by Jack Wallen on April 10, 2009 in Firefox - Last Update: September 06, 2019 - 9 comments
Originally written in 2009, the review of the User Agent Switcher add-on for Firefox is still as valid as it has been. The extension is still available and compatible with recent versions of the Firefox web browser.
It's 2019 and I would have thought the world wide web would be browser agnostic by now. Unfortunately there are some developers that simply can not design or code for a cross platform/browser world. Because of that, developers have had to create browser add-ons to help get around the issues.
How to change the user-agent in Firefox and Chrome browser on Android and PC. Step 1: Download and install the User Agent Switcher extension depending on the browser you are using. Click the following button to download User Agent Switcher for Firefox. Download User Agent Switcher for Firefox. Sep 10, 2014 How to Change the User Agents in Firefox, Chrome and IE. User Agent Switcher (Firefox) The older of the two Firefox addons. IE11 includes the ability to add custom user strings, but seemingly not to import XML files. Masking the user agent string works properly, and sites were unable to identify the browser as Internet Explorer when we.
Many of you have most likely heard of the Firefox add on called User Agent Switcher. What this add on does is trick web sites into thinking your Firefox browser is something it isn't. You can even use this add-on to trick the web site into thinking you are on a different operating system.
User Agent Switcher
The only problem with this add on is that the included profiles are somewhat limited to: Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, Googlebot, or iPhone 3. These are pretty outdated and fall in line with the last update date of the extension which was in 2011.
This doesn't help the Linux user all that much and even Windows users cannot do a lot with these old user agents.
There are times you are going to need to either see a site on a different OS/Browser combo for developing purposes or switch to a different browser just to actually access a site. Fortunately the developers of User Agent Switcher made it possible to import profiles. Let's take a look to see how this is done in Linux.
The first thing you need to do is install User Agent Switcher. This is such a simple task that most of you will know how to achieve this goal. Once the add on is installed (and Firefox is restarted), tap on the Alt-key and click on the Tools menu to reveal the new menu entry for the User Agent Switcher.
Alternatively, right-click on Firefox's main toolbar and select customize. You can then drag and drop the User Agent Switcher icon to the toolbar to access it directly this way.
Click on the Options entry to open up the window that will allow you to import profiles. In the new window click on the User Agents 'tab' to open up the section that allows you to handle the imports.
From the new window (see the image to the right) click on the Import button (but do NOT click the Overwrite button or you'll lose the current profiles) to import new profiles.
Once you click that button a browse window will open for you to find the profiles to import. The next question is where do you get profiles? The best profile list I have been able to find is here. Once you have the file located on your hard drive click the Import button, locate the file, and click Open.
Now when you look at the listing of possible user agents you will see around 50 possible selections to use.
You change user agents by selecting them using the add-on's toolbar button or the Tools menu. The selected user agent is enabled globally until you switch to another one.
Final Thoughts
I am always surprised when I come across a site (when using Linux) that will not allow me to enter (or use some of their features). The fact that I have to install an add on to allow my browser user a web site rubs me the wrong way. Rubbed or not, it is a good thing these add ons are available for die hard Linux fans. Otherwise, without User Agent Switcher, we'd be dual booting or, even worse, admitting defeat. And we all know that, for Linux users, defeat is not an option.
ser Agent Switcher
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The User Agent Switcher extension is a secret agent in disguise for Firefox. You can put on your IE hat and slip past virtual bouncers into Internet Explorer-only websites; blend in as an iPhone and explore the web’s mobile underbelly; or flash your fake Google ID card and get the V.I.P. treatment.
User Agent Switcher is simple, yet powerful. It adds a toolbar button that you can use to toggle between different user agent strings. User Agent Switcher overrides Firefox’s default user agent, tricking websites into thinking you’re using a different browser.
What’s a User Agent?
Your browser sends its user agent, which contains the browser’s version and operating system, whenever you connect to a website. Websites can detect the browser you’re using and serve different content — this is why iPhone and Android users see special mobile websites when they browse the web.
Getting Started
Like most Firefox add-ons, User Agent Switcher [No Longer Available] is available in Firefox’s add-ons gallery. After it’s installed, you can right-click your toolbar, select Customize and put the User Agent Switcher button anywhere you like.
Crash Internet Explorer’s Party
It’s happened to all of us, although it happens less often these days. You click a link expecting to see a web page, but you’re locked out. “This website requires Internet Explorer,” it says. Does it really require Internet Explorer? Not usually. With the User Agent Switcher extension, you can disguise Firefox as Internet Explorer and slip right in.
Here’s a website from the IE-only hall of shame:
Yuck. Let’s click the User Agent Switcher menu and pretend to be Internet Explorer.
Now we can slip right in. As far as the website is concerned, we’re using Internet Explorer.
Remember to switch your user agent back after you’re done. You wouldn’t want to inflate Internet Explorer’s usage statistics by pretending to be IE everywhere, would you?
This won’t help if the website really is IE-only. Websites that use ActiveX controls are out; those only run in Internet Explorer. Try the IE Tab extension11 Firefox Extensions That I Can't Live Without11 Firefox Extensions That I Can't Live WithoutRead More if you encounter one of those sites — IE Tab runs Internet Explorer itself in a Firefox tab.
Explore the Mobile Web
Select the iPhone user agent and you’ll appear as a mobile device. Websites won’t always function like they would on a real iPhone, but you’ll still see the mobile version of the website.
Here we have YouTube’s mobile site running on our “iPhone”:
And here’s Gmail on our makeshift iPhone:
This is a convenient way to test mobile websites, although you’ll still have to test them on a real device. If you have a mobile device, you can do the reverseHow To Load the Desktop Version Of Websites On Your Google Android Honeycomb TabletHow To Load the Desktop Version Of Websites On Your Google Android Honeycomb TabletTablets are great devices for reading and browsing websites. When you browse the web using a tablet however, you will notice that many websites automatically load their mobile version. This is because the browser you...Read More and see full versions of websites in the palm of your hand.
See What Google Sees
Sometimes a website wants to force you to create an account. You’ll click a link, even from Google, and see a sign-in or registration page.
These websites don’t want to hide their content from Google, so they often allow full access to Google’s web crawler. You can select the Googlebot user agent string and Firefox will put on its best Google disguise.
It’s possible for a website to say “Hey, look at your IP address — you’re not really Google!” But, in practice, few websites do. You shouldn’t use this method to trick your way into accessing paid content, but it’s a good alternative to BugMeNot3 Ways to access 'Must Sign Up to View' Sites3 Ways to access 'Must Sign Up to View' SitesRead More for getting past annoying registration screens.
Get More User Agents
User Agent Switcher comes with a few popular user agents, but you can get user agents for any browser or device you can think of. Use the “Download lists of user agents to import” link in the extension’s options window to find other lists of user agents.
After downloading a list in XML format, click the Import button and import the user agents from the XML file. Or, use the New button to add and customize individual user agent strings.
I’m sure there are other clever uses for the User Agent Switcher extension — what do you use it for?