TWEAK: Fix Java 7 Update 51 Errors

At work, I get to manage and play around with EMC storage arrays. It doesn't need or require that you login often, but sometimes you would have to do it to check the health of the system, create new LUNs or expand existing ones. Its management interface runs on a Java plugin from a browser.

Lately, the helpdesk where I work pushed updates. The Java Runtime Environment 7 Update 51 got included in the push and installed itself on my notebook. I really have no choice on this matter -- as updates are mandatory. This is a nightmare since most of the time updates like this break a lot of things more than fix what it's supposed to. This time it broke my administrative tools to the storage.

The error is weird and it is only now that I have encountered it. The screenshot is below:

Missing required Permissions manifest attribute in main jar: ..

First, I thought it could be that Firefox just blocked the plugin. So I followed the procedure found in this FAQ entry on the support site. The procedure is outlined below.

1. Open new Tab
   
2. Navigate to about:config
   
3. Accept security warning
   
4. Change extensions.blocklist.enabled to false
   
5. Restart browser
   

This did not solve the problem. I decided to phone a friend, who is also a system administrator (he wishes not to be named).

He suggested that I open the Java Control Panel. And under "Security" tab, lower the Security Level from High (default setting) to Medium. See screenshot below.

After a browser restart, viola! my administrative tools are back to its original functionality.

I hope by sharing my experience, it will help somebody who experiences the same dilemma.

DISCLAIMER: Lowering the security settings of Java is exposing your system to risk. Be warned. I will not be liable for any of your actions or its results. I only wish to restore the functionality to the administrative tools that Java broke.

Read More

TIP: Firefox Speed Boost via Vacuum Places Improved Add-on

Firefox 10 was recently released to the public and Firefox continues its rapid release process.. And soon before we know it version 11 will be out. This trend will continue for as long as development goes. Firefox's market share is being taken away by Chrome mainly due to its faster startup and faster page rendering. While page render speed is subject to a lot of debates and discussions, there is significant improvements over Firefox's memory management and rendering speeds over previous versions.

For a few tweaks and features, pimp-my-rig has published quite a bit of them -- including but not limited to plugin checker, tuning and configuration, and forcing add-on compatibility. We also did a guide on getting a larger active tab.

Our primary reason for sticking it out with Firefox is the download them all plug-in. This add-on is not available for Chrome, and will likely stay the same in the long term. So it is of good reasoning for us to continue using Firefox, keeping it up to date, and secure. And also, tweaking it to get the most in terms of performance.

Lately, we found another tweak to make Firefox faster. If you have been a firefox user ever since, you will notice that Firefox would get hogged and slow down unlike when you first installed it. This is because its history, cache and data stores gets fragmented over time.

But there is an add-on that can solve this -- vacuum places improved. You can add the same on your Firefox and see it speed up.

For you to get a comparison of the before and after of this add-on, locate your profile and check the size of the file places.sqlite. To execute the vacuum, go to Tools -> Vacuum places.sqlite. You will be notified of a successful operation by a notification box on the system tray.

After doing the initial vacuuming, check places.sqlite it should have decreased in space. You will also notice that Firefox is also more responsive. For a regular everyday Firefox user, this improvement is very evident.

You can set Firefox to automagically do this for you after every X number of startups. It can be set in the add-on options. Our VPI is set to run every 30 startups.

Vacuum places improved is one very useful, pimp-my-rig recommended add-on to Firefox.

Read More

S/W: Mozilla Firefox 10 Released

Firefox is the award winning next generation browser from Mozilla. Firefox empowers you to browse faster, more safely, and more efficiently than with any other browser. Make the switch today - Firefox imports your Favorites, settings and other information, so you have nothing to lose. Stop annoying popup ads in their tracks with Firefox's built in popup blocker. View more than one web page in a single window with this time saving feature. Open links in the background so that they're ready for viewing when you're ready to read them. Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.

