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Web of Trust (WOT) is a very useful Mozilla Firefox add-on that warns you of risky and potentially dangerous websites. It uses a red, yellow, green and grey color scheme. Red means the website is bad, yellow means the website is potentially bad, green means the website is good and grey means the website has not been rated yet or does not have enough ratings to mark it as a good or bad website.
WOT is dependent on how the other users of the program rate particular websites. Since it takes more than one user to rate a website as good or bad, it makes this add-on safe.
Download WOT from here. WOT is a typical Firefox add-on, so add it to Firefox and restart the browser.
When the browser restarts, you will receive the WOT EULA. Read and accept the EULA, otherwise, you won’t be able to use the program
WOT will open a new tab and start the configuration process. We recommend that you choose the Maximum Safety since it will block all the bad sites, but if you can’t stand the slight browser delay or the brief glimpse of the WOT screen, then choose the Light Protection. With Light Protection, you still receive all the ratings, but none of the sites will be blocked.
On the next screen, WOT will ask you to register to gain access to all the features of the add-on. You don’t need access to any of the advanced controls since we configured the add-on for the highest security, so close out of the window. If at some point you do want to register, you can register by going to the WOT homepage and clicking the register link.
If you browse many websites throughout the day, chances are you are redirected from site to site. Normally this type of redirection is harmless, but occasionally you may be redirected to a rogue website and end up infected with malware. With Redirect Remover, you control are allowed to redirect and which ones cannot.
Download Redirect Remover from here. Redirect Remover is a normal Firefox add-on so add it to Firefox and restart your browser.
Right click anywhere by the address bar and select Customize. You want to customize the toolbar to make it easier to turn on or off Redirect Remover. In the Customize toolbar window, scroll down until you find the Switch RDR on/off button. Drag this button next to the WOT icon (or Home button if you didn’t install WOT) and to the left of your address bar. Click on Done to close the window and return to the browser window.
If you did the previous step correctly, you should now have a new button next to your address bar that will allow you to control Redirect Remover. When the button is grey, the add-on is turned off and when it is red, it is fully functioning.
Don’t you hate those websites that refuse to work with any other browser besides Internet Explorer? IE Tab’s mission is to remedy this annoying problem. It will emulate Internet Explorer and allow you to use most of the websites that require Internet Explorer.
Download the add-on from here. IE Tab is a normal Firefox add-on, so just add it to Firefox and restart the browser.
In the bottom, right hand corner of the browser window you will see the Firefox logo or the Internet Explorer logo. When the Firefox logo appears, you are using the Firefox rendering engine. When the Internet Explorer logo appears, you are using the Internet Explorer rendering engine.
When you want to change to a different engine, just click the logo and the page will refresh loading the appropriate renderer.
Manually copying and pasting can get monotonous since you have to click too many times to do what you want. As a power user, copying and pasting gets old very fast. In comes, AutoCopy, with this Firefox add-on you can automatically copy any text to your clipboard.
Download AutoCopy from here. Add the add-on to Firefox and restart the browser. In the bottom, right hand corner of the screen you will have a new button stating AutoCopy is enabled.
When this add-on is enabled, highlight the text you want to copy and paste it wherever you want it.
If you didn’t know, Mozilla Firefox offers hundreds of themes to change the default look of Firefox.
We recommend you go through the list of themes and find one that suits your personal taste. There are hundreds of themes that change the look and feel of Firefox, so make sure you look through them.
If you hate typing in the URL of your favorite websites, this add-on is for you.
Download the add-on from here. Add the add-on to Firefox and restart the browser.
When the browser re-opens, you will get the initial configuration window. Put a checkmark in the Add Speed Dial button to toolbar. By doing this, it makes it easier to access your Speed Dialed websites.
To add a new speed dial page, navigate to the page you want to speed dial, click on Bookmarks and select Set As Speed Dial. Highlight Group 1 to place it in the first group of speed dial pages and put assign it a number.
When you are done, click on the purple Speed Dial button and it will open the speed dial directory of websites that you bookmarked. Click on the website you want to visit and you will be taken there. You may create as many groups as you like, but we recommend you keep the number small since this should only be used for your favorite websites.
