Private Browsing by PortableApps.com 4.0 (enhanced private browsing for Firefox) Released

John T. Haller's picture
Submitted by John T. Haller on July 25, 2017 - 4:59pm

logoPrivate Browsing by PortableApps.com 4.0 has been released. Private Browsing by PortableApps.com is an enhanced privacy mode app that utilizes your existing copy of Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition. It has specialized settings, a flash blocker, a privacy-enhancing blocklist, ad-blocking, improved separation from the local PC, a separate profile and a custom icon so you can easily distinguish it from your main Firefox Portable profile. It even has its own separate set of bookmarks. It's basically a more-advanced private browsing feature than those included in major browsers that can even be customized further by advanced users. This release disables all Firefox telemetry by default, adds ad-blocking, and updates the included extensions to the latest versions. It's packaged in PortableApps.com Format so it can easily integrate with the PortableApps.com Platform. And it's open source and completely free.

Update automatically or install from the portable app store in the PortableApps.com Platform.

Features

ScreenshotPrivate Browsing by PortableApps.com is an app that works with Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition. It allows you to launch Firefox with a specialized profile with advanced privacy measures included. This profile has persistent cookies, history, download history and other privacy features off. Flashblock is included to block Flash Cookies and other nasties (if you decide to manually copy the Flash plugin to your profile). AdBlock Plus is included with a subscription to the EasyPrivacy list to block tracking scripts and sites in addition to ads. Local plugins and extensions are ignored and will not be used by this custom profile. A custom icon for the task bar is included so you can easily distinguish your private profile from your normal one.

PRIVACY NOTE: As with any network software, your network traffic is still viewable by network admins. This just lets you avoid having local tracks on the PC or on your portable device and helps you avoid some internet and advertising tracking.

PortableApps.com Installer / PortableApps.com Format

Private Browsing by PortableApps.com is packaged in a PortableApps.com Installer so it will automatically detect an existing PortableApps.com installation when your drive is plugged in. It supports upgrades by installing right over an existing copy, preserving all settings. And it's in PortableApps.com Format, so it automatically works with the PortableApps.com Suite including the Menu and Backup Utility.

Download

Private Browsing by PortableApps.com is available for immediate download from the Private Browsing by PortableApps.com homepage. Get it today!

Story Topic:

Comments

John T. Haller's picture

Hash has been fixed. Thanks for noticing.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

I know AdBlock Plus is the most obvious choice, but more and more sites have switched to ads which AdBlock Plus can't block, even ads with sound.
You may want to consider switching to uBlock Origin instead, which currently blocks much more successfully. In fact, the only thing it doesn't block (by default!) is intrusive "please remove your blocker" messages.

John T. Haller's picture

This was a conscious decision as this app is aimed at general users. uBlock breaks too many sites by default due to a more aggressive ad-blocking profile. AdBlock Plus is still a bit more non-technical user-friendly.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

John T. Haller's picture

Yes, this is like having a 2nd profile preconfigured with AdBlock Plus (with EasyPrivacy) and FlashBlock along with telemetry disabled. It also adds in a custom taskbar icon though this is broken in 4.0 (incoming fix is mirroring).

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!