Following its rapid release process, Firefox version 10 is out. This major release includes and features security fixes. So if you don't want to lag behind and maintain an insecure browser, you would have to upgrade.

(Logos are copyrights of their respective owners.)

Seamless Experience. The enhancements to Firefox provide the best possible browsing experience on the Web. The new Firefox smart location bar, affectionately known as the "Awesome Bar," learns as people use it, adapting to user preferences and offering better fitting matches over time.

Better Performance. Firefox is built on top of the powerful new Gecko platform, resulting in a safer, easier to use and more personal product.

Better Security. Firefox raises the bar for security. The new malware and phishing protection helps protect from viruses, worms, trojans and spyware to keep people safe on the Web.

Download from www.mozilla.com/firefox. For a complete list of fixes and release notes, check this link.

One very nice feature with Firefox that we like is the plugin checker. It is nice to see the feature was not removed in this verison.

Of course this upgrade comes with sacrifices -- your add-ons will no longer be compatible. So while waiting for the add-ons to catch up with Firefox version 6.0 or higher, you can tweak them to be compatible. Chances are they will still work even with the newer versions of Mozilla Firefox.

If you are using DivX HiQ to play high definition video on Firefox, our feature outlining compatibility of Firefox with DivX web plug-ins still works on Firefox 6.0.

You will notice better memory usage from version 9, including this version. Firefox is faster and better but it is being overtaken by Google's Chrome browser. This release might change things.

Read More

HOW-TO: Force Addon Compatibility with Firefox (again)

The fast release of Firefox major versions every six (6) or so weeks means add-ons have to keep pace with Firefox. What's more? Security fixes will be the reason for every major release. So if you wish to remain on the previous versions, you will be stuck with an insecure browser. You wouldn't want that would you?

Previously posted at pimp-my-rig is a tutorial to force add-on compatibility with Firefox. It still works. For third party add-ons that are installed via Program Files, like DivX, here is another tweak to force compatibility with Firefox. We tested it on Firefox 6.0 and it works just as well.

All those works, why post another procedure? Well, as the saying goes "there are a thousand ways to kill a cat" -- so does this tweak. With the release of Firefox 6.0, most addons will not be compatible. The above tweaks work for a variety of addons, here is another way to force compatibility check.

Open an Explorer window and browse to "%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles" (this is the default directory containing your Firefox user profile). Inside this directory will be another folder named xxxxxxxx.default (xxxxxxx is a string that will differ from computer to computer); and inside this is the extensions folder, which is the directory that contains the extensions or addons you have installed (refer to screenshot below).

WinRAR can open those XPI files in the extensions folder. Once opened, you can edit the install.rdf files inside the archive.

Just look for the string "<em:maxVersion>" and/or "</em:maxVersion>". Enclosed in these XML tags is the maximum version of Firefox that is compatible. Change it to "6.*" or "7.*" as you wish. Then save the file and update the XPI archive.

Restart Firefox and test the functionality of the addon. As of this writing, downloadthemall is tested to work using this tweak on Firefox 6.0.

So if you need the functionality of your addon try this out.

Read More

S/W: Mozilla Firefox 6.0 Update

Firefox is the award winning next generation browser from Mozilla. Firefox empowers you to browse faster, more safely, and more efficiently than with any other browser. Make the switch today - Firefox imports your Favorites, settings and other information, so you have nothing to lose. Stop annoying popup ads in their tracks with Firefox's built in popup blocker. View more than one web page in a single window with this time saving feature. Open links in the background so that they're ready for viewing when you're ready to read them. Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.

Firefox 5.0.1 update was released just recently. But with Firefox rapid release process, Firefox versions will be released about every six (6) weeks. These major releases will include and feature security fixes. So if you don't want to lag behind and maintain an insecure browser, you would have to upgrade.

