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Firefox for the eBay Ninja
 

In this episode, we'll cover speED.

Speed Item - Loads FF faster and while loaded, the nuts and bolts run faster.
Estimated time to complete: 5-10 minutes

If you are a bid-sniper, this helps.

Find the shortcut you use to launch Firefox. Right click and choose properties. On the shortcut tab, look down a bit and find the line where it says Target. It will look something like this (depends on which Win version you have)
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
At the end of that, after the quote (") mark, add /Prefetch:1
So it should look kinda like this: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" /Prefetch:1
http://www.myotherdrive.com/dyn/file...fi/ffebn01.jpg
Click Apply and click OK. Get it out of the way. Shortcut is done.

Now, we want to speed up our browsing overall. Mainly as relates to page loading etc.
FASTER BROWSING
To get started, open your Firefox web browser. In the address/location bar type [about:config] and then press your Enter key. (NOTE: DON’T TYPE THE BRACKETS [].)

NOTE: You can skip any of the following settings without affecting others. The more tweaks you implement, the more improvement you will see. You can choose a different option for any setting than what is posted, and it won't affect any other setting. The exception is that if you make a setting "false" such as cache.enable ... the number for cache size would be irrelevant. You can set the size to anything, but if not enabled, it won't do anything. Most of these tweaks are not specific to any OS. Work just as good on linux/mac/win. (should)

TWEAK 0:
On the filter line, type in "dom" without quotes. Look for the entry dom.storage.enabled and if you have it, set it to false. If you don't have it, we'll make it. Right click in the main lower window. Choose new, boolean. In the box that pops up, type in dom.storage.enabled and click OK. Then select false and click OK. This is actually a stealth setting too.

http://www.myotherdrive.com/dyn/file...fi/ffebn02.jpg


Tweak A:
on the Filter line, type in "cache" without quotes. That clears most of the settings that we won't be using.
Double click each of the settings I mention, and set the data to my recommendations or to settings appropriate to your system, if you KNOW what works better on your box. Start with browser.cache.disk.capacity and set it to 50000. Then browser.disk.cache.enable and set it to true. Then browser.cache.memory.enable to true. Then cache.memory.capacity to 32000. Then network.http.use-cache to true.

Tweak #1:
In the Filter bar type network.http.pipelining Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.

Tweak #2:
In the Filter bar type network.http.pipelining.maxrequests then, double-click on this line under Preference Name and change the value from 4 to a higher number anywhere from 10 to 30. I set mine to 10.

Tweak #3:
In the Filter bar type network.http.proxy.pipelining Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.

Tweak #4:
In the Filter bar type network.dns.disableIPv6 Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.

Tweak #5:
In the Filter bar type plugin.expose_full_path Then, double-click on this line under Preference Name in order to change the value from false to true.

Tweak #6:
In the Filter bar type network.protocol-handler.external.ms-help Now, you are going to create a new Preference Name with an Integer Value. To do this, right-click on this line under Preference Name and select New, then Integer.

In the New Integer value box type in nglayout.initialpaint.delay and click OK. Then in the Enter Integer value box type [0] (that’s a zero) and click OK. This will get rid of the 250 millisecond delay to begin page loads that is FF default setting.

Tweak #7:
Now, you are going to create another new Preference Name with an Integer Value. To do this, right-click on this line under Preference Name and select New, then Integer. In the New Integer value box type in content.notify.backoffcount and click OK. Then in the Enter Integer value box type [5] and click OK.

Tweak #8:
Now, you are going to create another new Preference Name with an Integer Value. To do this, right-click on this line under Preference Name and select New, then Integer. In the New Integer value box type in ui.submenuDelay and click OK. Then in the Enter Integer value box type [0] (that’s a zero) and click OK.


Tweak #9:
On the filter line type network.http.sendRefererHeader and set it to 0 to stop people seeing where you've come from - you might also want to set the 'network.http.sendSecureXSiteReferer' to false. I've no idea what that does but it looks naughty to me..


Now, close your web browser and restart it. You’ll see how much faster web pages are loading.

In this episode, we'll cover STEALTH.

