tssci security

8 Firefox extensions towards safer browsing

Web 2.0 has (re)introduced a wide variety of attack vectors that can be used against Internet users to steal sensitive information, control the web browser, and more. The security industry has seen a shift from concentrating on the servers that house data to protecting the data itself. Many web applications and social-networking sites today exhibit flaws that expose them to all sorts of attacks, with much focus on XSS, CSRF, exploiting the same-origin policy and malicious code execution.

With insight from a couple of web security experts and some further research, I've compiled a list of must-have Firefox extensions that help ensure safer and more secure browsing with Firefox. Many of us have agreed that the security "functionality" these extensions provide should be built right into Firefox (*cough*Mozilla Security Team*cough*). Below, I outline the risk and how each extension goes about mitigating it.

Adblock Plus

CS Lite

FoxyProxy

LocalRodeo

RefControl

NoScript

SafeCache

SafeHistory

Further Reading: *Protecting Browser State from Web Privacy Attacks

Edit: Changed No-Referrer extension to RefControl

Posted by Marcin on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 in Privacy and Security.

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