Firefox No Script




NoScript is Free Software (source code): if you like it, you can support its progress :)

NoScript is a long standing security add-on for Firefox that is rated highly on Mozilla AMO and quite popular with more than 2.3 million users.

  • I use NoScript regularly on Firefox, and recommend it for daily use. It doesn't block ads, so you still support the site costs for their administrators. However, it does block flash ads, greatly reducing your CPU load when browsing (provided that you have the flash plugin installed).
  • Firefox Extensions: Noscript, Adblock, Adblock Plus Questions - posted in Web Browsing/Email and Other Internet Applications: Im planning on starting to use some basic Firefox security extensions.
  • For this reason, when you upgrade to Firefox 4 or install NoScript in Firefox 4 and above, NoScript checks whether the Add-on Bar is hidden or not: if the Add-on Bar is hidden, NoScript's icon gets moved up to the navigation bar, near the address box, at the top of Firefox's window; otherwise it stays at the bottom, inside the Add-on Bar.

NoScript 10 'Quantum' resources

The NoScript Firefox extension provides extra protection for Firefox, Seamonkey and other mozilla-based browsers: this free, open source add-on allows JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank).

NoScript also provides the most powerful anti-XSS and anti-Clickjacking protection ever available in a browser.

NoScript's unique whitelist based pre-emptive script blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known, such as Meltdown or Spectre, and even not known yet!) with no loss of functionality..

You can enable JavaScript, Java and plugin execution for sites you trust with a simple left-click on the NoScript status bar icon (look at the picture), or using the contextual menu, for easier operation in popup statusbar-less windows.
Watch the 'Block scripts in Firefox' video by cnet.

Staying safe has never been so easy!
Experts will agree: Firefox is really safer with NoScript!

Recommended: protect your Internet traffic, too, with Military Grade Encryption.

V. 11.2.4 - Quantum Security for everyone!

If you find any bug or you'd like an enhancement, please report here or here. Many thanks!

Main good news
  • CSS resources prefetching as a mitigation against CSS Prime+Probe scriptless side-channel attack (thanks Yossi Oren & and its research team for assistance.)
  • New 'noscript' pseudo-capability to control whether <noscript> elements should be shown on scriptless pages.
  • Full UI keyboard-based navigation:
    Alt+Shift+N
    start
    Arrows/Tab
    move
    DEL/BKSPC/0
    DEFAULT
    +
    TRUSTED
    -
    UNTRUSTED
    C
    CUSTOM
    T
    Temp
    S
    HTTPS-lock
    HOME
    jump to the toolbar
    ESC/ENTER
    Close the UI
    R
    Reload current page without closing the UI
    Shift+G
    Globally disable restrictions
    Shift+T
    Disable restrictions on this tab
    P
    Set all on this page to Temp. TRUSTED
    F
    Forget temporary permissions
  • Operating on Incognito tabs prevents you from setting permanent permissions to avoid privacy leaks on disk (see https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/29957).
  • Improved Firefox Preview (Fenix) / Firefox for Android UI.
  • Completely asynchronous XSS Filter in its dedicated process
  • Several new and updated translations, thanks to the Localization Lab / OTF NoScript Transifex project.
  • 'Override Tor Browser Security Level preset' option offers more flexibility to NoScript+Tor power users.
More in the changelog..

Experts do agree..

03/10/2014, Edward Snowden endorses NoScript as a countermeasure against state Surveillance State.

08/06/2008, 'I'd love to see it in there.' (Window Snyder, 'Chief Security Something-or-Other' at Mozilla Corp., interviewed by ZDNet about 'adding NoScript functionality into the core browser').

03/18/2008, 'Consider switching to the Firefox Web browser with the NoScript plug-in. NoScript selectively, and non-intrusively, blocks all scripts, plug-ins, and other code on Web pages that could be used to attack your system during visits' (Rich Mogull on TidBITS, Should Mac Users Run Antivirus Software?).

11/06/2007, Douglas Crockford, world-famous JavaScript advocate and developer of JSON (one of the building blocks of Web 2.0), recommends using NoScript.

03/16/2007, SANS Internet Storm Center, the authoritative source of computer security related wisdom, runs a front-page Ongoing interest in Javascript issues diary entry by William Stearns just to say 'Please, use NoScript' :)
Actually, NoScript has been recommended several times by SANS, but it's nice to see it mentioned in a dedicated issue, rather than as a work-around for specific exploits in the wild. Many thanks, SANS!

05/31/2006, PC World's The 100 Best Products of the Year list features NoScript at #52!

Many thanks to PC World, of course, for grokking NoScript so much, and to IceDogg who kindly reported these news..

In the press..

