This page provides suggestions on how you might improve the performance and usability of your preferred browser.
Browse the Web securely with Firefox.
Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.
Default Browser: You can change the default browser using System Settings > Applications > Default Applications and then selecting a value for the Web browser, and then click [ Apply ] at the bottom right. Usually this works without issue, but if not, see the advice in Troubleshooting section.
Browser Scaling: Sometimes, GTK apps like Google Chrome or Firefox will not scale like the rest of the UI. If this affects your system, see the workaround found in the External Displays Guided Solution.
Printing: See Printing which discusses interfaces for browsers.
Intel Graphics Corruption: Some people have seen Google Chrome present corrupt graphics, especially around text on certain web pages. However, most pages are unaffected. This is an Intel Graphics (i915 iGPU) issue, 11th-gen CPUs and later. See GPU Select for complete resolution.
Get rid of OAuth sign-in prompts
Block Sign-In As Google Prompts: Many sites will attempt to coerce you to use Google OAuth sign-in instead of your password. To prevent this, you can use Google Chrome > Hamburger Menu > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Additional content settings > Third-party sign-in and then select [x] Block sign-in prompts from identity services.
Jitter Bug: If the Chrome window starts moving erratically on its own, it may be the Jitter Bug, a problem previously affecting versions 121-123. See the advice in the Troubleshooting section to fix.
Appearance Settings: The system sets the following by default, but a synced profile may change them. Select Menu > Appearance to confirm these settings:
Theme > Use GTK.Settings > Appearance > Use system title bar and borders so your windows work as expected.As of Q2 2025, the QT theme looks comparable to GTK. You could also try the classic theme and then select light or dark mode as you prefer.
KeePassXC: See Passwords for details on using this tool with your browser.
In Chrome 121-123, certain dialogs caused the window to move erratically. This occurred when installing a new extension (as shown above), or in Chrome-only dialogs like when it asks the user to select advertising preferences. Some form of scaling must also be in use, such as a forced font DPI or a global scale factor. You can see more at this Reddit post. The easiest work around is to disable scaling before adding extensions:
System Settings > Appearance > Fonts and disable Force font DPISystem Settings > Display and Monitor > Display Configuration and ensure Global Scale is set to 100%.One can inspect the apt archives and install a previous Chrome version if available. Remember to remove the hold when you want to try the latest version again.
In the worst circumstances, the bug will eventually run at least one CPU to 100%; the Chrome interface is unresponsive and may crash X11. Here are some ways to recover:
The Kubuntu Focus Suite 24.04 uses the native Debian packages for Firefox and Thunderbird. If you have tried the snap and want to revert to the package, this guide should work..
Firefox as a Snap: Ubuntu started distributing Firefox a snap package starting in 22.04. This usually works fine, however, there are some situations where one may need to use the normal Debian package. If this is the case, we suggest using the official Mozilla repository as provided by Mozilla. The recommended steps are below. These are modified to use /usr/share/keyrings and mozilla-firefox paths in keeping with prior convention.
Another option is to use the Firefox PPA as described here. This was recommended previously. However, the Mozilla official repo became available in 2024 and the steps above are now preferred as more reliable.
KeePassXC: See Passwords for details on using this tool with your browser. To integrate to Firefox, you will either will need to use a snap workaround, or install the Debian package as described above.
System title bars: We prefer standard title bars on Firefox. To set this, click on the menu button at top-right, then More Tools > Customize Toolbar. This will open a page in the main browser menu. Now look for "Title Bar" checkbox option present at the bottom-left corner of the window and enable it.
Disabling Firefox Pocket recommendations: Firefox displays various articles chosen by Mozilla on the default new tab page. If this is undesirable, you may disable these recommendations. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the new tab page. Then click on the "Recommended stories" switch to disable them.
For specific browser hints, see the section for that specific browser, such as Firefox.
Q: I have switched my default browser. However, links keep opening in a different browser. What can I do?
A: The default browser selection can be sticky. Using the default browser selector discussed in section General Hints section, select something else, apply, then try again.
Q: In Chrome, certain dialogs cause the window to move erratically on its own. What is this, and how can I fix it?
A: See this section covering the Google Chrome Jitter Bug.
This is a partial revision history. See the git repository for all entries.
2025-04-19 274c0ff1 Update grammar and content per audit2025-04-05 a2c572b2 Update images and content2025-02-28 95bc39aa Include how to disable 'Login with Google' prompts2025-02-27 1f2ddf9b Add Chrome section on avoiding forced oauth2024-12-06 35123b93 Unify keyboard shortcut presentation, expand Firefox snap advice2024-12-01 2729b4dc Fix more minor grammar and spelling issues2024-09-10 73fcff02 Fix minor grammar and spelling issues2024-08-19 57a2389d Add white theme2024-08-02 e9d2559c Update content to current2024-08-01 45251c42 Add lightbox views, refresh content2024-07-31 27913e88 Add missing 2 column tag2024-07-28 ee7b4601 Update metadata content, collapsable sections, lightbox2024-07-26 7814a97d Sync primary images between guided solutions slideshow and articles2024-07-16 e9155e41 Merge master link fixes2024-07-02 c83184e4 Switch to kfocus-mime schema2024-07-02 a89e90d5 Noble release updates2024-06-06 38f30d21 Update for Noble2024-04-08 9e6be9cf Update Firefox to official Mozilla packages2024-03-18 fb9b592d Add syntax highlighting for codeblocks2024-02-21 1b246b72 Add advice to select default browser2024-01-25 114779aa Update Chrome settings guidance to recent version2024-01-14 4899f85a Add guidance on auto-open kfocus apps to Chrome2023-11-18 e770b1c6 Add search and help bar2023-09-11 d27f8bfb Split content by browser type, added detail2023-07-30 060ddbea First publicationWe try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.
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