Why add security to Firefox? Every time you connect to a website using any browser, the website automatically collects a lot of information from your computer. While not all websites process or record the information, some of them may well use it to identify you and for other purposes, such as targeted advertising.
If you're concerned enough to want to know more, there are Web services like Panopticlick that show you the information websites collect when you connect to them. The information you're unwittingly sharing might include your operating system type, web browser and version, your screen size, your system fonts, or which plugins you're using.
What you could do quickly and easily is to install Random Agent Spoofer on your Firefox. This add-on will send fake information to the websites you visit.
When it comes to plugins, websites can only detect plugins that are enabled in the browser you are using. So while you can – and should – disable plugins that you don’t use, you can’t block the information that plugins that are enabled send.
This can be changed by a Firefox add-on: Hide Plugin & Mimetype which you can install in your browser. Once you do this, there is no information from the plugins for the websites that collect them. You can check the results of the add-on on the Panopticlick website.
How does all this help?
It should be noted that the Hide Plugin & Mimetype add-on does not prevent plugins from running. You can specify which plugins will run, you can prevent plugins from running automatically for a more secure browsing experience.
Blocking information prevents websites from using plugins to identify users. The more information websites can gather, the more likely they are to be able to create a unique fingerprint of the user so that they can identify them, even without the use of cookies stored on their computer.
Two additional add-ons
The extension developer has created two additional add-ons that some users may find useful. One can help disable visited links, which prevents websites from collecting data about the websites, services you have visited in the past, or the articles you have read. Try Disable visited links
Another very useful add-on is Disable WebRTC. This add-on prevents your network and the IP you connect to from being exposed to online services.
