One big reason people didn't upgrade from Firefox 2 to 3? Hiding porn bookmarks.
Generally, improvements in software are a good thing. Improving something means making it better, right? In the case of Firefox 3's enhanced Awesome Bar, maybe not so much.
The Firefox security team has been analyzing data collected from users who declined to upgrade from version 2 to 3 back in May when Mozilla issued a friendly nudge. Those users were given the chance to fill out a questionnaire to explain their decision. One big sticking point: the suped-up address bar's ability to match text you enter with your bookmarks.
Here's how the Firefox crew describes a common scenario:
The Firefox security team has been analyzing data collected from users who declined to upgrade from version 2 to 3 back in May when Mozilla issued a friendly nudge. Those users were given the chance to fill out a questionnaire to explain their decision. One big sticking point: the suped-up address bar's ability to match text you enter with your bookmarks.
Here's how the Firefox crew describes a common scenario:
Translation: I hid all my bookmarks to NSFW cosplay sites in My Bookmarks\Harmless\Totally Harmless\No Really\Why are you still drilling down\Nothing to see here\Get out of my chair already\Sandwiches and I don't want them popping up accidentally when I start typing."In some cases users had intentionally hidden these bookmarks in deep hierarchies of folders, somewhat similar to how one might hide a physical object. Having something from your previous browsing displayed to someone else who is using your computer (or even worse) to a large audience of people as you are giving a presentation, is really one of the most embarrassing things that Firefox can do to you."
Having hot-girls-in-panda-costumes.org pop up when you start typing a URL during a demonstration could definitely make things slightly uncomfortable.
You could, of course, just upgrade and follow Digital Inspiration's tips for disabling this behavior. You'll also be able to use
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Satan said 4:18PM on 8-26-2009
Or they could simply allow a user to exclude certain folders, urls or phrases...
Reply
Generic said 2:29PM on 8-27-2009
You just said it!
We can hide passwords with a master password so why not have some bookmarks hidden in a separate list/folder with their own password. Using a separate password for the bookmarks makes it practical to have your master password punched-in in order to access your online accounts while still preserving your privacy in front of an audience. These obviously shouldn't show in your regular awesome bar search unless their password was entered.
wmdavid said 4:57PM on 8-26-2009
Gotta love it!
Reply
Aaron said 4:57PM on 8-26-2009
Did someone say PANDAS??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiOUU31unew
Reply
Lee Mathews said 4:59PM on 8-26-2009
+1.
Atanas Boev said 7:37AM on 8-27-2009
Firefox can't find the server at www.hot-girls-in-panda-costumes.org :(
The_Doc said 5:13PM on 8-26-2009
With apologies to apple's marketing dept, "there's an app, er, addon for that".
History Block: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8631
Reply
Rob said 5:27PM on 8-26-2009
Or even better, just use a whole different browser which is hidden away itself :)
Reply
Christian Velasquez said 6:29PM on 8-26-2009
I hide all my porn bookmarks on StumbleUpon/ShareIn, extra accounts of course. :p
That way they get stored online and not my actual bookmarks
Reply
DeoWulf said 9:37PM on 8-26-2009
On the flip side, though not really related to the article, is there any way to disable private browsing in Firefox?
Reply
Christian Velasquez said 10:30PM on 8-26-2009
Tools > Options > Privacy > Check off "Automatically start Firefox in a private browsing session"
Enjoy your non-private browsing
Saint Seminole said 6:41PM on 8-27-2009
I upgraded long ago (nothing to hide). But I *do* long for the days of the old "location bar." Many times, I start typing an address, hoping for previously typed addresses to pop up. Instead, I get a long list of bookmarks, or sites I visited recently.
In older versions, it only list sites you'd actually typed in previously. I miss that.
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Limpy said 2:26AM on 9-02-2009
I hide all my porn in my head
Reply
fox_oemaed said 12:47AM on 10-07-2009
I hate to spoil your rant, but what you've said isn't entirely true.
You can change the functionality of the location bar to suite your
needs, and it's actually quite easy..
Tools > Options > privacy > Location Bar (drop down menu)
Ta-da
Reply