Three months after rolling out a “test pilot” version of its new Firefox Private Network extension, the Mozilla Foundation made the new privacy feature more widely available on Wednesday, according to a report by Tech Crunch.
The feature, which uses a browser extension to encrypt all of a user’s internet data, remains free, but users will be restricted to only 12 hours of ultra-private web surfing in the new “extended beta” version of the privacy feature.
As AVN.com has reported, the new feature will be of particular interest to internet users who log in using free, public WiFi networks—networks which are notoriously insecure. Hackers using “sniffing” software can easily intercept passwords, credit card data, emails and any other private data that travels over open public WiFi.
But by using the Firefox Private Network, that data will be protected by heavy-duty encryption.
Privacy features will likely also appeal to porn surfers who would rather keep their online activities shielded from view not only by hackers, but by big internet firms. As AVN.com has reported, Google, Facebook, and other big tech firms have placed “tracking” software on nearly 75 percent of porn sites.
But by using the privacy extension, a user’s location is also encrypted, meaning that any data collected cannot be traced back to its origins. Advertisers who track internet users across the web will also be largely thwarted.
While the Firefox Privacy Network operates in similar fashion to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), Mozilla is also at work on a full-featured VPN service. Once that service is available, it will come with a monthly price tag of $4.99—making it the first service that Mozilla has ever sold, rather than given away for free.
Also in the works, Mozilla’s rumored “super private” version of Firefox. That browser, according to initial reports, will integrate with the Tor network, a global system for anonymous internet browsing.
Using Tor, a user’s identity is completely shielded from any other user on the global internet.
Photo By The Mozilla Foundation
