Mozilla is preparing a tool to give users of rival browsers, including Internet Explorer (IE), Chrome, Safari and Opera, a way to find out whether important add-ons are up to date.

According to a schedule published last week, Mozilla plans to switch on cross-browser functionality of its Web-based tool today. The tool, an adjunct to a checking mechanism embedded in Firefox 3.6, allows Chrome 4, Opera 10.5 and Safari 4 users to check for outdated plug-ins, such as Adobe's Flash and Apple's QuickTime, that are frequently targeted by hackers.