Firefox Notes

The these are some general notes about Firefox.

• Settings
• Addons
• Appearance Tweaks
• Internal Information
• uBlock Origin Rules

Settings

Enable DNS over HTTPS

Disable Geolocation:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "geo.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
3. Search for "geo.wifi.uri". Double click it and set the value to "http://127.0.0.1".

Source: Jay, Configuring your browser for best privacy and security — Firefox, Security Spread (Aug. 13, 2013).

Enable Extended Validation Certificate information:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "security.identityblock.show_extended_validation". Double click to set the value to "true".

Source: Martin Brinkmann, How to restore the green lock icon in Firefox's address bar, ghacks (Oct. 28, 2019).

Identify Insecure Connections:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "security.insecure_connection_text.enabled". Double click to set the value to "true".
3. Search for "security.insecure_connection_text.pbmode.enabled". Double click to set the value to "true".

Source: Martin Brinkmann, How to restore the green lock icon in Firefox's address bar, ghacks (Oct. 28, 2019).

Prevent Javascript attempts to interfere with cut and paste:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".

Source: Chris Siebenmann, A Firefox surprise from disabling dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled, CSpace (Apr. 16, 2021).

Disable Javascript in PDFs:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "pdfjs.enableScripting". Double click to set the value to "false".

Source: Martin Brinkmann, How to disable JavaScript in PDF documents in Firefox, ghacks (May 5, 2021).

Enable Privacy Features:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "app.normandy.enable". Double click to set the value to "false".
3. Search for "app.normandy.optoutstudies.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
4. Search for "beacon.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
5. Search for "browser.aboutHomeSnippets.updateUrl". Double click to set the value to a blank string ("").
6. Search for "browser.safebrowsing.downloads.remote.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
7. Search for "browser.search.geoip.url". Double click to set the value to a blank string ("").
8. Search for "browser.send_pings". Double click to set the value to "false".
9. Search for "browser.send_pings.require_same_host". Double click to set the value to "true".
10. Search for "browser.sessionstore.privacy_level". Double click to set the value to "2".
11. Search for "browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone". Double click to set the value to "ignore".
12. Search for "browser.urlbar.speculativeConnect.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
13. Search for "dom.battery.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
14. Search for "dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
15. Search for "dom.push.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
16. Search for "dom.push.connection.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
17. Search for "dom.push.serverURL". Double click and set the value to a blank string ("").
18. Search for "dom.webnotifications.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
19. Search for "dom.webnotifications.serviceworker.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
20. Search for "extensions.getAddons.cache.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
21. Search for "extensions.pocket.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
22. Search for "gfx.downloadable_fonts.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
23. Search for "gfx.downloadable_fonts.woff2.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
24. Search for "identity.fxaccounts.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
25. Search for "identity.fxaccounts.toolbar.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
26. Search for "media.navigator.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
27. Search for "media.peerconnection.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
28. Search for "messaging-system.rsexperimentloader.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
29. Search for "network.dns.disablePrefetch". Double click to set the value to "true".
30. Search for "network.dns.disablePrefetchFromHTTPS". Double click to set the value to "true".
31. Search for "network.http.speculative-parallel-limit". Double click to set the value to "0".
32. Search for "network.predictor.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
33. Search for "network.predictor.enable-prefetch". Double click to set the value to "false".
34. Search for "network.prefetch-next". Double click to set the value to "false".
35. Search for "network.IDN_show_punycode". Double click to set the value to "true".
36. Search for "network.websocket.enabled". Double click to set the value to "false".
37. Search for "privacy.firstparty.isolate". Double click to set the value to "true".
38. Search for "privacy.query_stripping.enabled". Double click to set the value to "true". (works in Firefox 102 and later)
39. Search for "privacy.query_stripping.enabled.pbmode". Double click to set the value to "true". (works in Firefox 102 and later)
40. Search for "privacy.trackingprotection.enabled". Double click to set the value to "true".
41. Search for "privacy.trackingprotection.cryptomining.enabled". Double click to set the value to "true".
42. Search for "privacy.trackingprotection.fingerprinting.enabled". Double click to set the value to "true".
43. Search for "webgl.disabled". Double click to set the value to "true".

Sources:

• How to disable web push notifications in Firefox? (Sept. 17, 2016)
• Mattias Geniar, Show IDN punycode in Firefox to avoid phishing URLs (February 19, 2018).
• [How to disable] push.services.mozilla.com/:443 (June 10, 2019)
• Privacy International, Adjusting Firefox settings to enhance your online privacy (Mar. 11, 2021).
• Dan Schmid, Install Firefox under Freebsd and set it up with privacy, Dan Schmid (Apr. 30, 2021).
• Martin Brinkmann, Firefox: remove known tracking parameters from URLs in all modes, ghacks (June 29, 2022).
• Marin Brinkmann, How to block web fonts to improve privacy, ghacks.net.
• How to stop Firefox from making automatic connections
• Make Firefox Private Again

Prevent Accidental Quits:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "warnOn". Double click on any of the settings that are set to "false" to toggle them to "true".

Source: Adam Dachis, How to Prevent Yourself from Accidentally Quitting Firefox or Chrome, LifeHacker (July 8, 2011).

Alternate Location for Bookmarks:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "browser.bookmarks.file". Double click it to specify the new location for the bookmark file.

