How to Set Up a VPN Add-on in Firefox

If you don’t want to install another add-on on your browser, but do want to run an in-browser proxy, there is an alternative method: manually configuring the proxy.

We have demonstrated this using ibVPN. The method will vary slightly, but not significantly, with other providers:

1. Click on ‘hamburger menu’ in the top right hand corner of your browser, then select Settings.
2. Scroll to the bottom and, under Network Settings, click “Settings…”
3. Tick “Manual proxy configuration”
4. You will need to find the correct “IP address” and “port” to connect to from your VPN provider.
5. Enter them into the fields provided, then click “OK”.
6. If prompted, enter your username and password.

Manual configurations are more complicated than simply adding a VPN extension.

For instance, to change proxy location, you’ll need to repeat the above process. Moreover, you may need to periodically change to a more up-to-date IP address.

There are lots of little things which could go wrong with your browser proxy, but thankfully they are generally easy to solve.

Here’s a list of fixes to common issues:

• Make sure you have a valid subscription. A paid VPN service won’t work unless you subscribe to it.
• If you are using ExpressVPN, make sure you have the desktop app installed. ExpressVPN’s add-on controls the desktop app, so it won’t work unless they are both installed.
• Make sure your add-on is legit. There are some fraudulent add-ons posing as legitimate providers. Always make sure you have the correct add-on before you install it or enter any of your personal details.

If all else fails, contact your VPN service provider for assistance.

Your IP address isn’t the only thing that can give your identity away online.

For example, tracking cookies and browser fingerprinting allow advertisers and malicious third parties to track your internet activity.

Luckily, Firefox is one of the more private and secure browsers we’ve tested. However, it still requires some configuration to optimize it for privacy.

First of all, you need to disable telemetry, which Mozilla uses to collect diagnostic information from your browser.

To disable telemetry:

1. Select the ‘hamburger menu’ in the top right hand corner of your browser window.
2. Navigate to Options > Privacy & Security > Firefox Data Collection and Use.
3. Make sure that every box in this section is unticked.
   

   How to disable Telemetry in Firefox.

Firefox includes a great feature called Enhanced Tracking Protection.

This feature blocks trackers, cookies, fingerprinting techniques (which can be used to identify you even while a VPN is running), and cryptominers.

To enable Enhanced Tracking Protection:

1. Select the ‘hamburger menu’ menu in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
2. Navigate to Options > Privacy & Security > Enhanced Tracking Protection.
3. Choose your protection mode: strict, standard, or custom.

There are different modes available for different risk models: strict, standard, and custom. In our experience the ‘strict’ mode will break some web pages, but is generally quite stable.

If you encounter a problem, you can always disable content blocking for specific sites by clicking on the shield symbol to the left of the URL bar.

Finally, you can also change your default search engine from Google to a more private alternative, like DuckDuckGo or Startpage.

To change your default search engine:

1. Select the settings menu in the top right hand corner of your screen.
2. Navigate to Preferences > Search > Default Search Engine.
3. Choose your preferred search engine from the drop-down menu.