Linux Dummies 9th

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Part III: Getting Things Done
faster the next time you visit them. You can clear the cache by clicking
the Clear Now button. The cache data is also part of the private data
that you can set to clear automatically when you exit Firefox.
✓ Update: The Update tab tells Firefox how to handle checking for updates —
both for itself and for any plugins you’ve installed. Most Linux distributions
install Firefox updates as part of their software-management system (see
Chapter 16 for details); if yours has done so, you don’t need Firefox to
check for updates on its own.
✓ Encryption: The Encryption tab has settings for security protocols
Firefox uses; it’s also the place you can specify any special encryption
certificates for visiting encrypted Web sites. Usually you can leave these
settings alone.
Expanding your universe with add-ons
Firefox has a set of features that it supports in the basic setup. In the wide
world of Web browsing, however, sooner or later you’ll run into some things
that the basic Firefox setup does not support.
But never fear — help is close by! Firefox allows you to add new features to
the basic setup with just a few clicks of the mouse button. Firefox supports
these new features through add-ons — small software programs that tack
more features onto the basic browser. Three types of add-ons are in Firefox:
✓ Extensions: Add new features to the Firefox program, such as customized
toolbars and utilities such as dictionaries.
✓ Themes: Allow you to change the look and feel of your entire Firefox
browser interface.
✓ Plugins: Provide support for additional multimedia formats, such as
video and audio types, directly in the browser window.
Do you ever get irritated at those Web sites that insist that you download special
software just to view the site? The difference between a plugin and an
external program is this: A plugin displays the results in the browser, and an
external program runs outside the browser. Although plugins can be annoying
if you’re just looking for some basic information, they can provide some pretty
cool stuff, such as streaming video and music through your Web browser.
Chapter 14 explains how to add popular video plugins (such as the Adobe
Flash plugin) to your system.