• The address bar now highlights the domain of the website you're visiting
• Streamlined the look of the site identity block
• Added support for the latest draft version of WebSockets with a prefixed API
• Added support for EventSource / server-sent events
• Added support for window.matchMedia
• Added Scratchpad, an interactive JavaScript prototyping environment
• Added a new Web Developer menu item and moved development-related items into it
• Improved usability of the Web Console
• Improved the discoverability of Firefox Sync
• Reduced browser startup time when using Panorama

(Logos are copyrights of their respective owners.)

Download from www.mozilla.com/firefox.

One very nice feature with Firefox that we like is the plugin checker. It is nice to see the feature was not removed in this verison.

Of course this upgrade comes with sacrifices -- your add-ons will no longer be compatible. So while waiting for the add-ons to catch up with Firefox version 6.0 or higher, you can tweak them to be compatible. Chances are they will still work even with the newer versions of Mozilla Firefox.

If you are using DivX HiQ to play high definition video on Firefox, our feature outlining compatibility of Firefox with DivX web plug-ins still works on Firefox 6.0.

Not much memory improvement with this version. We hear it will be incorporated in version 7+, so that is something to look forward to.

Read More

INFO: Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Linked to Browser Usage

Do you use Internet Explorer (or IE) in browsing the web? IE is to browsers as Windows is to the desktop. Although many would tend to disagree with that statement, it still stands as a fact. Surprisingly, browser usage is related to your intelligence quotient, or IQ.

A Vancouver based Psychometric Consulting company, AptiQuant, has released a report on a trial it conducted to measure the effects of cognitive ability on the choice of web browser. AptiQuant offered free online IQ tests to over a 100,000 people and then plotted the average IQ scores based on the browser on which the test was taken. And the results are really not that surprising. With just a look at the graphs in the report, it comes out pretty clear that Internet Explorer users scored lower than average on the IQ tests. Chrome, Firefox and Safari users had just a teeny bit higher than average IQ scores. And users of Camino, Opera and IE with Chrome Frame had exceptionally higher IQ levels.

Internet Explorer has traditionally been considered a pain in the back for web developers. Any IT company involved in web development will acknowledge the fact that millions of man hours are wasted each year to make otherwise perfectly functional websites work in Internet Explorer, because of its lack of compatibility with web standards. The continuous use of older versions of IE by millions of people around the world has often haunted web developers. This trend not only makes their job tougher, but has also pulled back innovation by at least a decade. But with the results of this study, IT companies worldwide will start to take a new look on the time and money they spend on supporting older browsers.

Microsoft created a conspiracy with Internet Explorer’s shell integration with Windows Explorer, and making its removal complicated, if not impossible. It is usually criticized that this move was made during the last moments of Windows 95 release in a haphazard manner, just to snub the competition from Netscape Navigator. In the following years Microsoft spent millions of dollars on Internet Explorer, with the aim to dominate the browser market. It succeeded to gain a huge share of over 95% for quite a few years. But recently open source browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome have taken away a large share out of Microsoft’s pie. These browsers are not only better in performance than IE, but offer better compatibility with W3C standards.

This latest report about the intelligence levels of IE users is expected to create a storm. The company behind the study, AptiQuant is a psychometric consulting company, that offers online tools to other companies to better assess their existing/potential employees based on their mental aptitude, skills, motivation and performance. It also has self-serving tools for individuals looking to identify their skills and reach their potential.

(source: http://goo.gl/FbELp)

I never really thought that a simple computer software like the browser can relate to the intelligence quotient (IQ) of an individual. What do you think?

To view the full content of the report, you can download the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Browser Usage PDF file here.

(image source: http://www.aptiquant.com/IQ-Browser-AptiQuant-2011.pdf)

Read More

TIP: Test Your Browser's Functionality, Security and More

With the advent of HTML5, websites are presented to the end-user in a different light. What used to be flash dominated content are now CSS3 and javascript dominated. The development of jQuery library and javascript based modules and plug-ins present a different facet of webpage programming. What used to be javascript geeks are now known as javascript ninjas.

