Firefox Address Bar



  1. The address bar was also called the awesomebar until Firefox 68, when it was substantially rewritten. The address bar is a specialized search access point that aggregates data from several different sources, including: Places (Firefox’s history and bookmarks system).
  2. When you start typing a search term in the address bar you'll see icons to search instead with: other search engines, Firefox Add-ons, Bookmarks, Tabs, or History. You can choose an alternative search type and use it for your search with one click, if you don't want to use the current default.

The Site Identity button (a padlock) appears in the address bar to the left of the web address, when you visit a secure website. You can quickly find out if the connection to the website you are viewing is encrypted, and in some cases who owns the website. This should help you avoid malicious websites that are trying to obtain your personal information.

Most commonly, when viewing a secure website, the Site Identity button will be a green padlock gray padlock .

However, in a few cases you may see no padlock, a gray padlock with a yellow warning triangle or a gray padlock with a red strike over it .

Firefox for Desktop. To use this preference, go to about:config in the address bar and set the preference 'security.pki.distrustcapolicy' to 2. Cluttered Firefox address bar history. When you start typing into the address bar - you can use Ctrl+L as a shortcut to get there - the address bar history drop down menu becomes visible if what you've typed matches one or more entries. As soon as the entry or entries you want to delete become visible press the down arrow on the keyboard. The Firefox address bar displays the URL (web address) for the page that you are visiting. Hide vpn for mac. When you type into this field to enter a URL or search term, Firefox remembers the pages that you have visited and shows page suggestions in the address bar drop-down, such as sites you've bookmarked, tagged, visited before, or have open in tabs.

Clicking the button to the left of the address bar brings up the Site Information panel, which allows you to view more detailed information about the connection's security status and to change your security and privacy settings.
Clicking the padlock to the left of the address bar brings up the Site Information panel, which allows you to view more detailed information about the connection's security status.

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Warning: You should never send any sensitive information (such as bank information, credit card data or social security numbers) to a website if the address bar does not show a green padlockgray padlock. In such cases, you may not be communicating with the intended website and your data isn't safe against eavesdropping!

A green padlock (with or without an organization name) indicates that:

  • You’re definitely connected to the website whose address is shown in the address bar and the connection hasn’t been intercepted.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.

All connect for mac. A green padlock plus the name of the company or organization, also in green, means this website is using an Extended Validation (EV) certificate. An EV certificate is a special type of site certificate that requires a significantly more rigorous identity verification process than other types of certificates.

A gray padlock indicates that:

  • You’re definitely connected to the website whose address is shown in the address bar and the connection hasn’t been intercepted.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.

Firefox Address Bar Drop Down Arrow

Click the gray padlock to find out if the website is using an Extended Validation (EV) certificate. An EV certificate is a special type of site certificate that requires a significantly more rigorous identity verification process than other types of certificates.

For sites using EV certificates, the legal company or organization name and location of the website owner displays when you click the gray padlock.

A gray padlock with a yellow warning triangle indicates that the connection between Firefox and the website is only partially encrypted and doesn't prevent eavesdropping. By default, Firefox does not block insecure passive content such as images; you will simply see a warning that the page isn't fully secure. For more information, see Mixed content blocking in Firefox.

Do not send any sensitive information to sites where the Site Identity button is a gray padlock with a yellow warning triangle.

Firefox Address Bar Search Hijacked By Yahoo

A gray padlock with a yellow warning triangle also appears for website certificate warnings, such as for sites with self-signed certificates or certificates that aren’t issued by a trusted authority. This is a problem the site developer needs to resolve.

A padlock with a red strike over it indicates that the connection between Firefox and the website is either unencrypted or only partially encrypted. The connection doesn’t prevent against eavesdropping or man-in-the-middle attacks. This icon only appears if you’ve manually deactivated mixed content blocking or if you visit an unencrypted (HTTP) page where a username or password can be entered.

A padlock with a red strike over it indicates that the connection between Firefox and the website is either delivered using an insecure protocol (HTTP or FTP) or that it is only partially encrypted because you've manually deactivated mixed content blocking. The site doesn't prevent against eavesdropping or man-in-the-middle attacks.

Firefox address bar download
Do not send any sensitive information to sites where the Site Identity button is a gray padlock with a red strike over it.

Welcome to Firefox! We'll show you all the basics to get you up and running. When you're ready to go beyond the basics, check out the other links for features you can explore later.

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By default, Firefox gives you access to great content every time you open a new tab. Customize this page by hovering over the sections and thumbnails or click the gear icon for more options.

Whether you know the exact web address or you're just searching, Firefox's address bar handles it all. Firefox's unified search and address bar gives you suggestions based on your existing bookmarks and tags, history, open tabs, and popular searches. Just start typing in a search term or web address and watch the magic happen!

To learn more search tricks, see Address bar autocomplete in Firefox.

Found a great web page? Save it or share it! The Page Actions menu in the address bar lets you bookmark web pages, pin tabs, copy or email links, take screenshots, and send pages to your phone or to your Pocket list so you can read them whenever and wherever you want.

Browse the Internet without saving any information on your computer about which sites and pages you’ve visited. Firefox will also block creepy trackers that follow your behavior across the Web.

  • Click the menu button and then click . (Tip: You can also right-clickcontrol + click on a link on a web page, then click Open Link in New Private Window.)
See Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history and Content blockingEnhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox for desktop to learn more.

Set up Firefox Accounts so you can take your browsing information with you wherever you go. Click the menu button , choose Sign in to Firefox and follow the instructions to create your account. Then sign in to the newly-created account on your other devices and that's it!

For detailed instructions, see How do I set up Sync on my computer?

Choose the page that opens when you start Firefox or click the Home button.

  1. Open a tab with the web page you want to use as your home page.
  2. Drag and drop that tab onto the Home button .
More options can be found in the How to set the home page article.

We've streamlined the toolbar with the most popular features but Firefox has even more features tucked away. Take a peek!

  1. Click the menu button and choose .
  2. Drag and drop the features you want onto your toolbar or the panel on the right.
  3. When you are done, click the button.

Add-ons are like apps that you can install to make Firefox work the way you want.

  1. Click the menu button , click Add-ons and Themes Add-ons and Themes Add-ons and select Recommendations.
  2. To install a recommended add-on, click the blue or button, depending on the type of add-on.

At the bottom of the list of recommended add-ons, there's also a button you can click. It will take you to addons.mozilla.org where you can search for specific add-ons.

To learn more about add-ons, see Find and install add-ons to add features to Firefox.

Tip: Some add-ons place a button in the toolbar after installation. You can remove those or move them into the menu if you want – see Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars.

If you have more questions or ever need help with Firefox, you're on the right website.

  • This site has hundreds of Firefox articles that cover many of the questions you might have.
  • You can also get help from the Mozilla community, by asking a question on the support forum. See Get community support.