by A W Drake

Created on: November 11, 2009

Firefox has a reputation of being much more secure than its rivals, not least because it is more effective for those with criminal intent to target a mainstream browser such as Internet Explorer. However as Firefox continues to become increasingly more popular it also becomes a more appealing target. Fortunately there is a small army of dedicated Firefox coders willing to give up their time to patch up any vulnerabilities, but there are still steps that can be taken by end users to make Firefox more secure.

+Firefox Browser Settings+

The first of these steps is to take a look at the browser settings to see how they can help make Firefox more secure. To access these settings click on Tools from the browser menu then Options. There will now be an array of settings to choose from ordered under various tabs.

Now that you have the browser options opened, click on the Advanced tab and make sure Firefox is set as the default browser. Once this is done all actions that would normally be assigned to Internet Explorer are set to Firefox.

+Create a Master Password+

Firefox has the ability to store passwords and usernames for websites to save the trouble of continually typing them. It also has the option of creating a master password which will keep all your passwords more secure. The master password will need to be entered once per session when Firefox retrieves your other passwords.

To set a master password go to Tools-> Options-> Security. Now tick the 'Use a master password' box. Enter a memorable but strong password and click OK.

Also under the Privacy tab are options to block reported web forgeries and web attacks. Another option is to allow a warning if a site tries to install an add-on. These settings are on by default and it is just as well to check to see if they remain checked.

+Clear Private Data from Firefox+

Under Tools-> Options-> Privacy there are some useful settings such how long you want your browsing history to be stored and if you want your download history remembered. Editing these options can keep Firefox more secure from snoopers.

Another option here is whether or not you want cookies to be stored from websites. As some sites need cookies allowed to function correctly, the use of this option is used is a personal choice, although there is also an option to set up exceptions if the 'Accept cookies from sites' is unchecked.

+Firefox Warnings+

Under the Security tab click on the Settings button for 'Warning Messages' to select which messages you

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