Stealth Item - When you finish using a site, take very little with you and leave little or nothing behind.
Estimated time to complete: 15-40 minutes

Few internet users are aware of super cookies, which are data stored on users' computers by other methods than traditional cookies. While traditional cookies have an expiration date, super cookies remain indefinitely. Below is more info and blocking techniques for super cookies using Flash, JavaScript, Java userData and DOM storage. Note that these super cookies are not addressed by the Private Browsing feature in Firefox 3.5: Private Browsing

Using the Global Storage Settings Panel, the user can prevent Flash cookies by setting the storage limit to zero, preventing prompts for storage, preventing third-party storage and preventing common components storage. However, many legitimate sites throw errors or fail to work with Flash cookies blocked. Users are advised to configure Flash settings at Adobe - Flash Player : Settings Manager - Global Storage Settings Panel
Or install the FF plugin named flashblock and configure it as suits you.

http://www.myotherdrive.com/dyn/file...fi/ffebn03.jpg


BetterPrivacy is a plugin which has negligible memory usage. It allows the user to create a white list of allowed Flash cookies. It allows for automatic deleting of Flash cookies when the browser session starts, ends or both. I prefer deleting only at the session start because it speeds closing Firefox, allows me to examine Flash cookies after Firefox closes and prevents cross-session tracking when Firefox crashes. If you use this, you don't need flashblock and vice-versa.

Flash stores shared objects in this folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\
Flash stores site-specific Flash cookies in this folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\macromedia.com\support\flashplayer\sys\
Flash stores global settings and previously-visted websites having Flash cookies in this file:
C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\macromedia.com\support\flashplayer\sys\sett ings.sol

http://www.myotherdrive.com/dyn/file...fi/ffebn04.jpg


BetterPrivacy has an option labeled "Also auto-delete Flashplayer default cookie (settings.sol)" that refers to this file. If the user enables this option, then Flash global settings are deleted too and will revert to defaults every time you restart your browswer. I prefer not to use default global settings, which ask the user's permission for potentially dangerous actions. By not deleting the default cookie, the user will see previously-visited websites in the Website Storage Settings Panel. But notice that there is no storage used for each after BetterPrivacy deletes the Flash cookies.

JavaScript can be disabled in most browsers, but then many desirable legitimate sites fail to work. The NoScript Firefox add-on (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722) supports a white list of sites allowed to use JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plug-ins. However, security is not improved on a site if the user enables different types until the site works. Also, this is not usable for an inexperienced user, and many experienced users find this overly-tedious and impractical. Personally, to me it is worth the setup time and the occasional nag.

To block JavaScript super cookie tracking across browser sessions, configure the browser to delete its cache of web pages when closing. In the Firefox menu Tools|Options|Privacy, check "Always clear my private data when I close Firefox", click the "Settings..." button and check "Cache".

Similar to JavaScript, Java can store super cookies in its cache across browser sessions. Java can be disabled in most browsers, but then many desirable legitimate sites fail to work.
To block Java super cookie tracking, in each account do the following:
Control Panel|Java|General|Settings..., uncheck "Keep temporary files on my computer"
Control Panel|Java|General|Settings...|Delete Files, check all boxes

DOM storage can be completely disabled in Firefox by adding dom.storage.enabled=false in about:config or checking the option in the BetterPrivacy add-on mentioned above. Disabling DOM storage prevents many desirable legitimate sites from working. For example, Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com fails to complete page loading or allow video playback.

My preferred balance between usability and security for DOM storage, like traditional cookies, is to allow during the browser session, but delete at the beginning or end of a browser session.
Webappsstore.sqlite - MozillaZine Knowledge Base states "Deleting webappsstore.sqlite will delete any data web sites have stored there. A new file will be created when it is needed."

BetterPrivacy v1.35 has an option "Auto-delete DOMstorage file". My testing indicates the deletion occurs at both the beginning and the end of a session, which ensures security even if Firefox crashes.



Another option is this:
How To Get Firefox Portable Plus | Download.hr reviews and free downloads
Firefox Portable Plus - Portable Firefox Plus is portable version of popular Firefox. It is made from Firefox Portable but with one big difference: It doesn't need installation. Just download to Your disk, USB, CD/DVD or other portable media and it is ready to use.

Toss it on a USB and load this one whenever you want to do your ecommerce thang. Keep a separate USB for each ebay/pp you have. Label them.

In this episode, we'll cover PROFILES.

Productivity Item - Get organized and separate your tools as different 'work benches'.
Estimated time to complete tutorial with vids: 8-12 minutes
Estimated time to complete once you know how: 0.5 minutes

Born Geek » Firefox Profile Tutorial
You can view a longer version here, if you really like pain.

A profile in Firefox is a collection of bookmarks, browser settings, extensions, passwords, and history; in short, all of your personal settings. These items are stored in a special profile folder on your hard drive. Shortly, we will find out where this folder is located. In case you didn’t already know, Firefox uses a default profile to store all of your personal settings.

