Configuring Mozilla Firefox for Windows

This tutorial provides basic information about installing and configuring the Mozilla Firefox browser under Windows. Many of these tips would be useful for getting Firefox running under GNU/Linux as well.

For more help and information about Firefox, visit the Firefox Support Page.

How to Install Firefox

Go to http://www.mozilla.com and download the latest version of Firefox. After clicking on the download link, click "Save" and put the setup program someplace where you can easily find it, like the desktop.

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Open the setup program, which should be named something like "Firefox Setup 1.5.exe." If a warning dialog appears, click "run". The Firefox Setup welcome screen should appear. Click "Next" to begin installing Firefox.

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3	Work your way through the setup program, choosing whatever options you prefer or accepting the defaults. After making any changes, click "Next" to continue to the next part of the install program.

4	When the setup program reports that Firefox is installed successfully, click "Finish" to close Firefox Setup.

5	The "Mozilla Firefox" icon should now appear on your desktop. Click on it to start using Firefox.

Blocking Popup Windows

1	From the "Tools" menu of Firefox, select "Options..."

Click the icon labeled "Web Features" from the list on top, and make sure that "Block Popup Windows" is checked.

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Note: The "Allowed Sites" button can be used to create or edit a list of websites that are allowed to display Popups.

Blocking Images

One of the handy features of Firefox is the ability to block offensive or annoying images.

right-click on the image you wish to get rid of and select "Block images from what.ev.er...".

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2	Click the "reload" button or type CRTL-R to reload the page.

3	Firefox will no longer display the image you clicked or any others that come from the same location.

Installing extensions

You can find out more about Firefox extension by visiting the Mozilla folks' FAQ on the subject. There are a huge number of downloadable extensions available for Firefox. Two examples are:

Adblock: allows you to block unwanted advertisements in a sophisticated and efficient way.

IE View: Allows you to open a page in Internet Explorer. Useful in the rare case that a page doesn't work with Firefox.

Here's how to install Firefox extensions (using Adblock as an example):

1	Open the Firefox browser, and go to the following page: https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/?application=firefox. From here, you can browse availible extensions in any number of ways.

2	If there is a link to Adblock on the front page, click on it. If not, click on "Miscellaneous" in the left sidebar, scroll down until you find Adblock, then click on it.

Click "Install now".

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A dialog will appear asking you to confirm that you want to install Adblock. Click "Install now".

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5	Restart Firefox to begin using your new extension.