We're in the last few months of 2018, and Adobe Flash's expiration date feels just within reach. That's not just wishful thinking, either — Adobe has stated it will officially end support for the ailing web plugin in 2020.

The identity politics of tech are real. We become obsessed with the devices that power our lives, and they can drive us to heated arguments — however preposterous — with anyone who loves a competing product, platform, or service.

Mozilla has been on a tear for data security and privacy lately, and we applaud that. Keeping your information safe from the prying eyes (and hacks) of others should be at the top of your mind every time you sign up for a new service or mess around on the web. And it's refreshing to see good news about browsers and new security initiatives, unlike other companies' efforts lately.

Mozilla has officially launched its new Firefox monitor service. Now, if your user credentials have been compromised in a data breach, anywhere in the world, you'll be automatically notified rather than learning about it the hard way. The feature has been in testing for some time and works with the Aussie-made HaveIBeenPwned service created by cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt.

Facebook and other companies routinely track your online surfing habits to better target ads at you. Two web browsers now want to help you fight back in what's becoming an escalating privacy arms race.

Windows 10 is reportedly going to start warning users when installing a non-Edge browser. Beta testers are currently getting an early look at Microsoft’s upcoming October 2018 Windows Update, and some have noticed a rather annoying new inclusion.

All is fair in love and browser wars. In a bid to claw back some much-needed market share, Microsoft is implementing a rather cheeky "feature" in its Edge browser. When users attempt to download Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, they are now confronted with a pop-up window warning them that Edge is "faster" and "safer". No, really.

Do you ever feel that the web is breaking? When shopping online for a toaster, you can expect an ad for that thing to stalk you from site to site. If you have just a few web browser tabs open, your laptop battery drains rapidly. And don't get me started on those videos that automatically play when you're scrolling through a webpage.

It’s frustrating to make a typo when you’re trying to visit a website for the first time. Then, because your browser hates you, it will attempt to autocomplete to the wrong website — like netflux or faceboik — whenever you start to type the correct address into your address bar.

Browser extensions are fantastic but, as superheroes have taught us, with great power comes great responsibility. Malicious developers can hide bad behaviour inside useful extensions and when they slip through the screening process, the only option left to the likes of Mozilla and Google is to ban them. Mozilla has updated its blocked add-on list and it includes an extension the company itself gave the thumbs-up just this week.

If you've stumbled across an image on the internet — perhaps on your favourite social media site — and you want to know more about it, you can always ask the person responsible for the post. Odds are good that they probably just cribbed the image from somewhere else and don't know any more about where it came from. But that's fine. You can also take on the detective work yourself and there are plenty of resources to help you out.

Say a webpage isn’t loading right. Maybe it’s collapsed from too much traffic after going viral on Reddit. Maybe it’s blocked in your country thanks to a law like GDPR. Maybe it was recently deleted. Usually Google has a saved copy of that page. And the quickest way to get that saved copy is to type cache: in the address bar.

Every week at Lifehacker, we highlight the best new apps and browser extensions that can do something awesome for your devices (or life). If you took an Internet-free sabbatical or went on vacation for a week, you probably missed some gems.

Windows: When Microsoft debuted its new “Timeline” feature in the Windows 10 April 2018 update, I was a bit bummed to find that this feature — which you can use to see what you were up to on any given day — isn’t very helpful unless you’re using the Edge browser.

One of the more annoying aspects of watching Netflix on your laptop or desktop computer is the trailers the service likes to automatically play on your behalf. Thankfully, there's a neat extension for Chrome and Firefox that fixes this issue - and a bunch more besides.

As I mentioned earlier today, Mozilla rolled out two new apps the other day as part of its Test Pilot program: One for syncing passwords between your Firefox browser and your iOS device (and soon, Android), and another app (and extension) for synchronising notes between your Firefox browser and an Android device.

iOS: There are plenty of incredible password managers out there — 1Password and LastPass come to mind — but Mozilla has password-management aspirations of its own. The company just released two new new mobile apps as part of its Test Pilot program and one, Firefox Lockbox, is a pretty convenient way to pull up your passwords on your iPhone and iPad.

My web browser of choice is Google Chrome, but I'm always on the hunt for a better browser. After all, it's the app I use most often on pretty much any computer. If a browser can perform faster and more efficiently than Chrome, I'd absolutely consider it. So I decided to give Firefox a try.

Chrome, Firefox: It's been a rough week for many of us and it's likely you're a little stressed out right now.