Protect Firefox Homepage & Search From Being Hijacked With BrowserProtect
Being a Technology blogger and a huge fan of freeware programs – I download and install a lot of programs to try and see if they are good enough to be shared with our readers.
Although almost all of these software are completely harmless and originate from reliable and trusted sources, some of these software try to impose their search engines or homepages on the users.
Did you know that ICQ, Jookz, Babylon, ZoneAlarm, Incredimail and others try to get you using their homepage and search? Another well know Search Engine – Ask.com has been know to change your browser Search and Homepage to their own.
What Is Browser Hijacking?
Browser Hijacking is a process that replaces the existing internet browser home page, error page, or search page with its own. These are generally used to force users to view a particular website.
Most of the times Browser Hijacking is done by Malware – however, some trusted companies are known to do this improve exposure to their own websites.
After Installation – these programs try to make changes in your browsers in a way that you would see their website as your homepage and use a search engine provided by them as the default – instead of your regular ones like Google, Yahoo or Bing.
BrowserProtect protects your Firefox browser against such activities.
Protect Your Browser Search And Homepage from Hijack:
BrowserProtect is a Firefox addon which monitor your browser configuration against any software which tries to do funny stuff like homepage and search hijacks.
Once you have installed this addon – if any website or software tries to change your browser configuration – BrowserProtect would show you a notice at the top of your browser that warns you about changes being made to your search engine or homepage.
You can then deny these changes from being applied to your browser. This way you can keep your browser safe from being hijacked.
Although Google Toolbar has the same functionality – not every uses it. This addon is lightweight and works in the background to keep you safe, without taking up any system resources.
Conclusion:
I am all for trying out new software and websites on the computer – however I dislike the fact these sites are making the decision about what I should use for my homepage or search for me – instead of giving me an option to do so.
BrowserProtect can keep my Firefox browser safe from any form of hijack.
Further Reading on the Topic “Firefox Security”:
