Browser Plugins

The Firefox plugin permits users to easily upload any picture in their web browser to FotoForensics.

1. Where can I get the plugin?
2. Why use a plugin?
3. How does it work?
4. What is uploaded?
5. What can I upload?
6. Why is there no menu option?
7. What browsers are supported?
8. How do I upgrade my browser?
9. How do I uninstall the plugin?
10. What is the warranty and license?
11. Who created the plugin?

1. Where can I get the plugin?

   Right here! But you must agree to the Terms of Use:

   You agree to not upload prohibited content. Prohibited content will result in blocked access.
   You agree to the license terms.
   You agree to not check this checkbox.
   Select a platform Firefox 15.0 and above

   Your browser may require you to explicitly allow the installation.

2. Why use a plugin?

   The plugin is provided for convenience. You can still use the web site directly for uploading pictures. However, it is common for people to paste a URL to an image, only to find that the URL is actually for a web page and not just the picture. There are also problems with accessing some pictures. For example, a picture from Facebook may require a Facebook login or specific friend connection in order to access the picture. This is also seen with forum pictures that require a valid login to access the content.

   The plugin addresses these upload issues. You can right-click on the picture and "Send Image to FotoForensics". Since the actual image is uploaded, any picture displayed by your browser can be uploaded -- regardless of login requirements. You login to your site, you see the picture, and you upload the picture for analysis. Your login credentials are never sent to FotoForensics; only the picture accessed by your web browser is uploaded.

3. How does it work?

   Put your mouse over any picture in the browser and right-click to bring up the menu. Select "Send Image to FotoForensics" to upload the picture for analysis. The analysis results will appear in a separate tab.

   With some web pages, you may see the option to "Send Background Image to FotoForensics". This happens when a picture is used as a background. But beware: some sites try to be tricky and attempt to restrict their access to pictures by obfuscating URLs; sometimes the picture you want may be the foreground image, and other times it may be the background picture.

4. What is uploaded?

   The actual picture that you clicked on is uploaded. The plugin also uploads the URL to the picture.

   The full image is uploaded because HTTPS, cookies, and other session information may not be available to the FotoForensics service. If the plugin only provided the URL, then the service may not be able to retrieve the picture. (This is a common problem leading to upload failures for some people.)

   The full URL is also provided in the upload. FotoForensics uses it as part of the content filter system (pornographic content is not permitted on FotoForensics) and to diagnose any upload problems.

   For some people, the full URL could suggest a privacy concern. If this is a concern, then you can go to "about:config" and set the extensions.fotoforensics.sendFullURL preference to 'false'. Doing this will only transmit the protocol, server, and base filename, and not the full path. When using the browser to view local files (using a URL that begins with "file://"), only the base filename is transmitted.

5. What can I upload?

   The FotoForensics server only accepts JPEG and PNG images; these make up the vast majority of picture on the web. Pictures may appear in web pages as a regular, background, or inline images. Each of these cases will give you the right-click menu to send the image to FotoForensics.

   There are other ways to display pictures on a web page that are not supported by this plugin. Unsupported methods include Flash animations, rendered/drawn content, CSS backgrounds, and videos.

   As covered in the FAQ, please consider the content you are uploading. If you wouldn't show it to your parents or children, then it probably does not belong here. This site will block you if you upload pornography, nudity, or sexually explicit images. (Seriously, please don't make us block you.)

6. Why is there no menu option?

   Web pages can be very complex. If the "Send Image to FotoForensics" menu item is not there, then see if you can isolate the image using the "View Image" item from the menu. The isolated image should have a "Send Image to FotoForensics" menu option.

   If you do not see the browser's built-in "View Image" when you right-click on the picture, then it is probably a Flash animation, video, or actively drawn image -- you will not be able to upload it for analysis.

7. What browsers are supported?

   Currently only Firefox version 5.0 and later is supported. This plugin has been tested on Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms.

   If you are a software developer and would like to create a similar plugin for some other web browser, let me know! Write to and ask for the API information.

8. How do I upgrade my browser?

   If you're not running Firefox, then you cannot use this plugin. If you want to install Firefox, go to the Mozilla web site and follow their installation instructions.

   If you are running Linux, then you probably already have Firefox installed. However, many Linux distributions only include older Firefox versions. For example, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS includes Firefox 3.x (an older version that is not supported by this plugin). Most distributions have instructions for upgrading your Firefox installation, including Ubuntu, Centos, Fedora, and others.

9. How do I uninstall the plugin?

   In Firefox, go to Tools → Add-ons. This will bring up the Add-ons Manager. Select "FotoForensics" from the Extensions listing, and click on the "Remove" button. You will need to restart your web browser.

10. What is the warranty and license?

    This plugin is open source but not public domain. It may not be used for commercial purposes, redistributed, included in other software packages, or packaged/bundled with other software packages without the explicit written permission of the copyright holder: Hacker Factor. Licensing fees may apply.

    This is a free plugin. It is provided as-is. There is no guarantee that it will work for any specific purposes, web pages, system configurations, or users. There is no warranty expressed or implied. If this plugin does not function as you expected, erases your computer, burns down your house, or shoots your dog, then it is your fault for downloading and using it. The user (you) takes all resposibility for your installation and use of the plugin. In jurisdictions where a warranty must be supplied, this plugin cannot be used.

11. Who created the plugin?

    Hacker Factor architected the solution and takes full responsibility for the plugin. Hacker Factor thanks Darvin's Lab for developing Firefox plugin code.