The HTML5 standard showed an advanced way of programming and at the same time required a little more from our browsers. Tied with these features are support requirements for different functions. Website gurus and javascript ninjas should ensure that their pages load in the same manner across different browsers. At the same time users with different browsers are able to view the same website without having to open another compatible browser. This cuts both ways.

New browsers present new bugs -- added functionality that may not work as it should. Security should also be taken into consideration with the added functionality. So how do programmers, developers and end-users alike test their browser's functionality and security? The site browserscope seem to have the answer.

Browserscope tests the functionality of today's modern browsers but doesn't leave security behind. This tool is really useful.

So before making a recommendation, we took it out for a spin with the favorite browsers of this generation. If you want to try it out for yourself, launch your favorite browser and point it to this URL: http://www.browserscope.org/alltests.

Google Chrome. This is version 12.0.742.122 of Google Chrome.

Mozilla Firefox. Current production release version 5.0.1.

We didn't really need to do much comparison as browserscope already has a database of browsers with which to compare your browser. But we were curious as to where our browser stands in comparison. From the results, it looks like Google's Chrome browser has the edge in all browsers.

Read More

TIP: Browser Plugin Check for Firefox

Adding to our write-ups regarding security, is this feature called plug-in checker. How are these plug-ins related to security? You'll know soon enough.

Plug-ins are embedded in the browser and for us home users, this may be the most used application. And plug-ins, if you're not aware, are also as vulnerable as the browser itself. Flash is the suspected culprit in a recently reported high risk breach. And a vulnerability as simple as that could have led to an even bigger catastrophe, if not averted in time. And, little do we know the same flash plug-in is present in our system.

Firefox is not a perfect browser but this is the browser of my choosing. It is because of its plug-in checker, which is a major reason for my preference. If you are using Firefox, you can access this tool via typing in "about:plugins" on the address bar. On the second line of that plug-ins webpage, you can see "Find updates for installed plug-ins at mozilla.com/plugincheck."

From there you will be taken to Mozilla's plug-in checker website to see which plug-ins need updating. Mind you, even if you have set the automatic updates of your plug-ins in Firefox, 3rd party plug-ins need manual updates. In my system, I need updates to my Adobe Reader plug-in (see below).

This plug-in checker is certainly a very nifty gizmo. I'd love to see other browsers follow suit.

I have previously been puzzled that this plug-in checker doesn't work on my browser. As it turns out, it doesn't like to run when you are behind a proxy. So unconfigure proxy settings for Firefox before running this plug-in checker.

Read More

TWEAK: Fully Functional DivX HiQ Plugin on Firefox 4/5

A couple of weeks back, we featured DivX HiQ codec on Firefox and Chrome on an article entitled Flash Without Adobe Flash Player, and as promised here is the tweak to make the DivX HiQ plugin compatible to Firefox 4.0.1 and even the later Firefox 5.0.

First, locate the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\DivX\DivX Plus Web Player\firefox (on 64-bit systems) or C:\Program Files\DivX\DivX Plus Web Player\firefox (on 32-bit systems). Under this directory are two folders html5video and wpa. Inside these folders are the web plugins that DivX installed and we need to tweak. There is a text file named install.rdf in each of the directories.

On line 17 of wpa\install.rdf, change the line to:

<em:maxVersion>5.*</em:maxVersion>

Likewise for html5video\install.rdf, do the same for line 12 of that text file:

<em:maxVersion>5.*</em:maxVersion>

Now restart Firefox and check the add-ons. Divx HiQ and DivX Plus Web Player HTML5 plug-ins are no longer greyed out, like screenshot below.

There you go folks, high definition videos without the need for flash. HiQ makes it possible to play hi-def videos without taxing your processor. This has been tested to work on both Firefox 4.0.1 and Firefox 5.0. And, for some strange reason now works for Google Chrome 12 too.

A similar tweak was also previously published for .xpi Firefox add-ons. But the same principles apply here. So go ahead and test you favorite add-ons with the latest Firefox 5.0, chances are they might still work.