  • CNET News: 'Giorgio Maone's NoScript script-blocking plug-in is the one-and-only Firefox add-on I consider mandatory.' (March 9, 2009, Dennis O'Reilly, Get a new PC ready for everyday use)
  • Forbes: 'The real key to defeating malware isn't antivirus but approaches like Firefox's NoScript plug-in, which blocks Web pages from running potentially malicious programs' (Dec 11, 2008, Andy Greenberg, Filter The Virus Filters).
  • PC World: Internet Explorer 7 Still Not Safe Enough because it doesn't act like 'NoScript [..] an elegant solution to the problem of malicious scripting' (cite bite)
  • New York Times: '[..] NoScript, a plug-in utility, can limit the ability of remote programs to run potentially damaging programs on your PC', (Jan 7, 2007, John Markoff, Tips for Protecting the Home Computer).
  • PC World's Ten Steps Security features using NoScript as step #6. (cite bite)
  • The Washington Post security blog compares MSIE 'advanced' security features (like so called 'Zones') to Firefox ones and recommends NoScript adoption as the safest and most usable approach. (cite bite)
Firefox 57-59 & Noscript 10 usage guide - 2nd edition

Updated: March 30, 2018

Script

As you know, Firefox 57 ushered a new era of WebExtensions into Mozilla's addons world, breaking the ecospace, and forcing massive changes. One of the affected addons is the highly popular Noscript Security Suite (NSS), which, frankly, is probably the only real reason to still favor and use Firefox over Chrome. Giorgio Maone, the Noscript creator, had to make a brand new version of his tool, and it was a radical change for many users.

To that end, I wrote my first guide on Noscript 10 usage, trying to explain the new terminology and concepts, new permissions model, and such. Usb tv tuner driver download. It was received fairly well, and it's quoted in the official basic usage howto on the Noscript forums. Yay. Now, several weeks had gone by, Noscript had undergone additional changes, and I'd like to give some more focus on this sweet little tool and its capabilities. Of course, you should read the first guide first to grasp the basics, then continue here. After me.

New looks

Firefox Missing Noscript

Noscript 10 now looks better than before. More elegant text and icons, better spacing. There's also a separate button to temporarily allow the currently listed domains, with page reload happening as soon as you depress the mouse button. You can also individually change the permissions for the listed domains. The settings page has also undergone some rework, but we will talk about that in a few moments.

New functionality

Firefox No Scripts

There are several major changes in the UI. Most notably, for a while, where applicable, domains were listed several times. But this actually makes sense. You have the option to allow permissions for the entire domain (think of it as a wildcard) or a very specific entry. For instance, if you allow for dedoimedo.com, ALL variations and subdomains will be permitted, including both http and https traffic. However, if you choose to allow only for https://www.dedoimedo.com, only this particular URL will be matched. This allows you additional granularity in control. More recent version of the 10.x branch have gone back to displaying a single entry that covers all types of traffic.

Firefox Noscript Add-on

When it comes to permissions, temporarily allow is now a separate category, which also makes sense - and it is easier to click on the temp-allow icon than the little cogwheel on the trusted icon as before. You also no longer have the list of available elements shown in the main interface. Again, very logical. You can change them through the settings window, rather than accidentally click and apply a scope-wide change.

Settings

You can open the settings page in several ways. If you're on a blank tab, just click on the icon (it will show a ?). If you're actually using a tab and have a website loaded, click on the Noscript icon on the left top side of the Noscript popup menu, close to the stop and reload buttons. The interface has undergone several rounds of changes.

The panel is cleaner and easier to use. I versions 10.1.6.x, you have the options to allow scripts globally, temporarily allow top-level domains (useful if you're troubleshooting), and allow/disable XSS checks. This functionality was somewhat buggy in the interim releases, but it works well now. You can also clear the list of your XSS choices. Useful for troubleshooting.

This is actually a bogus warning - but it emphasizes what the XSS warnings look like.

Firefox No Script

Presets for the scope now show on separate tabs - default, trusted and untrusted. Below, you have the list of site permissions - anything with a non-default set will show in the list. Abook 560hdi driver download. You can also use the search window, and it also works for domains you are currently working with (temp-allowed, for instance).

The Debug feature remains, allowing you to better understand the current ruleset, if you don't mind reading JSON. Last but not the least, you can export the configuration (just a text file), and import existing ones, so this is useful if you want to reuse a well-tested set across multiple systems or Firefox profiles. Also good for backups in case you are about to make some big changes to the NSS settings.

In the 10.1.7.x branch, the layout has been edited one more time. You have tabs, which offer a cleaner look, and easier access to different parts of the addon functionality. Under General, you can edit the scopes presets, globally allow scripts, or temp-allow all top-level (1st level) domains, i.e. on dedoimedo.com, for instance, everything that originates from this domain will be allowed, but not any third-party scripts.

Per-site permissions, same as before. Appearance gives you the ability to make minor visual tweaks, like displaying the number of allowed/blocked scripts on each page, expand domain names, and so forth. Advanced gives you the JSON view of the configuration file, as we've seen in the first guide. You have the option to import, export or reset settings.

Firefox Android No Script

Conclusion

Noscript Firefox Download

Noscript is maturing nicely. It is not the all-can-do tool that we had in Firefox before the 57th release, but it is adequate and suitable for most people, and it provides the necessary protection, and more importantly, the necessary quiet you want when browsing the net. Silent, static pages so you can focus on reading and not having your senses assailed any which Web 2.0 or Web 3.0 way. But I guess most people will focus on the security side of things.

I am using the addon across multiple profiles and systems, and I have not observed any big breakages or bugs. Occasional tiny issues crop here and there, and then vanish a day later. The one that I do remember was a temporary issue with XSS for a brief while, but other than that, it seems to work in a very similar fashion to the old Noscript. Performance is also comparable. And then, there's still more room for improvements and new stuff, which I'm sure will be coming. Hopefully, this was a pleasant read. Take care.

Noscript For Firefox 52

Cheers.