How To Use RefControl for FireFox

One of my favorite plug ins for FireFox is RefControl. One obvious use is for those who use services like Entrecard, which is an easy to understand example. What exactly does the plug in do? It allows you to control what gets sent as the HTTP Referrer on a per-site basis. For those non-tech people, I’ll explain it this way:

When I’m clicking through Entrecard, every time I arrive at a new site, the referrer is Entrecard. In other words, I arrived via Entrecard. Well, that doesn’t do me any good at all. I want every new site I arrive at, to be referred by Revellian.com, not the site I was actually referred from. Why on Earth would I want to do that?

  • I want my site name on every server log
  • I want my site name listed in as many places as possible
  • I am an extremely bored deviant with too much time on his hands

    • Download the plug in, and go to RefControl options. In my example, I am using my homepage url as the  HTTP referrer. Type in <Default>, as in my example. This will spam the request with my article’s URL at nearly every site I arrive at - no matter where I arrived from.

    refcontrol example

    refcontrol example

    Many people check their server logs, stat panels and so forth to see where their traffic arrived from. If you do this, all they will ever see is your url, not the actual site you clicked from. Check out what I did at my buddy Jasmin’s site:

    ref-control-example2

  • In the red oval notated with the number 1, is the first time I arrived through Entrecard at his site. It says the referrer is revellian.com, not entrecard - exactly what I wanted. If you notice, it says I arrived from Germany; that is because I was using a proxy server to be tricky.
  • In the circle notated as 2 (I hope you’re not perplexed), I had RefControl turned off and it shows I arrived from Long Beach, Mississippi via Entrecard, the normal HTTP referrer. I also turned off my proxy server…no fun at all.

    • Lots of people use that Feedjit widget or other similar java scripts - I don’t because I already have enough of them. You can use RefControl to give you more privacy, and can control the referrer for every site individually (if you’re really weird). If you use BlogCatalog, MyBlogLog or any other site to search blogs from, why not use your own url as the referrer? It makes sense.
    I just used defaut so every site I arrive at is referred by me. Check out the plug ins features if you like. Jeez, I think I’ve been reading too many black hat seo sites. I think my beautifully crisp white hat just got stained. Once you taste the dark side, there’s no turning back. Please shoot me, I can’t seem to keep myself from doing stuff like this.:mrgreen:

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    July 4, 2008 · Filed Under firefox, hacking

    Comments

    20 Responses to “How To Use RefControl for FireFox”

    1. Kabatology on July 4th, 2008 9:44 am

      Nice one, all what goes around Firefox is of major interest to me. I’ve written lots of pages on it but there is still a lot to discover, now RefControl — I’ll try it out. :shock:
      Kabatologys last blog post..Ndomche Summary Theme – III Column Version released

    2. Madhur Kapoor on July 4th, 2008 10:34 am

      The functionality of this plugin looks great. Wonder why i didn’t try it before. Thanks for mentioning Bobby

      Madhur Kapoors last blog post..Let a Monkey Handle Your Music Collection

    3. Revellian on July 4th, 2008 11:20 am

      I’ll check out some of your articles on firefox. This plug in is pretty basic, but is useful :smile:

    4. Revellian on July 4th, 2008 11:21 am

      It’s actually been around for a long time, I like to combine it with switch proxy and sometimes the Tor router :smile:

    5. Genie Princess on July 5th, 2008 2:09 am

      Happy 4th of July Bobby, have a good one! :mrgreen:
      Genie Princesss last blog post..Fire! Fire! Fire!

    6. Revellian on July 5th, 2008 5:01 am

      Thanks Marzie! :smile: You know…I forgot to celebrate!!! :shock:

    7. Genie Princess on July 5th, 2008 10:47 am

      Hi Bobby! I forgot to thank you for reviewing my blog at BE!! HUGS!!

      So that means you’re still a member right? How come I don’t see u on BOTB or the other fun stuff?

      Forgot to celebrate?! I think I wished u twice somewhere between my comments! :cool:
      Genie Princesss last blog post..Fire! Fire! Fire!

    8. Andy Bailey on July 5th, 2008 12:39 pm

      nice one Bobby! that’s a really useful tip, you know, I was gonna write a script to do it a while ago and now I don’t have to yey! (with a little bit of boohoo because I thought I had invented the idea! haha)

      Andy Baileys last blog post..New CommentLuv Directory Register Today

    9. J.C. on July 5th, 2008 12:42 pm

      Hi Bobby, your knowledge is impressive, thanks for all this. You really deserve a huge success with your blogging.
      Cheers.

      J.C.s last blog post..A Poor Estimate

    10. Koala Bears on July 5th, 2008 4:10 pm

      Wow thats awesome!! I have used refControl in the past, I used it mainly for referring sites that had been blocked, I can really see the power in this method now. Wow…. I am definitely going to use this :)
      You have a new subscriber :)
      -Jean

    11. Revellian on July 5th, 2008 5:54 pm

      You’re welcome Marzie! I don’t use it that much, maybe 10 minutes per day. I use article marketing as my main bogging strategy - the results are slow, but I love one way incoming links :mrgreen: Thanks for the holiday wishes :smile:

    12. Revellian on July 5th, 2008 5:58 pm

      Thanks Andy! I’ll eventually be able to create inventive scripts instead of using pre-written ones. I am intermediate with python and am taking tons of PHP tutorials. I think I’ll get these down before getting into C or anything else :smile:

    13. Revellian on July 5th, 2008 6:00 pm

      Thanks J.C., but I am really just a novice :smile: I get most of my useful Internet knowledge from black & gray hat seo sites :shock:

    14. waterlearner on July 6th, 2008 1:53 am

      Hallos Bobby!

      Thanks for this post. I would try it. But :oops: knowing my standards, you must help me if I run into techno problems ok?

      Have a great weekdend dude. It’s so super duper hot and humid here in Singapore these days!

      waterlearners last blog post..Mommy

    15. Revellian on July 6th, 2008 4:12 am

      Hi Karen! Of course I’ll help you if you need :smile: It’s hot here too, I just fried a steak on the sidewalk…it only took 5 minutes to char it :shock:

    16. nimrodjo on July 6th, 2008 4:56 am

      Great info buddy…checking it out now…really add to the FireFox endless goodies..FireFox for life…still using IE for government site… :smile:
      nimrodjos last blog post..Do You Think Your Blog Is Popular?

    17. Revellian on July 7th, 2008 4:20 am

      Thanks Aryst! I haven’t used IE in five years, though I had to at a few jobs. I hope this benefits you :smile:

    18. mighty morgan on July 7th, 2008 8:53 am

      Bobby, I thank God that you are a “extremely bored deviant with too much time on his hands” Because you always have such good information to share with us.I’m going to try this out as well…can’t hurt… :grin:
      mighty morgans last blog post..The Miracle

    19. Revellian on July 7th, 2008 8:34 pm

      Thanks Morgan! It’s especially helpful if you use other blog directories to browse through, like MyBlogLog or Entrecard :smile:

    20. Revellian on July 9th, 2008 5:26 pm

      Hello Jean! I apologize I missed this comment when I was moderating. I am glad you found this article useful and thank you so much for subscribing…it made my day! :smile:

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