New tools

Noscript 5.0 for Firefox www.snipca.com/23699

Unless you’ve been hibernating for the past few years, you’ll know that some browser plug-ins, including Java and Flash, are riddled with security holes.

An effective way to protect yourself while browsing is to install an extension that prevents plug-ins from running scripts (the commands that make them work). Noscript, the best option for Firefox, has just released its fifth version. It’s significant because Noscript is now an ‘Embedded Webextension’, built using Firefox’s new system for extensions. From November, extensions not made this way won’t work in Firefox.

When you install Noscript you’ll see a blue ‘S’ icon at the top right of your browser bar (see screenshot). Click it and you’ll see everything that it has blocked on the web page. This will include adverts and other clutter. If you trust a site’s content, click ‘Allow all this page’. Bear in mind that using it correctly will take some trial and error.

Chrome users should install Scriptsafe ( www. snipca.com/23700), which was updated earlier this year.