With enhanced search functionality, Google Toolbar 2 for Firefox is able to offer suggestions on the fly for narrowing queries and correcting spelling.
Google released the beta version of its Toolbar for Firefox v2. Toolbar for Firefox works on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows — and in 16 languages, the company said.
This new release includes feed integration with the Google Personalized Homepage and other feed readers, in addition, the upgrade provides easier access to previous search queries, and suggestions for popular choices from search results, including enhancements to the search box and an antiphishing feature, the Mountain View, California, company announced.
Searching has been improved, Google said, by including previous queries, spelling corrections, and suggestions for popular choices. The search box also retains the user’s previous query terms, as well as bookmarks, and offers them up as query suggestions. A drop-down menu lets users choose to run a query on different Google search sites.
Gmail users might appreciate having the "mailto:" links in Firefox open a compose window in Gmail — no more need to copy and paste email addresses, the company said.
To combat phishing, the Firefox toolbar also now comes integrated with what Google calls its Safe Browsing extension, which previously was offered as an optional add on. This feature alerts users when it determines a Web page they are visiting could be a phishing trap. These are legitimate-looking Web sites that look to be from institutions such as banks that fraudsters set up to attempt to trick users into disclosing sensitive information, such as account numbers and passwords.
"As a dedicated Firefox user, I think that the latest version enhances an already innovative browser," wrote Google software engineer Justin Voskul in a company blog announcing the release.
Features in the Firefox toolbar, which was released this recently, are not identical to those in Toolbar 4 for Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer, because of the differences in technology. Google, however, tries to duplicate the most popular in both.
All major search engine operators offer toolbars that, when downloaded, become part of browsers such as Firefox and Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer. Through their toolbars, companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo Inc. promote use of their respective search engines, because users can enter queries into the toolbar’s search box without having to visit a search engine’s Web site. Because of the competitive edge a toolbar gives search engines, Google and its rivals are constantly trying to improve their toolbars and out-do each other in this space.
Be advised that the toolbar — like virtually all others — collects web surfing information and relays it to Google for marketing purposes. Be sure to read the company’s privacy policy.
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