Each profile has its own plugins. So if you want a default profile for plain old browsing, set that up however you like. And if you want an ebay/pp stealth profile, make one and name it eBay, then perform the actions in the previous speed tutorial and stealth tutorial. That way, when you want to play kitten cannon, you load the default profile without all the blocked java and flash. This is gooder and betterer than switching between FF for business and crappy IE for funning.

So if there’s a default profile, why would we ever want another one? Two scenarios spring to mind. Profiles are extremely handy for those who generally do two entirely different task sets needing different plugins and bookmarks that don't really fit BOTH job types. And also for the eBay Ninja. If you use a separate profile for listing and financial management purposes, and something goes horribly wrong during a non-business session (e.g., all your data gets lost), you still have your "business" profile to fall back on (the data there is still safe).

If you want to get a new profile up and running quickly, use this quick "five-minute" guide. This guide assumes use of the Windows operating system, but these steps will generally work on any platform:

1. Make sure all instances of Firefox are closed.
2. Select Start » Run from the Windows Start menu.
3. Type the following command and click OK: firefox -ProfileManager
4. In the resulting Profile Manager window, click the Create Profile button.
5. Click the Next button in the profile creation wizard.
6. In the second step of the wizard, provide a name for the new profile and click the Finish button.
7. Back in the Profile Manager, select your new profile from the list on the right and click the Start Firefox button.

If you would like to start Firefox using this profile at any time, take the following action:

1. First and foremost, do not use the "Don’t ask at startup" checkbox in the Profile Manager. By using this checkbox, any instance of Firefox you run on your computer will make use of the selected profile. This is counter-productive if you are testing nightly builds where you might want to have a new profile for each build.

If you want a shortcut to load an exact profile without going through the new startup menu for FF, follow these steps:
2. Create a shortcut to the Firefox instance you want to use with your custom profile.
3. In Windows, right click this shortcut and select Properties.
4. In the Target field, append the following text to the end of the command (replace the text <Profile_Name> with the actual name you gave your profile): -P "<Profile_Name>"
5. Click the OK button.

Now when you double click the shortcut you created, and no other Firefox instances are running, Firefox will start using your custom profile. This is a handy way to quickly access custom profiles.

Here's a video!


And another video shows you how to run 2 (or more - I run 6 or 8) profiles at the same time. I have not tested 2 ebay profiles at the same time, but default and 1 ebay is safe. If you have many gmail accounts and you don't like logging in and out and switching, just log in to each gmail from a diff profile and keep it loaded while you start Firefox using another profile. Repeat ad nauseum or until you run out of RAM.

Questions and comments *ARE* welcome...

Please take a second to vote. I'll be using the results to help determine if this is as smooth for people as I am hoping, or it will tell me I still need to de-techificate it more before serving it to the lime flavored members.

The speed increase in item 1 will vary from 2x-30x performance boost, depending on your prior setup. Unless you already had THESE settings. If you did, then you won't get the boost, you hacker.

The stealth factor for item 2 can be moderate to extreme, depending on which settings you choose to implement and to what degree you choose your settings.

Item 3 is awkward for people who already have 3000 bookmarks and 30 or so plugins configured. Reason for that is when you create a new profile, it is fresh like a brand new FF install, so you'll be wanting some of your bookmarks. If you use the XMarks plugin, you won't be typing them. But you'll still be cluttered. That's the only down side to profiles. An added bonus (for more stealth) - you can have the data for one or more profiles stored on removable media such as a USB Key (thumb drive). You close FF and put the USB in your pocket, that profile goes with you and FF won't be able to load that profile at all until the USB is re-inserted. Nice if you have that particular need. (Orion, you'll be encrypting that USB, no doubt)

These are actually some great tips.. I didn't know a few of these.

Profiles don't store separate cookies do these? From the looks of it it doesn't seem that way.

We should probably move this thread to the subscribers area to be more helpful to members.

I thought maybe try it here with the most experienced group first. Sometimes I go over the top with technical things and that can create more probs than it solves. So doing it here was a good place to start. If most here use this well and easy, then it's probably safe for the masses.

I'll get on one of my other 'puters with a fresh HD then make a new PC install and see what's up with the cookies and all. I'm pretty sure each profile segregates the cookies from the other profile.

Logged into my Vic winuser, I load ff with default profile should put cookies in one place. Staying in Vic winuser, reload ff with ecommerce profile should put cookies elsewhere. I know the bookmarks are separate, the plugins are separate. I put flashblock on ecommerce profile then reload as default - and the plugin isn't here. I switch back to ecommerce, and voila!

LSO storage is shared (it was made that way by the LSO brigade). But all other things should be unique to each profile.

[added]
Just checked my laptop which coincidentally was a recent fresh re-install from format. Easy job this time, lol. Cookies are separated from each profile.