Read More

S/W: Mozilla Firefox 5.0 Just Out

Firefox is the award winning next generation browser from Mozilla. Firefox empowers you to browse faster, more safely, and more efficiently than with any other browser. Make the switch today - Firefox imports your Favorites, settings and other information, so you have nothing to lose. Stop annoying popup ads in their tracks with Firefox's built in popup blocker. View more than one web page in a single window with this time saving feature. Open links in the background so that they're ready for viewing when you're ready to read them. Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.

Links: Homepage | Download | Changelog

It promises to be faster, quicker and faster and quicker; also, more secure. But it's not all about speed and security, one of the new features to watch for are the built-in PDF viewer and MP3 player.

What I wish to see in this new version of firefox is memory usage improvement. Firefox is a big memory hog.

That I will never know since I got an error trying to install Firefox 5. I'm running Windows 7 x64 SP1.

I hope your upgrade experience is better than mine.

UPDATE: As it turns out, the above is due to a corrupt download.

And as it seems this is not a final version but a beta version.. Hmmm..

Not much change in memory usage. Firefox 5 is still a memory hog. These are screenshots of Firefox 4.0.1 and Firefox 5.0, single-tab while playing Backyard Monsters.

Firefox 4.0.1.

Firefox 5.0.

This is a simple test but it doesn't look promising.

Read More

TWEAK: Larger Active Tab in Firefox

Previously, I showed you how to tweak Firefox to gain a bit more horsepower. Now that Firefox is faster than usual, let us add more functionality to the browser.

Did you ever notice that Firefox tabs are bland? The question then is, how do you make the active tab stand-out from the rest of the tabs? Here's how.

In the profile directory (path: %appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default), there is a folder named "chrome" (no relation to Google's browser). You will find a file named userChrome.css inside it. If the file does not exist, create it. It is a simple text file that we will edit.

Open the file in notepad and add the following lines of code:

/* 225 pixels to the active tab */
.tabbrowser-tab[selected]:not([pinned])[fadein] {
min-width: 225px !important;
}

What the above code does is to expand the current active tab in Firefox to 225 pixels wide. It overrides Firefox default tab width of 100 pixels. If 225 pixels is too big or too small for you, adjust as necessary. When you open more tabs, the other tabs will shrink making the active tab stand out, like the screenshot below.

Now your active tabs will stand out from the rest of the other open tabs. Another cool feature of this tweak is when you switch to another tab, the other tab fades in to increase the tab width. Describing it in this post doesn't do it much justice. It is better to see it for yourself.

This tweak has helped me out a lot and made my Firefox experience a bit more worthwhile.

Read More

TWEAK: Firefox Performance Tuning and Configuration

Are you using a performance tweaked machine? Tweaking is fun (others call it tuning) -- tweaking the operating system, tweaking the database, tweaking just about everything. Its like buying a car, chances are you will not be satisfied with it running stock. You'd want it faster, quicker -- PIMPED!

After performance tuning (or even hardening) Windows, you would want to tweak the browser next. And perhaps the browser you can always tweak at your disposal is Firefox. If you have used Firefox before, you will find that it is a fast browser. But you can make it faster -- you can tweak it!

To tweak Firefox, the settings under its hood can be found by putting "about:config" in the address bar. You will be prompted with a warning that "This might void your warranty!" (see below). Just promise to be gentle.

You may try to tweak the following settings one by one and see how your mileage varies. Input the tunables in the Filter text box and press [Return] or [Enter]. To make changes, right-click and Modify or double-click the tunable you wish to change.

WARNING! If you have limited memory please be careful in over-allocating memory to Firefox. Trust me, it will hog your computer's memory. If you are not sure about changing memory related tunables skip the first line below.

For reference as to the particulars of each parameter, you may refer to the entries in Mozillazine. The entries below are the tunable parameters with their recommended values. Try to experiment which values give you the most mileage.