If you frequently use instant messaging, you have encountered the text limit problem. Sometimes you just want to copy and paste the entire article or section instead of giving a link to the whole article. Maybe you are just pointing out a specific thing in the article that you want the other person to read. Regardless of your intent, Quick Paste is here to help. Quick Paste is similar to TinyURL since it gives a URL for the person to click on.
Download the Quick Paste from here. Add the add-on to Firefox and restart the browser.
When you need to paste a lot of text, highlight the text you want to send, right click and select TinyPaste selected text. You will receive a pop-up telling you the URL of the text. Copy and paste the URL given and send it to the appropriate person.
When the person clicks the link, it will open the tinypaste.com website and show them the text you highlighted.
Comments are closed on this article
alexamica
March 15, 2011 at 12:09pm
I have been using dll file extension for a while now and I had no problems with the , like some are saying and it helped me to improve my windows and I have installed some great programs .
waleedraza
February 09, 2011 at 10:37pm
You Can Downlaod New Version Of C Cleaner at : www.mysoft101.com Or http://www.meratvforum.com
perfectpitcher22
January 30, 2011 at 3:30pm
Thanks for all your replies regarding this speedypc issue. Everybody certainly needs a faster computer. Some users may be okay with the tips and advice on this article, but there are also others who may find it erroneous. I was not so sure if WOT is actually safe, so I am still waiting for more replies on this thread.
speeddemon21
May 13, 2009 at 12:15am
Stry8993 can find help here http://home.comcast.net/~username54321/starfield/mods.html#options_picture_13
Why A Duck
May 01, 2009 at 8:30am
When I first installed IE8, it would take 5-10 seconds to start, and then 5-10 additional seconds for each new tab. Page rendering was hella fast, but the startup delay made me mad.
Finally figured it out after much Googling. If you have let SpyBot (or similar) "immunize" IE, it adds 10,000+ sites to IE's restricted site list. IE7 was cool with that, but IE8 ... not so much. After I undid SpyBots immunization and then redid it with everything but IE's domain and resitricted domain boxes checked, IE8 worked like a champ.
I don't like having to undo SpyBot's protection, but hopefully IE's built-in SmartScreen filter (or WOT) will mitigate this risk.
Bless
April 24, 2009 at 3:43pm
Need to add, disabling the auto complete and the feed seemed to make my newly installed IE works faster,
has anyone tried and felt the same thing?
I dont want to mess around further than this since anything beyond this point is irreversible, definitely dont wanna spent another 6 hours sitting on my chair to format, install and download all the windows update, flash player & java update for my vista, huh...
Bless
April 24, 2009 at 3:25pm
I tried the IE8 tweak exactly just as decribed, and the result is quite dissapointing in my opinion.
I dont know maybe it's just me but it seemed that IE8 after the tweak is slower than IE7. I had to reformat my windows and reinstall it all over again. :(
Deborah
April 24, 2009 at 2:00am
Thank you, Josh, for recommending WOT to the readers of Maximum PC. I just wanted to clarify the statement about user ratings.
Our system is based on the assumption that not all users are equally reliable. New users are not very reliable, but over time their reliability increases and their ratings have more weight. Because of this, a previously unrated site will not be influenced by a single new user’s rating. And ratings may change over time and in some cases move to unrated again. This is because the confidence in the ratings falls below the visible threshold. You can see more on our blog about these two things at http://www.mywot.com/blog/anonymity-vs-democracy and http://www.mywot.com/blog/confidence
Safe surfing,
Deborah
Web of Trust
www.mywot.com
ericlaw
April 23, 2009 at 5:54pm
Reader beware: This article is full of terrible advice for IE users and it's not clear that the author did any real research.
1> IE8 uses 6 connections by default, not two. This has been true for over a year, and is documented on the IE team blog. Increasing the limit beyond 6 can result in SLOWER performance.
2> SmartScreen is significantly more effective than competitive anti-phishing/anti-malware solutions, and the claim that it "slows down browsing" is unfounded; URL reputation checks happen in a different thread and in parallel; they are non-blocking.
The idea that WOT is safe "because" it requires two votes is simply absurd.
3> Claiming that RSS support slows down browsing is also incorrect; RSS feeds aren't checked by the browser, they're checked by the Windows Feeds platform on a schedule. The browser does not block on synchronization.
