In the Webroot Threat Blog, Andrew Brant reports that two new adware packages have appeared in the wild that target the Firefox browser. One installs itself as a browser plugin and watches for Google and other searches. When detected, it inserts its own misleading adware directly into the search results. It’s called Firesox.
The other is downloaded with a streaming MP2 player called PlayMP3z. It's called Foxcicle, and its purpose is to serve over and under ads while you browse.
Bright Hub's recommendation is that you only install approved Firefox plug-ins found through using Tools → Add-Ons → Get Add-Ons to access the real Mozilla add-on server website.
Ubiquity and Interclue are real Firefox Add-Ons that enhance and quicken your browsing experience. Ubiquity is an in-house project at Mozilla that adds a command-line interface to the Internet. You press a key-press combination to access it and then type in a shorthand command to enter your query terms. It often can retrieve the data you want without having to open a new page. For example, "we cleveland" or "weather cleveland" will retrieve the information and display it right in the Ubiquity pane.
Interclue provides a quick preview function that is activated when you hover your mouse over a link on a page. Without opening a new window, it provides a mini-pane showing you information about the link's contents, including a preview image, number of words on the page, number of links, and other information. It's particularly handy for previewing results in a search engine and for detecting dead-end links.
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Lamar Stonecypher
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Windows Platform Blog
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Apr 2 2009, 02:04 PM