That could be useful later on.. good share.

Speed tutorial and Profile tutorial are easy and all you have to do is follow the steps in order. Should take less time than microwaving a tv dinner.

The stealth tutorial is a tad more involved. You may get away with following the steps I laid out. If you customized your system in other ways, you may have to make some decisions of your own to fit your particular setup.

I performed each tutorial several times over and streamlined it all as much as I could and checked for errors in my instructions. All is good.

Input is still welcomed. Positive comments. Negative comments. Questions. Observations. Additional information.

We'd like to move this out for regular subscribers too, but I think it needs more evaluation first.

It looks to hard for me but I will give it a go! Anyways nice post Vic. Very long and descriptive.

And no swear words except on the local end. Heh.

I never sweared Vic did I....lol. Anyways I don't want to highjack your thread.

for flash block - is simply not having flash on firefox at all a good option, thats what I do, as im too scared of it. It means I have to reverify accounts when selling but now its done with email and pin its no biggie, what are cons of doing this apart form what I said. Ive got IE with flash and FF without, it used to be on ff but I unistalled it and things like youtube wont play on it..

I use flashblock with firefox. I have it set to block elements but allow override, so I can watch a youtube vid tutorial if needed.

I never access ebay or PP from any other browser. I always always always block the flash from ebay and PP. I've never been asked to reverify anything. My brother blocks his in firefox like I do, but sometimes logs into his accts from IE and thus, sometimes he gets the flash. ebay and PP see flash on, flash off, flash on, flash off - and then they want him to reverify.

So, keep it off all the time and never use a browser for ebay/pp that ever allows it, no reverify will be needed.

I keep flash off/not installed as opposed to blocked on all my users and am asked to reverify quite alot, Im not off and on all the time, so dont get it why you dont have that problem..it may be because I clear cookies as I double up on users eg use 2 ebays per windows user so I have it set to clear when closing - is this what the reverify problem is?

IT'S THE COOKIES!

To use one Windows User per 2 ebay/pp, set up FF profiles. One FF profile for each ebay/pp login. Don't clear cookies.

is it safe if you clear cookies to use 2 ebays per user on seperate ips?

Ok, its just that I scared off flash in case I make a mistake, with no flash its one less thing to think about.

I will have a go at the ff profiles, so far Ive been reading theri tutorial and found the profile manager file, bit complicated for me. whats the simplest way to create them?

See post #3 in this thread. Videos have been added. Interesting videos. I've tidied up the instructions for creating profiles as best I can, so far. I tested my own words by doing the steps on another PC, and at a realistic speed which accounts for the reading, the clicking and everything else, it took me under 5 minutes. NOT at my normal 45 second speed, but actually doing it by reading along like a person would have to do. You can click here to jump directly to post #3. It will open in another tab, so you can continue to use this reference without losing your place.

Make 3 profiles. One called default for regular browsing and one for each ebay/pp login set. Stop cleaning cookies. ebay and pp want to see cookies. it makes them feel like you aren't a crook. so let them eat cookies. nice safe segregated unpoluted cookies.

Each profile keeps the cookies for that profile separate from the cookies in other profiles. They do not mix. That's the point of me posting the tutorials. Each profile is like a completely different browser. When you start FF, it shows the list of available profiles. As soon as you pick one, it forgets that the other profiles exists and does not load any info or even read the folder tree for the profiles that were not selected. It keeps everything separate. Bookmarks aren't shared. Plugins aren't shared. Nothing.

Flash is stored outside of profiles, so you want a flash blocker for each ebay/pp profile. You can omit the flash blocker for the default profile, that way you can have flash for normal browsing, if you like. Or block it in the default profile too.

Read the entire post once, before you begin. Then go back and do it step by step.

Ignore what it looks like. I just type too much.

These are all very very easy and pretty fast to complete. Read the time estimates for each as noted. Those are LONG estimates based on quadrupling the time it took me to complete them from scratch.

And here's a quick trip to some Firefox stealth plugins useful to eBay Ninjas.

https://addons.mozilla.org/collection/vicebaystealth

I'll keep it updated, whenever I find anything else quite tasty.

Another collection. Organize and streamline.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...n/vicefficient

3.5.2 sux, just in case you guys haven't noticed yet.

^^^ not good at all. These 'newer' babies sux & imho, unstable. :pout:

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...

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

I will try some of these suggestions

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!

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.:typing:

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.

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)

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

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.

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.

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.

Great Advice Thanks

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:tears:
If it was that (re)installing the old version may give better results I may do that:spy:

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

Just flash and shockwave enabled?

No, there's java & stuff, I think :tears:

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