4> Re-registering actxprxy.dll on Vista does nothing at best and is harmful at worst.
5> Disabling autocomplete is a great way to make your browser annoying and slow you down on the web. Anyone with physical or admin access to your computer can abuse you in other ways.
hackman2007
April 26, 2009 at 6:19pm
1. The two connection limit was a typo. Thanks for catching that.
2. It does slow down browsing, at least it did on my connection. WOT takes more than two users to rate a site as safe.
3. Turning off feed checking sped up my browser. Not all of the tweaks mentioned are going to have the same desired affect.
4. The tweak is not harmful. It just re-register's a dll. It doesn't delete or modify anything. As mentioned, it may not speed up your computer. The tests were done a Windows Vista and Windows 7 computer.
5. Autocomplete stores information about you in plain text format. That seems unsafe to me. To each their own I guess.
BizSAR
April 23, 2009 at 6:37pm
Can anyone at MaxPC answer to this comment? I'd like to know before I try any of these.
Thanks :)
smashingpumpin
April 23, 2009 at 4:00pm
I just downloaded the NASA night launch theme and expected Google's main page to be black just like the one in the picture. What am i doing wrong? I like dark themes coz it seems to delay the dimming effect of my dying CRT.
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he's pwning with a trackpad? oh really? oh reheheheeally?
brainwins
April 23, 2009 at 1:32pm
No Script has been most of the time a big pain in the ass for me. It cripples most of the pages.
It´s probably a good idea for those "dangerous" pages one visits every once in a while. But for everyday browsing is just overkill.
Editorial_Response
April 23, 2009 at 3:49pm
Everyone with Firefox should install NoScript. It will keep your system safe from everything except a directed/targeted attack by a hacker. This is a no brainer.
Another added benefit to NoScript is that it blocks the Digg Bar! That rocks! You can keep the Digg Bar from getting in the way of everyday surfing and you will continue to see the actual URL when you surf. Otherwise you do no tknow where you are headed and what site has just been loaded in your browser.
Kulmanari
April 23, 2009 at 3:39pm
Just click on the NoScript icon in FF and set it to allow every webpage that you navigate to and you have deemed to be safe/legit and you'll never be bothered by it while it sits in the background keeping you safe. There are several websites I visit where NoScript is allowing the page to work just fine, but it has disabled code from places like "google-analytics.com" and "doubleclick.net" which are mostly for information gathering/advertisements and even though Ad-Block Plus keeps you from seeing them, the code would still be running without NoScript.
amacieli
April 23, 2009 at 8:37am
I actually don't find IE8 that much slower than FF3, to the point where there is no real advantage of FF3, except maybe for firebug. Chrome just "aw snaps" every 2 seconds, so I uninstalled that with prejudice (although it is quite fast when it deigns to work), and I'm still playing around with Opera (which seems pretty good, though not compatible with some sites (or vice versa)).
dethdeks
April 23, 2009 at 2:59am
i find that speed dial isn't as great as fast dial, i find with Firefox 3.x that speed dial seems to cause issues, id suggest using fast dial instead, it looks exactly the same but runs faster and is more customizable
link to fast dial
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5721
toohightocomply
April 23, 2009 at 1:38am
Lets keep in mind how many more bugs are in Firefox compared to IE. Plus, Microsoft is a bigger company and can delegate more resources to finding problems than Mozilla can. Mozilla even has on their website a claim about how much better Firefox is, by using a study from 2006!!! Come on. Stop the Fanboyism and stop following orders without significant thought.
roninnder
April 23, 2009 at 2:25am
I find the pure self defeating irony in your post too powerful to take in in a single reading. Take your IE8 love elsewhere MS fanboy troll. This website's patrons are firefox users exactly because we do discriminate in choice of software, substandard though ubiquitous browsers need not apply.
Bobinator2000
April 23, 2009 at 1:07am
It's the NASA Night Launch Theme: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4908
KNFrH2O
April 22, 2009 at 11:27pm
"The newest version of the once dominant Internet Explorer is a quantum leap above previous buggy versions, but remains slow."
People seem to forget that "quantum" doesn't mean huge. :D In this case, though, it still fits! Internet Explorer is horrible (in my opinion).
