I use Firefox as my browser, and it rocks all by itself anyway. However, when you add a few custom enhancements, it really rocks. Here I list a few that I use, and some I have to have! Check ‘em out, they really help your journey on the web and some go a long way in protecting your system as you surf.
**UPDATE: As time rolls on, things change, every now and then I like to look back and update some of these lists. I am not going to remove any, but I will mark the ones that I no longer use. Check it out …
Adblock – No Longer Used
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/10/
This one doesn’t seem to be available anymore. I have tried Adblock Plus in the past and wasn’t too thrilled, too much stuff and too many features, lots of stuff that got in the way. That’s one reason I liked this one better, simple and streamlined. I am trying the Plus version again since I can’t find the old one, I’ll post an update as to what I think about it. It does look like they have made some improvements. Original information: Stop ads and annoying page elements in their tracks. You can block whole domains (*.doubleclick.com anyone?), or specific elements. This thing is wonderful.
Adblock Plus – Back On The List
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865/
If you have read about the plugin above, you will know that I have waffled on the Adblock Plus version of this plugin more than a politician at a fundraiser. However, they seem to have really tightened this thing up and streamlined it. It appears to have the best of both worlds, and not hit you with “too much” all at once. I am using it now and so far am giving it a hardy thumbs up. If you liked the original Adblock, you might want to give this one a try. I left the original Adblock section above just for reference.
Download Statusbar
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/26/
This is a nifty tool that helps you manage and monitor your downloads.
DownThemAll (Awesome)
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/201/
Download a bunch of stuff at once! You can create custom filters to downlod almost anything on a page.
Fast Dial – No Longer Used
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5721
I had some performance issues with this one, some folks really like it, but I went back to well maintained bookmarks (Linkman) and it works well for me. I guess it is really up to personal opinion! Original information: If you like the neat-o speed dial feature in Opera, this plugin is for you. It makes a nice launch type page for your often used links.
Foxmarks (Must Have)
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2410
This a great tool that backs up and synchronizes your bookmarks, much like Google‘s bookmark sync did. This so far has worked great for me, I highly recommend it if you want to keep your bookmarks up to date on several PCs.
NoScript – No Longer Used
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/722/
I love this addon, but I had lots of problems with website compatibility. The idea behind this is great, but it seems most people can’t write good web code so it makes it hard to use this tool. I am hoping something gets updated or made more compatible so I can put it back into use. Original information: This extension stops sites from running scripts until you allow them to. This is great for stopping javascript popups, spyware and virus attempts, and all manner of malicious things. Best of all, if you visit a site where you want to enable scripts, you simple click a button and tell it to allow that site. You can allow permanently, or for just that session.
Resizeable Textarea
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3818
OK, this one is just crazy, I mean amazing. It’s usefulness and simplicity is awesome. Basically, and web page that has a textarea field that you have to enter data into can be resized to whatever size you want. I mean let’s face it, how many of us have been aggravated at tiny little text boxes to write in. Pure Genius!
ScribeFire (Super!)
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1730
This is a great addon for anyone that blogs and likes to post stuff they find while surfing. This is essentially a blogging tool that lives in the browser. I setup my blog information and when I find something that looks cool that I want t share, I simply hit the ScribeFire button and get down to blogging. Simple, fast, and it works. It supports multiple blogs so I can post to any of them that I manage, plus it supports many different software packages. I have only used it for WordPress, but it supports several others too. Check it out!
Select Search
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1492
This is another simply, nifty and yet very useful addition to the family. Select any text on a website, right click and search for it with your favorite search engine. Slick I tell ya.
Tab Mix Plus (Great!)
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122
This plugin is a great addition to Firefox because it gives you much needed control over your browser tabs. Trust me, it will allow you to do more than you ever thought you needed to.
Thumbstrips
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5045
What better way to look at where you have been than with thumbnails! This is great for late night search sessions where you need to go back and retrace your steps to find something because it’s all there in color, it’s great!
Web Developer
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/60/
Super set of tools for debugging, tinkering and working with web pages. Whether you are developing one for yourself, or checking out how someone else did theirs, this helps out the process.
YesScript
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/yesscript/
This is a wonderful tool that is similar to the NoScript we have listed above, except it works in pretty much exactly the opposite way. Instead of denying all scripts and only allowing whichever you choose, the exceptions, this one allows them all and lets you blacklist the ones that you want to kill scripting on. Now, as you know if you read my blurb about NoScript, I liked that tool bub had a lot of problems with it because so many websites are not build around existing standards or any common sense. Therefore NoScript was breaking lots of things even when it shouldn’t have. This tool though, at least lets you block scripting where you need it, even if you do have to specify the blockage first. I found it when I was looking for a simple way to stop the Drudge Report from refreshing the page every 3.2 seconds which was getting on my last nerve. Now it’s all taken care of, I blacklist the site and no more refreshes. Hope you find it as useful as I have!
Updated: 2011/07/16
