This is an update of my older list of Firefox 2.0 Extensions
I’m a long-time user of the Mozilla and Firefox browsers. Google Chrome is awesome, but I’ve been unable to switch to it as my primary browser because the Add-Ons just don’t offer the customizations and features to which I’ve grown accustomed. Here’s my list of extensions that makes Firefox the ultimate browser.
Essential Add-ons that I use every day:
- Tab Mix Plus: If I had to choose only one extension, this would be it. This extension alone keeps me from switching to Google Chrome. It makes the tabs behave any way you want them to behave. I use it to make child tabs open beside their parent, for the title text to be a specific color when the tab is unread, to show page download status in the tab title, etc.
- LastPass: A fantastic service for creating and syncing passwords across browsers and devices. (Make sure you enable 2-factor authentication to minimize the chance of someone gaining unintended access to your data.)
- Omnibar: I love how Google Chrome combines the URL and Search bars into one single bar at the top. Omnibar does this for Firefox.
- Download Status Bar: A great replacement for the annoying download window that pops up. Less obtrusive and it gives a bunch of options to make downloads behave however you want them to behave.
- OpenDownload2: Gives you the option to download a file to a temp location and launch it to the default application. This is perfect for installer files that you don’t want to keep, so you don’t have to download files to your desktop, run the installer, and then delete the file. Plus, it will automatically delete the temp downloads a few days later. This is similar to a feature in IE, one of the very few IE features I miss.
- URL Fixer: Fixes the common typos people make when typing a URL in the location bar (such as .con -> .com); fixes about every common mistake you will make.
- PDF Viewer: Allows you to view PDF files inside of Firefox without using an external program (such as Adobe Acrobat.) It uses JavaScript, so it’s much faster than launching an external viewer.
- These aren’t really extensions, but be sure to check the Additional Toolbar Search Engines page (I added Wikipedia and IMDB.com)
- Adblock Plus: I’m a little on the fence for this plugin. On the one hand, a lot of great websites depend on advertising to stay in existence. On the other, some ads are so slow-to-load and annoying, they have a negative impact on site usability. So I use the extension selectively on problematic sites only.
Specific-needs Extensions:
- IE Tab: If you your employer has a lot of outdated websites that won’t load in any browser but Internet Explorer, this extension allows you open those sites inside of Firefox in an embedded IE window. So you can switch the current tab back and forth between IE and Firefox, all within Firefox.
- FireFTP: If you’re just an occasional FTP users, installing this extension saves you from having to install a dedicated FTP app. It’s also a very good FTP client.
- S3 Firefox Organizer (S3fox): If you use the Amazon S3 file storage service, S3Fox is the easiest way to manage bins, change share permissions, and upload/download files.
- LeechBlock: Find yourself wasting time on certain site too often? LeechBlock will let you know when you’ve passed your own pre-set threshold.
- Quick Proxy: Quickly turn the proxy on and off. Great for your work laptop
I know the guy who started AdBlock, made himself a tidy bit of moolah too and lives out in the Georgia country. Oh! Don’t you use hootlet yet? I use it quite a bit on both Firefox / Chrome, but like you I am disappointed that Chrome doesn’t offer better control over addons and they do not have NoSquint. (I’m surprised you haven’t tried that one, at least it’s not in your list.) I use NoSquint on my 45-inch monitor because I had five eye surgeries in 2012-13 and was legally blind for most of 2012. Now I can see quite well again but I’m so used to viewing screen at 1600×900 but with 3 windows open side-by-side so i set the page zoom to 65% & text zoom to 120%, esp. when I’m working on a webpage / excel dashboard 4 my teams / programming in third window. (women are true multi-taskers after all.) 🙂
P.S. The benefit of being blind (4 a while): When I cannot sleep I can go for walks on the nature trail behind my home in TX without the need of street lamps which do not exist on the trail. True, the coyotes do stalk me, but they keep their distance what with being able to smell the gun. There are no ‘bad guys’ on a nature trail without a light & I also have 47 years of martial arts training/practice soo….)
Thanks for the NoSquint tip! My eyes aren’t as bad as yours, but I did have an ICL implanted in my left eye. I’m way too myopic for Lasik. But I only had one eye done, just in case something went wrong…
i get constant crushes eg. adobe flash player, or certain plug-ins, how can i prevent this from happening? i’m just an average guy not a tech guy so any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance Billy.