How to Configure Fasterfox

Fasterfox is an add-on for Mozilla's Firefox Web browser that purports to speed up your browsing experience by prefetching links, tweaking network settings and blocking pop-ups. All of these tasks are done virtually automatically once Fasterfox is installed and configured.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 

   Open Fasterfox's Website (see the Resources section) in Firefox. Click on the "Installation" tab.

2. 

   Click the "Install Fasterfox 2.0.0" link. A security bar will appear at the top of your window. Click "Allow" and the installation dialog will open.

3. 

   In the "Software Installation" window, click "Install." You may have to wait for the countdown. Use this time to carefully review the software being installed and ensure that it is what you expected.

4. Restart Firefox. To configure Fasterfox, click "Tools" and select "Add-ons." Click "Fasterfox" and choose "Options."

5. 

   Select presets for Fasterfox. To keep Firefox settings unchanged, select "Default." To utilize Fasterfox's optimization features, choose "Courteous," "Optimized" or "Turbo Charged."

6. 

   Use "Custom" settings to choose your options individually. Next, click the "Fasterfox" tab and check "Enable Enhanced Prefetching" to download links within webpages in the background while you are reading them. You can also choose sites to exclude by clicking the "Add" button. Check "Enable Page Load Timer" to show a timer in the corner of the browser. Note that this does not enhance the speed of your browser.

7. 

   Block pop-ups by clicking the "Popups" tab and checking "Disable Popups from Plugins." Click "OK" to save your changes.

Tips & Warnings

• For casual users, stick to the presets. This will allow you to utilize Fasterfox's best features without any technical knowledge.
• The features not discussed in this article should be used by only advanced users at their own risk. Improperly configuring these settings may result in being banned from a server, as certain settings increase the amount of load on web servers. Fasterfox works best with Firefox 2.0. Some features, such as FastBack, are only available for Firefox 1.50.

References

• Fasterfox Installation
• Fasterfox FAQ
• Add-ons for Firefox: Fasterfox

Resources

• Fasterfox