Firefox for the eBay Ninja

I wonder if somebody at ebay/pp volunteered to be on the dev team or something. Otherwise Mozilla might be about to go Jekyll&Hyde and become a commercial product - the way they've been doing some things lately...

[EmptyPockets]

Nice tutorial, very informative vic, thanks for pointing it out to me.

I will try some of these suggestions

[flipstardirect]

Great tutorial, really taught me some things I didn't know. Especially the fact that I can now definitely identify myself with the new pseudonym of 'eBay ninja.' Thnx so much!

[SteveO]

I use FirefoxPortable with flash disabled to isolate cookies and form data. Also use TORBrowser which is a privacy customized version of FirefoxPortable I than turn off the TOR feature since that would get you limited. This method has been working great for me, next I want to some how link the browser to my VPN accounts so it automatically connects to them.

P.S. If anyone knows how to do that with the VPNs let me know.

P.P.S. Great post Vic!

Which version of FF portable? I've been using it on thumb drives since 2005. I still have version 2.0.0.14 (portable edition) installed on a 128 meg thumb drive. The newest version on one of my USBs is 3.0.13 and it's perfectly fine. I don't use the portable versions very frequently, but often enough to confidently agree with you.

One thing I did notice (not FF's fault) is that if you plug into a USB 1.1 port (my busted laptop only has USB 1.1) FF portable is sssssllllllloooooooooowwwwww. Plugged into a modern USB 2.0 port, it's just as fast as the regular version installed to a HD. Well, it appears to be that fast. It might benchmark slower, but I can't tell during normal and practical real-world usage.

I've been using the TOR setup named Vidalia. It's a multi-pack set of 3 things that work together. Don't ask me to explain that one though. It's beyond me. Fortunately, you just click it and forget it.

As you say, it is very very cool.

Since you probably use the portable version quite a bit, maybe you could do a thread with recommended plugins and some general tips. Might be a few people here who could really benefit and they just don't know it even exists...

There are two different flavors which you might want to include if you do a thread. The version for regular USB thumb drives called Firefox Portable and a version specifically for U3 enable USB thumbs (Sandisk Cruzer Micro for instance). The U3 version can NOT possibly be run from a regular USB thumb. People with a U3 device are better using the U3 FF instead of running FF Portable on a U3. The U3 version is a bit smoother and has a more solid feel to it.

I use it infrequently enough that I never even thought to mention it. It slips my mind that I even have it most of the time.

[flipstardirect]

Hey vicvelcro, I was intrigued by the TOR browser and decided to install the portable bundle. So how does it work, does it automatically block TOR and remove cookies upon browser exit? Either way, the website description looks pleasing, although I don't really know how it works. So far I've just been using normal firefox and the ctrl+shift+p (private session) feature which seems a bit dodgy.

Ctrl-Shift-P seemed a bit disappointing, I'm with you there.

I can't give a whole lot of info regarding FFP. I don't use it a lot. It appears to work just the same as the non-portable version. You still add plugins to block flash, etc.

TOR is The Onion Router. Distributed proxy thing. You don't want to have it active when you log onto ebay or PP. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network)

[flipstardirect]

Oh I see, I'll stick to firefox portable on separate thumb drives then. Thnx for that! ^_^

[aquariusvc]

I not use this way, i use Microsoft Virtual PC and VM Ware to make fresh virtual PC in my PC for eBay and PayPal. Each virtual PC have about 6 child account. I think it safe than use FF profiles and much more way and not need to buy new PC he he.

[flipstardirect]

I just tether my mobile phone to my computer. Each time I reconnect to my GPRS 3G cellular data network it reassigns a new IP address. It's worked for me for about 8 months now. ^_^

Just an update regarding version use:

The newest version of Firefox still seems unfinished. It has caused me minor problems on the test install.

I am currently using 3.0.19 without any issue.

The direct link to 3.0.19 on the Mozilla site is RIGHT HERE.

For anyone wanting to remove the new version and revert to the old version: I suggest you completely remove your firefox profile and start completely fresh. You can back up your bookmarks. But don't save your cookies or your plugins.

[jamblix]

Did everything to Tweak #5, than it starts to get a bit technical. I was sailing along copy/pasting and double clicking but, I'm way to spent right now to "create a new Preference Name with an Integer Value" . I'll probably end up doing the rest soon

I have literally no idea what these tweaks are, how this helps or exactly what it is I'm accomplishing here besides trying to make Firefox browsing faster. The tweaks I did finish though showed an improvement that was not just a placebo effect.

These tweaks are described. Some will improve your speed. Some will improve your stealth. And all are 100% stable if the settings are correct. If not stable, post here, and I will help you set it proper.

[mrkbri]

Great Advice Thanks

[GreenBean]

OK the question involves FF and ninjas. Well FF really. What do you think the older version will be like with such plugins as Flash & Shockwave? I have problems with these crashing, becoming unresponsive with both FF & Chrome
If it was that (re)installing the old version may give better results I may do that

Let me toss something in a test PC. I'll let you know ASAP.

Just flash and shockwave enabled?

[GreenBean]

No, there's java & stuff, I think

Ok, flash, shockwave, java, and stuff. I'll test it all out for gitches and freezes and whatnot.

Tested firefox 3.0.19 with flash, shockwave, java, and the windows media player plugin. I also used AdBlock, xmarks, scrapbook, and speeddial. Test system was single core AMD x64 running WinXP Pro (32 bit version).

Browsed heavily and on various sites for a good 8 hours.

No problems whatsoever.