With the advancement of technology, more individuals are becoming more concerned about online security, privacy and protection. One way to be protected is by installing uMatrix extension to your Firefox or your Chrome browser.
uMatrix is a powerful privacy tool that comes with advanced features that is compatible with numerous tools and other platforms. Take note however, that if you tweak uMatrix too much, this could cause you more problems on your favorite websites. Once you have added uMatrix on your browser, you will notice that an icon with a number on it will appear on the upper right hand corner.
How does uMatrix work?
uMatrix is easy to use. All you have to do is point and click for it to work. Just click on the items you would wish to block and you are good to go. We highly recommend this tool as it is effective in blocking and stopping threats such as malware, cookies, trackers, bloatware and many more. With blocking these types of risks and threats, your online browsing activities will become more secured and faster. The reason behind this is because your device or PC does not have to deal with background actions. Also another advantage of having uMatrix is that if you are on a metered mobile data, this tool will help you reduce your consumed data.
Why does blocking too much could cause problems?
Yes, we have already agreed that uMatrix is a powerful tool that has the ability to block 3rd party actions by default. Though this could be a really good idea, it could also cause some hassles such as making a lot of websites not work. It could block them as a precaution and if you encounter this issue, do not fret as you could disable the problem blockages and/or disable the entire site.
User Interface
uMatrix has a pleasant user interface. It uses the colors green and red. The green colors mean that you are allowing the element to be accessed and the red colors mean you are blocking them. The lighter colors represent the items that are naturally blocked.
A star is located on the right of the address bar and if you click it, this means you block everything or anything which you apply changes to will be applied to all. For blocking a specific website across all browsing activities. Clicking on the star is what you should do. If you wish to change it, do not fret as you could change it in case you change your mind.
Once you are happy with the changes that you have made, click on the lock icon to lock in the changes that you have made. If you wish to change it, click on the icon found on the right of the lock.
Blocking Abilities
As mentioned earlier, one of the best features of this tool is its ability to block specific types of items including domain name/s, cookies, images, css, scripts, XHR, media, iframes and many more. Aside from that, uMatrix also offers two settings. One setting, you will need to change is the one for YouTube. Yes, if you will not change this setting, it will automatically block YouTube. Ensure that you allow s.ytumg,com. The second setting, you will also need to change and allow is googlevideo.com.
Tips for Using uMatrix
We have a few tip for those who would like to use uMatrix. First tip is the privacy settings. You could access this by clicking on the thin gray bar across the top of the screen that says uMatrix. Click on privacy where you will be able to enable your privacy settings. To block malware, go to the Assets tab. Check the box that says auto-update assets. Ensure that the malware scripts box is checked.