14 DAY TRIAL // PortableApps.com (PA.c) has released a new portable application called "Private Browsing" which provides a Firefox instance with several privacy-oriented extensions, settings and customizations.
Private Browsing is not a complete re-packaging of the popular open source browser, but rather a specially-designed profile for use with an existent Firefox Portable installation.
The launcher is installed in a "PrivateBrowsingByPortableApps" directory and appears as a separate app in the PA.c menu. It searches for the Firefox executable using the "..\..\FirefoxPortable\App\firefox" relative path, so an instance of Firefox Portable must exist at that location.
The Private Browsing profile comes with the popular Flashblock extension installed, which forices a click-to-load experience for all Flash content and blocks Flash cookies (Local Shared Objects) that can be used for tracking.
Additional anti-tracking protection is provided via the AdBlock Plus extension, which comes automatically subscribed to the EasyPrivacy list.
Features like persistent cookies, browsing history and download history are all disabled by default to ensure stealthiness, however, PA.c developers warn that "as with any network software, your network traffic is still viewable by network admins."
Users who wish to hide their browsing traffic completely can use the Firefox-based "Tor Browser Bundle," which randomly bounces requests through multiple peers before reaching the final destination.
To make it distinguishable from normal Firefox sessions, PA.c's Private Browsing mode comes with its own theme and window icon. It's worth noting, however, that normal and private sessions cannot co-exist.
"It's basically a more-advanced private browsing feature than those included in major browsers that can even be customized further by advanced users," the developers explain.
After installation, we suggest adding the HTTPS Everywhere extension to it. This forces HTTPS connections by default on many popular websites and protects against session hijacking attempts.
More advanced users can also replace Flashblock with NoScript, which provides the same functionality, but also protects against XSS, CSRF, clickjacking and other attacks.