• browser.cache.memory.capacity -- 65536 (64MB)
• browser.turbo.enabled -- true
• network.http.max-connections -- 64
• network.http.pipelining -- true
• network.http.pipelining.firstrequest -- true
• network.http.pipelining.maxrequests -- 4
• nglayout.initialpaint.delay -- 0
• browser.sessionstore.interval -- 3600000
• content.notify.interval -- 500000
• content.switch.threshold -- 250000
• browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers -- 0
• config.trim_on_minimize -- true

Some of the above tweaks automagically reflect without restarting Firefox, while others require a restart. I can't really point out which so I would recommend that you restart Firefox to checkout the effect of tweaking.

Once you have tried it out for yourself and verified the tweaks work for you, you may want to make them permanent and easy to move to a different computer or profile.

Locate the Firefox profile directory (usually "%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default). The target file is user.js. If it doesn't exist, create the file and open it with Notepad. Copy and paste the following code (replace the parameters with values applicable to your system):

///// start-copy-here /////
// Firefox tweaks
user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536);
user_pref("browser.chrome.favicons", false);
user_pref("browser.display.show_image_placeholders", true);
user_pref("browser.turbo.enabled", true);
user_pref("browser.urlbar.autocomplete.enabled", true);
user_pref("browser.urlbar.autofill", true);
user_pref("content.interrupt.parsing", true);
user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);
user_pref("content.notify.backoffcount", 5);
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);
user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);
user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 64);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 12);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 12);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 6);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.firstrequest", true);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.maxrequests", 4);
user_pref("network.http.proxy.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.request.max-start-delay", 0);
user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0);
user_pref("plugin.expose_full_path", true);
user_pref("ui.submenuDelay", 0);
user_pref("browser.sessionstore.interval", 3600000);
// faster loading
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 500000);
user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 250000);
// less memory usage
user_pref("browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers", 0 );
user_pref("config.trim_on_minimize", true );
///// end-copy-here /////

The above is what I have on my Firefox profile. I enjoy using Firefox due to the tweaks you can apply to it, including the tons of add-ons.

Next, some aesthetic tweaks to Firefox. For now enjoy the speedy and responsive Firefox.

Read More

TWEAK: English as Default Google Search Language

Nowadays it is unusual to encounter folks who don't know google. Google has branded itself with search engines that browsers come with google as the default out-of-the-box search engine. More often that not, the term search is replaced by "google".

However, google's top-secret algorithm and architechture sometimes fouls up that even if your browser's default language is English, it returns searches in the local language of the geographically nearest google server -- google.com.ph, google.com.hk, etc (you get the idea). And when you get redirected, the language is no longer English. How then do you google that results always return in English?

Let us split the discussion to two popular browsers -- firefox and google chrome. Both of this browsers exhibit this behavior, as per experience.

Firefox. For firefox, you may download the Google (in English) add-on.

[1] Launch the link for "Google (in English)" add-on above or click here.

[2] Once the webpage loads, click on the "Add to Firefox" link and allow the website to install the add-on. Restart firefox if asked to do so.

[3] Once installed, you may select from the drop down of the search bar (to the right of the address bar) "Google (in English)" as the default search engine (see snapshot below).

Your searches should now always return in the English language.

Google Chrome. For Chrome, follow the procedure below.

[1] Right-click on the address bar. Select "Edit search engines..".

[2] Toward the bottom of the page are three blank fields. On the first field (containing: Add a new search engine) type "Google (in English)" or whatever makes you happy. This contains an arbitrary name of the custom search engine.

[3] On the second field (containing: Keyword), you can input anything or leave this space blank. In this example, the keyword used is "google.com".

[4] The last field (containing: URL with %s in place of query), key in:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%s

[5] The search engine you just added moves to the top half of the screen (Default search options). You can mouse over the added search engine and click on "Make default". The label "Google (in English)" then becomes bold when it becomes the default search engine.

From the above screenshot, my google search engine takes me to Hong Kong (google.com.hk) and some results return in the Chinese language. And unfortunately, I don't speak any Chinese at all.

