Quantcast
 

Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer Firefox Extension

Downloads Count: 15,882

License Type: Free

Price: Free

Date Added: Dec 12, 2008

Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista

Requirements: Firefox

Author: Foxmarks

Recommend
this download?

Most Popular in Browsers & Clients

See more popular software»

 
Editorial Review of Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer Firefox Extension

Update 06/16/2009: This download has been replaced by Xmarks. Please visit PC World's review of Xmarks to download the software.

If you who rely on the Firefox browser to remember your Web site passwords, here's something you might like. The latest version of the popular, free Foxmarks add-on now has a feature for synchronizing and effectively backing up the passwords that your browser stores, in much the same way as it does for your bookmarks.

It's dead simple to set up Foxmarks so that whenever you add a bookmark to your browser at work, the new addition will also automatically sync to your browser at home, and vice versa. For example, if you install Firefox on a new PC, you can install the add-on and give it your Foxmarks account information; and all of your usual bookmarks will be available almost immediately. You can also log into my.foxmarks.com to view and organize your saved bookmarks.

Password syncing works in much the same way-except, of course, that passwords are much more security-sensitive than bookmarks. So I did some investigating to make sure that the company had taken the proper precautions. My conclusion: It appears to have done so.

For starters, when you enable password syncing (it's switched off by default; to turn it on, go to Tools, Foxmarks, Foxmarks settings), the program will ask you to enter a personal identification number in addition to your Foxmarks username and password. Foxmarks uses that PIN, which is really just another password, to encrypt your saved browser passwords with 256-bit AES (automatic edit summaries)encryption before sending them over an SSL connection to the Foxmarks servers. Firefox saves the PIN on your PCs (so make sure that you use a Master password in Firefox to protect it), but it never sends the number to Foxmarks.

When you set up Foxmarks on another browser, you'll have to supply the PIN in order to pull down and decrypt your synced passwords. If you ever forget your PIN, you can go to Foxmarks' settings in your browser and reset the value there, but taking this step will wipe out any passwords that are saved on the Foxmarks servers. Once you have established a new PIN, however, Foxmarks will resync the passwords from your PC. Consequently, if you have set up only one browser to work with Foxmarks and you lose that browser as a result of a hard-drive crash or a similar misfortune, you won't be able to restore your passwords if you can't remember your PIN.

I also checked to confirm that the new version of Foxmarks doesn't permit access to your passwords via its Web site, as it does to your bookmarks. Though such access is quite useful for bookmark management, it would present a major security risk for passwords.

Finally, if you operate your own Web site and have set up either WebdDAV or FTP access, you can use your own server to handle bookmarks and passwords instead of sending the data to Foxmarks. The Foxmarks wiki has more information on that advanced feature.

Note: This link takes you to the vendor's site, where you can automatically install the file into your Firefox browser. Since the synchronization requires using the author's server, you will be required to set up a free account and password.

Also note that as of early February, Foxmarks for Internet Explorer and Foxmarks for Safari are also available.

--Erik Larkin

People who downloaded this also downloaded:
Sponsored Links
 
You are browsing Browsers & Clients

  •   181,766
    Aug 2, 2007
    Free

    Surf the Web with this small-footprint browser and spare yourself the pop-up ads while you're at it.


     
  •   15,633
    Oct 13, 2007
    Free

    Transfer files of any size with this free ftp client.

     
  •   3,332
    Feb 8, 2008
    Free

    Save a full web page, the visible portion of a page, or just the tidbit you'd like to keep. Save images as digital files or print them out.

     
  •   3,269
    Jan 23, 2007
    Free

    Stay on top of your Yahoo! e-mail with this Firefox add-on.

     
  •   62,644
    Dec 11, 2003
    Free

    Convert your bookmarks from Netscape Navigator to Internet Explorer and vice versa.


     
  •   70,611
    Feb 25, 2005
    Free

    Browse, send instant messages, chat, and more with Netscape's open-source browser.

     
  •   7,471
    Apr 27, 2006
    Free

    With this Firefox extension, you can surf in Firefox and open certain windows in IE.

     
  •   2,203
    Sep 13, 2007
    Free

    Open or save multiple search results with one mouse stroke.

     
  •   3,008
    Jul 21, 2006
    Free

    Keep your Firefox browsers synced across all your PCs with this extension.

     
  •   14,735
    Sep 22, 2009
    Free

    Apple's lightning-fast browser has innovative features, such as Top Sites.


     
  •   60,219
    Mar 1, 2007
    Free

    Avant Browser enhances your copy of Internet Explorer, even if you've upgraded to IE7, with ad-blocking and other handy features.


     
PC World Related Content

ScrapBook Saves Snippets From Your Firefox Surfing

Free Firefox addon ScrapBook lets you keep Web articles handy.

Don't Lose Everything When You Lose a Laptop: Use FireFound Firefox Add-On

Add location tracking and a remote-wipe feature to Firefox with the Firefox add-on FireFound.

Downloads FAQ

If you have questions about finding, downloading, or opening files in our library, you'll probably find the answers here.

Visit the Downloads FAQ »

Special Offer
special offer

SpeedUpMyPC 3

SpeedUpMyPC is the award winning utility software that ensures your PC is automatically optimized for maximum performance in just a few easy clicks."/>

More information

PC World Community

Most Recent Threads