My niece just got a new computer, running Windows 7.  She’s in the process of learning the new OS, and sorting out the twists and turns of Internet Explorer 8.  I suggested to her that since IE8 is one of the least secure parts of Windows 7 (which, overall, is the most secure version of Windows that Micro$oft has ever managed to produce), she might want to take this opportunity to begin using Firefox 3.5.  Firefox (Fx), while not perfect, kicks Internet Explorer to the curb when it comes to security, and combined with W7 and some good security software like the new Microsoft Security Essentials — surprisingly good, and surprisingly free — should make for a pretty secure installation.

Note: If you use MSE, you’ll want a good 3rd-party firewall like the free Comodo Personal Firewall.  Security Essentials is pretty good, but Windows’ built-in firewall still does only half the job, blocking incoming traffic but leaving any malware that you accidentally invite on board perfectly free to squirt outbound data to its black little heart’s content.

‘Nother Note: Comodo comes as a suite.  If you’re using MSE, don’t activate the antivirus and malware portions.  You shouldn’t run two suites at the same time.  I can’t recommend Comodo’s antivirus and anti-malware, because I have no experience with them and haven’t researched them.  The firewall is great.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that Firefox has security flaws like just about any other piece of software.  The big difference between it and Internet Explorer, though, is that Microsoft has been known to ignore (or be unable to fix) vulnerabilities in IE for months at a time, whereas the folks at Mozilla.org are constantly diddling with Fx to quickly plug vulnerabilities before they can be addressed by the malware writers.

It is also true that most security problems are totally avoidable if you take the necessary precautions.  Ian “Gizmo” Richards, whose excellent tech newsletter merged with Windows Secrets last year, has been known to state that he believes no security apart from a good firewall is necessary.  That’s probably true for folks like Gizmo, but most of us aren’t prepared to police our online activity to that degree.

Thus, Firefox, and the above is reason number one that I love it.

Reasons two through 26 (at the moment) are the extensions — Mozilla calls them add-ons — that have allowed me to customize Fx to the point that about 99% of my time on the computer, apart from image editing, is spent in the browser.  These are the ones that work for me (at the moment). For the benefit of anyone who wants to pursue the matter further, you can find them all at https://addons.mozilla.org/, along with several thousand others.  Firefox is almost totally customizable using add-ons and plugins, along with a huge selection of visual themes and “personas.” That’s why (at the moment). My personal edition of Fx is subject to change without notice.

2. Adblock Plus – allows you to fine-tune ad blocking to your taste and according to the site you’re on.

3. Add This – Right-click (context) menu allows you to post the page you’re on to social sites including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and about a hundred more services, send clips to email, etc.  If you came here from Facebook, you’ve seen what it does.

4. Better Google Reader – fine-tuning for Google’s online newsreader that integrates with Gmail.

5. Better Gmail – enhances Gmail with a collection of scripts that allow you to change the interface some, and make other tweaks.

6. Blank Canvas Gmail Signatures – Lets you add HTML formatting and images to signatures in Gmail, which normally accepts only plain text.

7. deskCut – Send Web shortcuts to the desktop from the context menu.

8. FoxClocks – World clock pop-up for the taskbar.  Mouse over the clock and see a popup with your choice of times for practically any locations worldwide.

9. Gmail Manager – One-click login to your primary Gmail account, with a drop-down for any other accounts you have.  It also notifies you of new mail via the task bar or, if you install the button, on the menu bar.

10. Google Notebook – No longer supported by Google, but still available to those who were using it before they dropped it.  You’re out of luck, but I can store immediately-retrievable notes on Google’s servers.  There are other add-ons that serve the same function.

11. Google Toolbar for Firefox – The GTbar is simply a must, regardless of what browser you use.  I keep it hidden, but use the buttons to customize the menu bar.

12. Interclue – Along with World of Trust (below) it provides information about sites you’re visiting, and a preview of full pages by hovering the mouse over links.

13. It’s All Text – One of the most useful two or three add-ons, IMNSHO.  With one click on a little button that appears next to text boxes (blog comments, etc.) you can launch Notebook or the text editor of your choice and compose there, where you have some room to work.  Save your product to the hard drive if you want, and press Ctrl+S to insert the whole thing into the text box for publication.  Great for reviewing what you’ve written without all that dumb scrolling.

14. Last Pass – A secure,  online password manager.  Synchronizes passwords between my work and home computers, and keeps online records.  Can be backed up onto my machine.  Works on Internet Explorer, too.  Some people don’t trust these things.  I do.  End of story.  I’m not interested in debate on the matter.   Some kind of password manager is a must for everyone, because they allow you to use real, secure passwords instead of your cat’s name.  There are others.

15. Lazarus Form Recovery – You know how you fill in those forms and then find out that you have to do something that deletes all the stuff you filled in?  Lazarus keeps track of the text you enter, and you can go back to the page, click a couple of times, and it will re-insert all the previous data.  It’s encrypted, and will keep form records if you like.

16. Long URL Please – I use shortened URLs a lot.  They’re handy for a variety of reasons, among them the fact that sometimes inserting a really long URL someplace will screw it up.  However, I don’t always trust those that other people use.  You can’t look at ‘em and tell where they lead, especially on Twitter and places like that.  Well, Long URL Please unscrambles ‘em and shows the whole thing.  Makes me feel all warm and cozy and safe.

17. Tiny URL Creator – Right click creates shortened URLs on the TinyURL.com system, so that I can make you nervous.

18. Multi-Media Web Recorder – Pops out a sidebar with a record of all the media on all the sites I’ve visited recently.  I can click on one, and if it’s available for download, MMWR pops it onto my desktop with no further ado.  World-class kickass!

19. Multirow Bookmarks Toolbar – Like other browsers, Firefox puts extra bookmarks off the screen, accessible via a click on an arrow, if there are too many for the toolbar.  MBT simply adds another row to the toolbar so that you can see them all.  Really handy when you just want to drag something up there quickly, to check out and categorize or delete later.

20. NoScript – Blocks any kind of script from running on a page until you say it’s OK.  In addition to removing a lot of annoying graphics, it prevents any malicious scripts until you have a chance to check them out.  It can be a bit annoying on sites you know are safe, so you can add those to a permanent list with a right-click.

21. Scribefire – In-browser blogging tool, really useful.  I use it daily, often several times.  Preview and post text, images, videos direct to all the popular online hosts.  Too many features to go into detail.  A must for bloggers.  Handy for producing HTML, too.

22. Tab Mix Plus- Integrates with Fx’s own tab system to give you incredible control over tab behavior. Freeze tabs so they can’t be closed by accident, close multiple tabs, control tab width, font, color…and on and on, all from the right-click menu.  An absolute must-have for Firefox.

23. Tiny Menu – Turns the menu (on the left of the top toolbar) to a drop-down, freeing up toolbar space so that you can rebuild your bars to give more browser real estate.  (See the image below for what you can do.  It’s full-size.)

24. Twitterbar – Tweet from the address box.

25. World of Trust (WOT) – gives you a quick visual heads-up on dangerous or questionable sites via a colored icon.  Uses any of several “blacklists” for data.  Another must.

26. XMarks – Formerly called Foxmarks, this essential add-on stores and synchronizes your bookmarks online.  Great for users of multiple computers like me, and for saving your butt when your hard drive crashes — which it will, eventually.  XMarks will also manage passwords if you like, but I prefer Last Pass.  Best bookmark manager going for Fx, though.

Here’s what Tiny Menu does, and it shows how compact you can make the Firefox toolbars with a bit of work.  Life-size image.