There you go folks. Google search that returns results in the English language.

Read More

HOW-TO: Firefox Javascript Security Hole Stopgap Measure

Firefox 3.5 may be the greatest and latest release but it has its share of security holes. Hackers have posted the code and instructions on how to exploit the critical security hole in the popular browser, so until it is patched it literally leaves millions of users exposed to the threat.

The security hole is introduced with the addition of Tracemonkey, a javascript engine known to speed up javascript rendering in this version of Firefox.

There is no need for you to downgrade to Firefox 3.0. The same website referenced above illustrates the procedure on turning Tracemonkey feature off.

• open a new tab;
• type “about:config” and hit enter;
• read the warning and heed its wisdom;
• enter “jit” in the filter field;
• change the value of “javascript.options.jit.content” to enable (true) or disable (false) TraceMonkey for JavaScript in Web content;
• change the value of “javascript.options.jit.chrome” to enable (true) or disable (false) TraceMonkey for JavaScript in XUL/chrome.

While Mozilla is tackling the issue and trying to address the security hole with a patch/upgrade, it is advisable to plug the hole by disabling Tracemonkey. This thus downgrades the 3.5 to the 3.0 javascript rendering speeds. Believe me with millions (even billions) of websites out there, disabling the Tracemonkey engine is well worth the trade-off for now.

And with the millions of users who have downloaded Firefox 3.5 since its release, imagine the potential targets of malicious javascript code.

It is true, functionality should take precedence over security. But in this case it is prudent to prioritize security given the powerful functionality javascript has and what it can do, most especially when exploited. You can be the next unwilling victim!

With their track record, Mozilla should be able to come up with a fix soon.

Read More

TWEAK: Force Firefox Add-on Compatibility

With the release of best, greatest and latest Firefox 3.5 (download here), the temptation to upgrade is very appealing. However, as Firefox thrives with the availability of millions of customizations -- in the form of add-ons -- one will have to be careful as not all of your add-ons are compatible.

How then can you upgrade to the latest and greatest version of Firefox without having to sacrifice missing add-ons? Can you force your add-ons to install (at least) and check functionality with Firefox? The answer is yes, that's exactly what you need to do and here's how.

First, download the add-on to your hard drive. Right-click on the "install" button and choose "Save Link As.." (or another name for it). You will be downloading a file with .xpi as extension. And, chances are, it will not be recognized by Windows.

Next, open the .xpi file with your favorite archive program. WinRAR and 7Zip are tested to work, so use either one. Extract the file install.rdf inside that .xpi archive. It is advisable to save the .xpi file on the Desktop for ease of use later.

For our procedure we will play around with FasterFox add-on which is compatible only up until Firefox 2.0.XX versions. So this will never install with Firefox 3.XX.

(NOTE: This add-on was chosen for the purposes of illustration only. But if you want to use it, by all means do so.)

Open install.rdf in your favorite text editor. Look for the string "maxVersion" (see below) and change the value to 3.5. Save the file and re-insert it to the .xpi archive.

Launch Firefox and drag the .xpi file from your Desktop to the Firefox window. It will then install and prompt you to restart Firefox. Once restarted, viola! your add-on is now installed. This, of course, does not guarantee that your favorite add-ons will work exactly as expected. It just allows them to install. Others may work and others may not. Therefore, use this guide at your own risk.

But if your add-on is compatible with Firefox 3, chances are it will be compatible with Firefox 3.5. Again, no guarantees.

Read More

FAQ: Download Embedded Flash SWF Files (via Firefox)

"There’s No Such Thing As A Silly Question" -- does the cliche sound familiar? In this part of pimp-my-rig reloaded, technical questions are answered. Mail them to me and I will post the answers here. If you have a better answer, by all means share it with us.

FAQ: Most likely the webpages you view contain embedded flash media. And chances are you are/were fascinated with the way it was presented and you would like to keep a copy for yourself for keepsakes or offline viewing. But how do you extract and save those files?

Believe it or not, the ease in doing this task is primarily dependent on your choice of browsers. If you and I share the same taste (and chose firefox), getting this trick done is just as easy said and done.

Follow along as the simple steps will get you your flash media in a bit:

[1] Browse over to your favorite site containing the embedded media. For this example, I'm browsing over to my "hang-out" tech website tipidpc.com.

[2] Wait for the page to finish loading.. Then, on the tool bars of firefox, click Tools --> Page Info.

[3] Change over to the Media tab and from the menu select the embedded media you wish to save.

[4] Highlight the media (click on it) and click on Save As.... And save it to a directory of your bidding.

That is how simple it is to save embedded flash media or any other embedded media. And like I previously stated, your choice of browsers dictate how easy it is to download and save them.

Read More

ARTICLE: 64-bit Flash Browser Plug-in

One of the major problems faced by upgrading to a 64-bit system is the portability of the drivers to support the architecture. Although recently the development of drivers is catching up, the next hurdle to tackle is the compatibility of applications. In general, most 32-bit applications are tweaked to be backward-compatible when run by a 64-bit operating system. This can be done by a number of ways. The popular ones are hardware compatibility mode and software emulation.

The term 64-bit can mean a lot of things. For this article, we will be dealing with the 64-bit architecture and the 64-bit operating system. To be more specific, the x86 architecture and the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). And the inexistent 64-bit application -- the 64-bit flash player browser plug-in.

Installing the RHEL operating system is easy. Configuration can be tricky even with the assortment of text files with their corresponding graphical user interface (GUI) configuration tools. But our recent challenge was to install the flash player plug-in to the Mozilla Firefox package that came with the RHEL WS 4 x86_64 (Nahant Update 4). This experience is what we will share with you in this article.

It is very surprising to know that after installation of the RHEL 4 x86_64 operating system, everything works to the initial log-in page. However, when opening my a browser and opening a page with flash content, there would be ugly holders where the flash content are supposed to be (see screenshot above).

Its a good thing Mozilla Firefox has an "Install Missing Plugins.." button towards the upper right corner, near the search engine plug-ins. However, the good thing ends there as the wizard prompts that there are no suitable plug-ins for the browser.

We got stumped but were not just about to give up right there. Google is our friend, so the next thing we knew the search engine has returned a whole page of links with keywords "64-bit flash plug-in". After checking out a few links, we knew the reality of things.

It is as equally surprising to know that 64-bit flash player is not yet released -- under development but no projected date of release. Not even a beta version of the software is available.

Flash content is found in just about any website from site logos to advertisements; Flash ActionScript allows a website to be interactive; Flash can create "flashy" (no pun intended) eye-catching animations; and it is used to stream media across the internet. With its widespread use, a website is almost incomplete without flash media.

Aside from it being portable and browser friendly, flash content is known to have small footprint. Thus they eat up only a small chunk of bandwidth and are easy to load. But despite it being one of the major bling-bling to a website, flash player is disappointingly unavailable to 64-bit browsers.

How then is flash content viewed in your 64-bit browser? The answer: nspluginwrapper. Download two RPMs -- the plugin, nspluginwrapper, and its viewer, nspluginwrapper-i386.

Upon successful download, open a terminal window and change directory to the folder containing the two recently downloaded RPMs. Execute this on the command line (plug-in first):

root@localhost # rpm -i nspluginwrapper-0.9.91.4-1.x86_64.rpm
root@localhost # rpm -i nspluginwrapper-i386-0.9.91.4-1.x86_64.rpm

Taking a another look at the previous website browsed now displays the flash content.

I hope this article has helped you install the needed 64-bit flash plug-in for your web browser. Flash is not the only plug-in supported by nspluginwrapper, there are other 32-bit plug-ins. Capability has been built-in to detect and not apply wrapping on native 64-bit plug-ins. Although I have not tested this on other 64-bit flavors of Linux, it could work for them as well.

Read More