Firefox users who haven’t yet tried the Netcraft Toolbar are invited to install the latest version, which has been updated for compatibility with Firefox 1.5. Current users upgrading from Firefox 1.0.7 or earlier will need to install the newest version of the toolbar. Our toolbar download page allows Firefox users to choose the install for their version of the popular open source browser:

Windows XP users upgrading from Firefox 1.0.7 who have disabled software installations as a security precaution may experience difficulty installing the newest Toolbar update. In Firefox 1.5, the software installation option has been removed from the user preferences and is enabled by default. If you previously disabled this option and then upgraded to Firefox 1.5, you can enable the preference by typing “about:config” in the address bar and scrolling down to “xpinstall.enabled.” Set this to “true” and restart Firefox. You should then be able to update the Toolbar successfully.

The toolbar runs on any operating system supported by Firefox and displays the hosting location, country, longevity, popularity, and an abstracted risk rating for each site visited. Additionally, the toolbar blocks access to phishing sites reported by other members of the Netcraft Toolbar community and validated by Netcraft, mobilizing the community into a giant neighborhood watch scheme which empowers the most alert and experienced members to protect the vulnerable against fraud and phishing attacks. Toolbar users submitted more than 8,700 phishing URLs in October.

It is available to download from the Toolbar website, and requires no special administrator privileges to install. Customized versions with corporate branding and navigation are also available.