason, you need to configure privacy aspects, you can do it:
You enter Privacy Protections
And a tab will be generated in which you will obtain a summary of the level of your privacy protection and the activity that has been generated throughout the week, including today. By default, the protection level activated the Standard . What does this mean? If you click on the link that says “The level of protection is Standard “, it will direct you to a configuration section that details what that protection includes.
Of course, you can change it according to your preferences. However and by default, for the purposes of an average user this standard level is adequate. Since it protects you from the main threats to your online privacy:
One point to note is that, if you opt for the strict level of protection, there will be practically no difference in relation to what threats protects you. However, protection shields are much stronger, and consequently some websites are likely to be affected in their optimal functionality. As we see, it is evident that many of the sites we visit daily have our personal data as the main engine. There is no doubt that we are exposed!
How to know if you have been the victim of data breaches
On the other hand, and below, in Privacy Protections , we can perform searches regarding whether our data has been exposed in any data breach event. These types of events are the order of the day and it is never unnecessary to carry out this type of consultation. The functionality of Firefox Monitor requires us to have a Firefox account, which allows you to take more advantage of other features of this web browser.
Once you have confirmed your entry to the Firefox monitor, it will redirect you to a portal that shows you a summary of what has happened to your email. Perform a search and analysis of your email address based on known data from the various leak events. This is possible thanks to an integration made with the well-known Have I Been Pwned portal.
In a matter of seconds you will know how many data leak events your email and password have exposed. What can I know about these events? You will know about the affected website, the date and what data has been specifically exposed. The interesting thing is that, according to each leak, Firefox suggests actions to prevent this type of situation in the future.
Extensions to block different scripts
One of the features that has always highlighted this browser is the number of extensions it has. Not only to block ads but to provide greater benefits to the browser and make it much more productive. However, Firefox strongly encourages the use of extensions to block malicious scripts, in order to be more protected when browsing.
Private browsing
Another option to improve your personal browsing experience is private browsing. This is that the browser does not store your browsing history. It also doesn’t store the login data you wanted to use. The main purpose of this is to avoid exposing your browsing history, especially if you are using a computer that is not yours, or if you share yours.
We know that there are alternatives for this type of situation. However, this is still a very frequent practice and you only need to open a new private window and that’s it, you can start with your private session. Also, you can take advantage of this if you need to search for sensitive information. For example, health issues or conducting bank transactions.
It is good to know that this does not mean that you are browsing anonymously, for example, in relation to your Internet provider or if you are using a computer from your workplace. Simply, the private navigation avoids that the sessions that you are carrying out in this way do not remain in the history. A practical case: if you have visited this article in the “traditional” mode, open a private window and write the address of our blog, the suggestion will also appear in the address bar.
Prevent Facebook and Instagram from tracking you on the web
There is no doubt that both social platforms are the most used around the world. Such is the scope that they have, that they can track (in fact, they do) your activity on the Internet, even if you are not browsing within Facebook or Instagram. For this reason, Firefox has an extension called Facebook Container .
You may wonder, how do they manage to track my internet activity? Mainly, they do it using two buttons: the Like and Share buttons. If you’ve noticed, virtually every website you visit has this pair of buttons. It may appear that these simply allow you to share content, but what is not often said is that these buttons contain trackers.
The consequence of this is that, without you often perceiving it, these social platforms adjust the content you view, including the ads. Over the years, Facebook’s news feed and general posts have seen multiple changes to its algorithm. We can say without fear of error, that almost half of what we see consists of advertisements based on what you have been looking for lately and publications of pages that you do not follow that could interest you. Do you have Firefox and want to download the Facebook Container extension? You can access this link .
Firefox browser for mobile
If you have got here with your mobile and you do not have Firefox installed yet, we recommend doing so. It is available for all major operating systems. The Android version:
The iOS version:
As you have seen, Mozilla Firefox is one of the best browsers that exist today to protect our privacy and security, in addition, there are hundreds of extensions to increase the functionality of the browser. We recommend you visit the official website of Firefox where you will find all the details and the download link, if you do not use it yet.
