RUNNERS-UP!
Winners always receive the most recognition, but these alterna-browsers sport unique talents that separate them from the packTORPARK
Budding secret agents take note:
Torpark will get you from point A to
point B in covert fashion. Torpark uses
what’s basically a modifi ed version of
Firefox 1.5 but encrypts and routes
your browsing activity through the Tor
network, so sites you visit won’t know
that you are you. It’s small enough to fi t
on a USB key for missions on the go.
Just don’t go too fast, because you’ll
spend a lot of time waiting for web
pages to load. http://www.torrify.comFLOCK
Flock lives up to its billing as the social web
browser by interacting with all your content
online. Confi gure your blog, photo sharing,
and social bookmark info during installa-
tion, and then use the built-in editor to make
blog posts and replace the traditional Firefox
bookmarks with del.icio.us bookmarks. You
can even drag and drop photos from the
photo bar into your blog. Flock shows a lot
of promise, but it begs the question, why not
add much of same functionality to Firefox
with extensions? http://www.flock.comOPERA
A year ago we would have scoffed at
Opera , a browser that dared to carry a
price tag, but today it’s a free download
packed with features. Tabs, RSS feeds,
integrated BitTorrent support, mouse
gestures... it’s all here. And website com-
patibility has grown by leaps and bounds.
Add-ons are supported too, in the form of
Opera widgets. If they ever grow in num-
ber and functionality to equal Firefox’ s
array of extensions, Opera could be a
serious contender. http://www.opera.com50 MAXIMUMPC FEBRUARY 2007
Firefox
To download and install extensions in Firefox , go to Tools,
then Add-ons, and click Extensions, or visit addons.mozilla.org/
firefox/extensions/.1) IE TAB: One of the most common laments about Firefox is that some
Internet Explorer – specifi c pages don’t look work right. IE Tab solves this
problem by using IE to render pages inside one tab (Windows only).
2) MOUSE GESTURES: There’s really no reason to use the buttons on the
browser when you’ve installed this extension, which lets you move forward
and back, close tabs, and reload with a fl ick of your mousing wrist.
3) DIIGO: If you’re like us, you often fi nd yourself with more open tabs than
you know what to do with. Diigo keeps us organized with its ability to high-
light portions of text and even add sticky notes!
4) RELOADEVERY: Whether you’re trying to snipe an eBay auction or pre-
vent your favorite forum from logging you out, this nifty extension will oblige
by refreshing web pages at any set interval.
5) TIMETRACKER: Ever been accused of spending all your time online?
Install TimeTracker and you’ll have proof that you’ve been surfi ng for only 18
hours and 37 minutes straight!Internet Explorer 7
Install IE extensions via the Tools icon (then Manage Add-ons) or
by heading over to http://www.ieaddons.com.1) KEYSCRAMBLER PERSONAL: Have reason to believe “the man” is
watching your PC activity with a keylogger? KeyScrambler Personal will
encrypt your keystrokes when you type in a username and password. Tinfoil
hat not included.
2) CALLINGID: Caller ID for the Internet? Brilliant! Now you can verify a
site owner’s name and address just by hovering your mouse over a link.
3) BAYDEN IETOYS: Right-clicking has never been so useful! Look up dic-
tionary defi nitions and encyclopedia entries, highlight text before printing,
delete site images, and more.
4) BAGGLE: Every online shopper needs a Baggle. Create a detailed,
customized wish list of items from all around the web, complete with pics,
links, and prices.
5) INLINE SEARCH: We’ve been babied by Firefox’s search feature, which
highlights text as we type. Inline Search gives this same functionality to the
Microsoft faithful.could be a
http://www.opera.comOF THE
Extensions Extraordinaire!
Here are five customization options for each browser that put the grrr in groovy!