1) The first thing you would want to do is click on the orange Firefox drop down menu.

2) Once the menu has dropped down click on options

3) The options box will open, and you will then need to click on the general tab.Once in the general tab you can then change your homepage to whatever you desire.

Download Mozilla Firefox

History Of Firefox

So we all are well acquainted with the Mozilla Firefox web browser. That pictogram of the globe of the world being snugly hugged by a fiery fast orange fox is all too familiar. And why do we love firefox? Because it gets the job done. It makes using the internet simple and effortless. No long waiting and no hassles. But where did it all begin? Every great project usually started with nothing more complicated than a good idea matched with dedication and effort. Mozilla firefox is hailed as being the brainchild of two persons by the name of Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross, and was borne as nothing more than an offshoot of the Mozilla browser. The product was released to the world in the year of 2004, so that was quite a few years ago now. And of course, as we all know, prior to that it was the internet explorer that was more widely used. Firefox however, came into the picture and changed the internet stakes forever. New and improved versions of the product were then constantly being released. The 2004 release was followed up with releases in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The last version released came with a rapid release cycle. This envisions a major release every six weeks! The last version was released in 2014. The initial name used before release was Phoenix. This name was eventually changed because of a trademark dispute. The next name they picked was Firebird. This though, also was already borne by another software product. Pressure because of the name similarity caused them to change the name again. And what a lucky thing as well, I can’t imaging “Phoenix” or “Firebird” being as popular as “Firefox”. The latter name is just perfect.  The name firefox was then registered with the United States patent office, to prevent the need for any further name changes.

Usability features

What kind of features does firefox have that makes it unique from other web browsers? Firefox is said to rely on what is called a robust extension system. This means that users of firefox can modify the browser. They will do this according to their particular individual requirements. This then means that all the features of the browser do not have to be supplied in the standard distribution of the product. Pretty clever right? While it is true that Opera and Google Chrome can boast a similar feature, the truth is that since 2013, their extensions that they offer are less in number than firefox’s.

It is also true that the well known internet explorer has an extension system, however it’s extension system is not as widely supported. There are developers with a multiplicity of browsers in their stable, and they more often than not support firefox. It is safe to say that sometimes firefox is the only browser they support. Another point to consider when assessing browsers is the protocol support and the question of the difficulty of adding new link type protocols. These are usually not capable of being well implemented with firefox. Firefox does however support web standards such as JTML, Javascript, DOM, XPath and so on. Firefox also has what is referred to as a quirks mode. Theirs tries to copy internet explorer’s quirks mode, but that really is the equivalent of using standards which are now obsolete. It has also been noted that firefox does not support Active X controls. This is why sometimes web pages can be found missing certain features. Sometimes they do not work at all. But the reason why they don’t support active x is because of its potential security vulnerability. You can use a third party plugin to make active x work with firefox, but this does not always work. Sometimes it won’t work with a particular version or platform.

Security features

 

There are many features that come with firefox and that are designed to improve security. Thus, security is a key feature of firefox. These security features include things such as sandbox security model, it includes what is called same origin policy, it includes external protocol whitelisting, it includes a phishing detector, it includes an option to clear all private data, and it includes an option to clear data such as browser history and cookies. What you need to note in respect of firefox security, is that it is what is referred to as open source software. This means that it has a source code that is visible to everybody. This in turn means that anyone can view the code for security vulnerability. It doesn’t matter if this person has good or bad intentions, they will be able to view the code. It should be noted that Mozilla firefox has a bounty system when it comes to their security issues. What does this mean you may be wondering? Well it means exactly what it says. There is a bounty offered in respect of security problems reported. Any individual who makes a report will receive a cash reward. Let’s look a little more closely at some of the security features. Phishing is when someone tries to get sensitive information from someone via email. This could include trying to get their passwords, usernames, and credit card details. They do this by pretending to be a valid email which can be trusted, but of course, it is part of a scam. They may contain links to websites that have bugs or other malware on them.  So luckily then, Mozilla firefox has a phishing detector. The software which tests computer software is called sandbox. Sandbox is in essence a software development. It is a security mechanism with a security function. It is designed to separate running programs. If there is an unverified program from a third party, then sandbox is used to test it. It is applicable when you are dealing with websites and users which can’t be trusted. It is a credit to firefox that they contain so many security features to counteract these types of threats and to protect users.