Firefox Plug-ins: What are they?

For a long time, I thought add-ons and plug-ins were different names for the same thing. Thanks to Mozilla, I learned differently. Officially, plug-ins, extensions, and themes are subcategories of add-ons.

OK, what are add-ons? An add-on is a small program designed to interact with a host application. Why is this important? Add-ons are useful. They give applications like Web browsers a great deal more functionality. My favorite add-ons are NoScript and Power Twitter. They belong to the extension subcategory of add-ons. NoScript helps prevent malware from infiltrating my computer and Power Twitter improves how I use the Twitter Web site.

Plug-ins are sneaky

Extensions and themes require user intervention to install and they update automatically. Plug-ins install without user knowledge and they do not update automatically. That makes plug-ins a concern, security-wise. If a plug-in has a known vulnerability, it becomes a way for bad guys to gain access.

Mozilla helps

Mozilla, Firefox’s developer is aware of this problem and explains the downside of having old plug-ins on their Web site:

• Old Plug-ins can interrupt browsing and waste your time.

• Old Plug-ins increase your risk for attack by malware, viruses, and other security threats.

• Updated Plug-ins have improvements that make the web better and safer for you.

To help, Mozilla created a Web site that will test all of the plug-ins installed in Firefox, informing you which need to be updated. I tested my computer and found this:

Final thoughts

Cybercriminals are smart. As soon as security analysts find their favorite vulnerability and fix it, the attackers find another weak link. Plug-ins are on the bad guy’s radar. Make sure to keep them up-to-date.

For information about other Firefox issues, please refer to Mozilla’s Firefox: One-stop for security tips. For answers to your concerns about IT please refer to: Information Technology: Answers to your questions.