Browser security has become a raging debate these days, with the myriad of plugins and extensions you can install on your computer to customize your internet experience. However plugins like Java, Silverlight, Flash etc. are powerful stuff that if found vulnerable can give hackers multiple attack points targeting a huge audience.

So what Mozilla is trying to do is trying to make plugin management as easy as managing extensions in Firefox is. Though the plugin check page is limited by what it can do at the moment, it will be fully utilized starting Firefox 3.6 to update plugins just like extensions do so now.

For now the scripts on the page will check for installed plugins and compare the version of the installed plugin with the latest version that is available. At the moment some of the plugins supported are (among others) Apple Quicktime, Shockwave Flash, Adobe Acrobat, Java, Silverlight, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player plugins.

The Plugin Check page will show you a Green “Up To Date” button if you are running the latest version of the plugin, a yellow “Update” button if a new version button is available, and a red “Update Now” button if you are running a version that has a critical security exploit fixed in the latest version.

It is hearty to see Mozilla taking these steps to ensure a safe browsing experience for all of us. Looks like Firefox 3.6 will be an awesome release! Looking forward to it

Mozilla Plugin Check

Mozilla Labs Jetpack – Intro & Tutorial from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

For those of you not aware with Jetpack is all about. Jetpack is a Mozilla Labs project that enables anyone who knows HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create powerful Firefox addons. The goal of Jetpacks is to allow anyone who can build a Web site to participate in making the Web a better place to work, communicate and play.

Jetpack Gallery is for Jetpacks in the same way as Mozilla Addons is for Firefox. Till today people installing Jetpacks had to either depend on the Wiki page maintained by Mozilla. However with the launch of the Gallery the floodgates have been opened and I expect to see some interesting uses of Jetpacks in the days to come.

Want an example of what Jetpack can actually accomplish?

• Adblock Plus the immensely popular addon for Firefox : ~25,000 Lines of Code
• Unad a Jetpack that does the same thing : ~80 Lines of Code

That translates into roughly 99% savings. Now would you were a developer what would you choose?

As of now I guess Mozilla is approving each Jetpack on an individual basis considering that Jetpacks are still in the experimental state and not ready for the real world yet. But the true power of Jetpack in my opinion lies in the fact that Addons are installed without the need for a restart of Firefox.

So those of you waiting for addons without a reboot, Jetpack is the best you can get right now. Head over to the Gallery to install the Jetpack add-on and try out some Jetpacks like JetWave (a Google Wave Notifier) and JetStatus (a Twitter client).

Jetpack Gallery | Jetpack – Mozilla Labs

I normally use Snagit for all my needs of taking screenshots, but today thanks to Amit Agarwal I found a cool new plugin written by a Microsoft employee Joe Cheng that allows me to take screenshots more easily than ever.

Here’s how to get started with this tiny plugin that will surely make life easy for all bloggers alike. To give your Windows Live Writer the power of a  screen capture tool, download this file (22kb, ScreenCapture.dll) and copy it to the following location on your PC :

C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Writer\Plugins

Now when you open Windows Live Writer you will see the option to take the screenshot. All you need to do now is click it and select the region you want to capture and you are done. Simple isn’t it?

This plugin is still in infant stages so taking screenshots of other windows isn’t all that easy at the moment. But I’d expect Joe to add new features in the coming days.

The plugin looks very promising, and is something I plan to use regularly. What do you guys use for taking screenshots? let us know in the comments.

Thanks Amit Agarwal | Download the Plugin

• Disable WordPress Core Update

Completely disables the core update checking system which is a new feature in WordPress 2.3. The plugin prevents WordPress from checking for updates, and prevents any notifications from being displayed in the admin area. Ideal for administrators of multiple WordPress installations.

• Disable WordPress Plugin Updates

Completely disables the plugin update checking system which is a new feature in WordPress 2.3. The plugin prevents WordPress from checking for updates, and prevents any notifications from being displayed on the Plugins page. Ideal for administrators of multiple WordPress installations.

If you use the plugins for Wrdpress, then I suggest you manually update your WordPress Installation and Plugins everytime a new update comes out, because they include a lot of security fixes and new features.

Via Quick Online Tips

Well here they are :

• The Twitter Updater

The Twitter Updater automatically sends a Twitter status update to your Twitter account when you create, publish, or edit your WordPress post. You can specify the text for the updates, and also have the option to turn the auto update on/off for the different post actions in the admin panel.

• Twitter Sharts

‘Shart’ your twitter status anywhere within your wordpress blog posts or pages!

• Twitter Tools

The most popular plugin to integrate twitter completely within your blog. It features a lot of advanced features like archiving of tweets, creating daily digests, updating twitter and lots more. This is the most comprehensive plugin you can have to integrate twitter with your wordpress blog.


• SimpleTwitter

SimpleTwitter is a plug-in for WordPress which enables WordPress blog owners to easily add Twitter messages to their templates.

• Twitter Feed

Post new posts from your blog automatically from your blog to twitter. this is a nice and effective way to share your blog posts with your friends.

• Twitter Badge

The Official Twitter badges that you can display on just about any site not just wordpress blogs. You can choose from a variety of colors and display it on your blog.

• Twitter WordPress Sidebar Widget

A more customized version of the Official Twitter badges that allows to choose the number of updates, match the theme that you are using, and a host of other options for customization.

• TwitThis

TwitThis is an easy way for people to send Twitter messages about your blog post or website. When visitors to your website click on the TwitThis button or link, it takes the URL of the webpage and creates a shorter URL using TinyURL. Then visitors can send this shortened URL and a description of the web page to all of their friends on Twitter.

• Twitt-Twoo

Twitt-Twoo is a simple little plugin that will allow you to update your Twitter status right from your blog’s sidebar. AJAX takes cares of the hard work, and means that your page doens’t even have to reload, allowing for quick and easy status updates.

• RSS to Twitter

A Simple and effective way to publish your blog posts as twitter updates. Not really drag drop and use but it really is simple to use.

Hope these addons will help you to integrate Twitter and your blog better. If you know of any other addon that I can add to this list, then please let me know in the comments.