The Firefox NoScript add-on is one of the best, if not the best, web browser security extension.
NoScript’s core functionality, the blocking of all scripts on all websites, protects the user from script based web attacks.
Additional functionality has been integrated into the add-on over years, including anti-XSS protection, Application Boundaries Enforcer or the inclusion of external filter lists.
One of the things that is currently missing are suggestions, or at least additional information, about scripts and domains that have been blocked by NoScript. The only option up until now was to use a search engine to locate information about a particular domain name manually.
Ghacks reader Jojo just mentioned that he discovered a new NoScript feature that opens a page of security and privacy related links for domains listed in the NoScript domain listing.
The method, while stile requiring a few clicks to receive results, improves this workflow significantly.
A middle-click (or Shift-click) on a domain name opens a new browser page with links to several privacy and security companies and services that may provide information about it.
The page links to the following security and privacy related services and databases: Web of Trust, McAfee Site Advisor, Webmaster Tips Site, Safe Browsing Diagnostic and hpHost Report.
- Web of Trust – Displays trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy and child safety ratings as well as user comments.
- McAfee site Advisor – Informs about download safety, online affiliations and possible annoyances.
- Webmaster Tips – Does not load currently.
- Google Safe Browsing – Displays if Google considers the site to be suspicious, if it has distributed or hosted malware, and if pages on the site contained malware during Google bot visits.
- hpHosts – Lists IP, host and server related information about the selected domain.
Direct optional integration of at least one service into the NoScript domain listing would be optimal. It would also be great if links to standard web searches would be displayed on the services page.
Still, you click once on a domain to get to the page linking to supported services, and once again to open the selected service’s report on the domain in the web browser.
It is still possible that you come up empty. Some of the services live from user contributions for example while others may only display information if it has been flagged as a malicious site before.
It is a good fast start to research a new domain that you never encountered before or want to verify again.