Addons

Recommended:

• AdBlocker for YouTube:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-for-youtube/
  https://mybrowseraddon.com/adblocker-for-youtube.html
• Behave:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/behave/
  https://github.com/mindedsecurity/behave
• Canvas Blocker:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/canvasblocker/
  https://github.com/kkapsner/CanvasBlocker/
• Chameleon:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/chameleon-ext/
  https://sereneblue.github.io/chameleon/
• ClearURLs:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clearurls/
  https://gitlab.com/KevinRoebert/ClearUrls
• Cookie AutoDelete:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookie-autodelete/
  https://github.com/Cookie-AutoDelete
• Cookie Quick Manager:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookie-quick-manager/
  https://github.com/ysard/cookie-quick-manager
• CSS Exfil Protection:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/css-exfil-protection/
  https://www.mike-gualtieri.com/css-exfil-vulnerability-tester
• Decentraleyes:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/decentraleyes/
  https://decentraleyes.org/
• Don't Track Me Google:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/dont-track-me-google1/
  https://github.com/Rob--W/dont-track-me-google
• DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/duckduckgo-for-firefox
• Enhancer for Youtube:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/enhancer-for-youtube
• Ghostery:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ghostery/
  https://www.ghostery.com/
• Hide Private Mode:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/hide-private-mode/
  https://github.com/hensm/hide_private_mode
• History Cleaner:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/history-cleaner/
  https://github.com/Rayquaza01/HistoryCleaner
• HTTPS Everywhere:
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
• Link Cleaner+:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/link-cleaner-plus/
  https://github.com/apiraino/link_cleaner/
• Multi-Account Containers:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/multi-account-containers/
• Never Consent:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/never-consent/
  https://github.com/MathRobin/Never-Consent
• Privacy Badger:
  https://www.eff.org/privacybadger
• Redirect AMP to HTML:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html/
  https://www.daniel.priv.no/web-extensions/amp2html.html
• Smart Referer:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/smart-referer/
  https://gitlab.com/smart-referer/smart-referer
• SponsorBlock:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sponsorblock/
  https://sponsor.ajay.app/
• uBlock Origin:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/
  https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock#ublock-origin
• uMatrix:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/umatrix/
  https://github.com/gorhill/uMatrix

Other:

• Copy Plain Text:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/copy-plaintext/
• I don't care about cookies:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/i-dont-care-about-cookies/
  https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/
• Link Cleaner:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/link-cleaner/
  https://github.com/idlewan/link_cleaner
• Midnight Lizard:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/midnight-lizard-quantum/
  https://midnight-lizard.org/home
• Neat URL:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/neat-url/
• Tracking Token Stripper:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/utm-tracking-token-stripper/
  https://github.com/jparise/chrome-utm-stripper

Appearance

Rounded Tabs:

• Firefox Quantum Rounded Tabs:
  https://github.com/FrankConijn/Firefox-Quantum-Rounded-Tabs
• Photon Australis:
  https://github.com/wilfredwee/photon-australis

Enable User Chrome and User Content on Firefox 69 and newer:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets". Double click it to set it to "true".

Source: Martin Brinkmann, Firefox 69: userChrome.css and userContent.css disabled by default, ghacks (May 24, 2019).

Green Padlock Icon

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "security.secure_connection_icon_color_gray". Double click it to set it to "false".

Source: Martin Brinkmann, How to restore the green lock icon in Firefox's address bar, ghacks (Oct. 28, 2019).

Disable Blinking Text

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "browser.blink_allowed". Double click it to set it to "false".

Disable Scrolling Text:

1. In the URL bar, type about:config and click the "I accept the risk!" button.
2. Search for "browser.display.enable_marquee". Double click it to set it to "false".

Internal Information

Get Networking Information: In the URL bar, type about:networking

Source: Chris Siebenmann The "why" problem with on-host (host-based) firewalls on your machines, Wandering Thoughts (Oct. 4, 2021).

uBlock Origin Settings

• Import the following in Filter Lists > Import:

  https://fanboy.co.nz/fanboy-antifonts.txt
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arosh/ublacklist-github-translation/master/uBlacklist.txt
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arosh/ublacklist-stackoverflow-translation/master/uBlacklist.txt
  https://github.com/mig4ng/ublock-origin-filters/blob/main/stackoverflow-co.txt
  https://github.com/mig4ng/ublock-origin-filters/blob/main/linkedin.txt

• Add the following to "My filters":

  ! Remove tracking tokens
  *$removeparam=utm_source
  *$removeparam=fbclid
  *$removeparam=gclid
  *$removeparam=utm_source
  *$removeparam=utm_medium
  *$removeparam=utm_term
  *$removeparam=utm_campaign
  *$removeparam=utm_content
  *$removeparam=utm_cid
  *$removeparam=utm_reader
  *$removeparam=utm_referrer
  *$removeparam=utm_name
  *$removeparam=utm_social
  *$removeparam=utm_social
  *$removeparam=igshid
  *$removeparam=ICID
  *$removeparam=rb_clickid
  
  ! block pinterest on google
  google.*##.g:has(a[href*=".pinterest.*"])
  google.*##a[href*=".pinterest."]:upward(1)
  
  ! Block pinterest on ddg
  duckduckgo.*##.results > div:has(a[href*=".pinterest.com"])
  
  ! Block google popups
  accounts.google.com/gsi/iframe
  
  ! block third party fonts
  *$font,third-party

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