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Five essential addons for new Firefox users (Happy fifth birthday, Firefox!)
If Firefox users were a country, they'd be the third most populous in the world - behind only China and India - at 330 million people! 2009 has certainly been a big year for the Fox.
Mozilla's add-on site reports 4.3 million registered users using nearly 164 million add-ons. That's a lot of people using a lot of add-ons. If you're a new Firefox user, you might be having trouble deciding which are worth installing.
Since this is Firefox's fifth birthday, here are five add-ons that can make browsing better for just about anyone!
The most widely-known (and used) Firefox annoyance-buster is AdBlock Plus. But the plain truth is that ads power the Internet. They allow sites like our to keep producing new content and serving it to readers like you!
Flashblock is a good alternative. Instead of blocking anything which resembles a sponsor message, you'll be taking bloated Flash elements to task - including oversized ads. It's a good way to speed up page loading while still giving sites a chance to generate much-needed revenue.
Greasemonkey
Userscripts are incredibly handy bits of code which allow you modify web pages in all sorts of different ways. They can do everything from changing links which point to PDF to zip you over to Google's web-based viewer to giving Twitter's web interface superpowers.
We've covered loads of Userscripts before. To find some good ones, check out:
- 10 Greasemonkey scripts you shouldn't browse without
- Ten great Greasemonkey scripts
- 10 handy Userscripts for Google Chrome (these work in Greasemonkey, too!)
- Eight great Userscripts for Twitter users
Just about everyone likes to customize their browser's appearance. With Firefox, there's no easier way than the Peronas add on. Pop over to the Mozilla Gallery, and you'll have thousands of new looks to pick from.
Unlike traditional Firefox themes, switching Personas doesn't require you to close and restart Firefox - and who doesn't want to restart less often?
If you use more than one computer and always run Firefox as your web browser, Weave is a must-have. Not only does Mozilla Labs' synchronization add-on keep your bookmarks up to date across all your systems, but it also handles your passwords, history, personas, open tabs, and more.
It's also going to work with Fennec, Mozilla's mobile version of Firefox -- allowing you to keep even your smartphone in sync. Weave is still under development, though the beta release of version 1.0 is on the way very soon.
If you're the social networking/sharing type, you'll want to take a look at Shareaholic. It makes posting web pages you find interesting to sites like Digg, Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon -- and just about everywhere else -- a simple task.
Shareaholic even allows you to email pages to your friends. Even with all the fancy web 2.0 options out there, email is still one of the most popular ways to share.
There are loads more great add-ons available (like the ones in this other list). Once you've gotten your feet wet with Firefox, there are thousands of others to explore.
Got a few favorites to share with new users? Post 'em in the comments!
Comments
15
Subscribe to commentsTech-MikeNov 9th 2009 1:15PM
Everyday Use:
Adblock Plus
Download Statusbar
ChatZilla
Just For Fun:
Cooliris
Not Sure:
SmarterFox / FastestFox
JakurbNov 9th 2009 2:45PM
I've never found Greasemonkey all that useful, to be honest. I can see how it could be mildly handy, but not essential (at least for me).
I've found Linkification, TinyMenu (or Personal Menu) and Tab Mix Plus to be more essential. Also, SecureLogin is another one I'm finding very useful.
JoshNov 9th 2009 3:19PM
It's completely essential to me. I've written/downloaded scripts for just about every site I frequent to tweak them to be more usable and better looking in general. For example, the below script makes YouTube about the videos (as opposed to the ads, comments, and descriptions that pollute the videos most of the time), with the video being made full-width and taking up my entire window, rather than just a small chunk.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/13333
PudgeNov 9th 2009 3:02PM
#1 Use Adblock Plus despite what the blog says. He was paid to say that. There are more then enough soccer moms to give the advertisers money.
#2 When using Greasemonkey, never be without Greasefire, which notifies you of userscripts on the site you're browsing.
Lee MathewsNov 9th 2009 3:10PM
No, I was not "paid to say that." Technically, yes. AOL does pay me to write what I write, but no one calls me and says "Don't write about adblock."
I've written about it before, as a matter of fact. It's just that now I find FlashBlock suits me - and I'm not the only writer/publisher who thinks FlashBlock is a more ethical choice.
As for your comment on soccer moms, do you really, honestly think there are a lot of soccer moms reading DS? I'm thinking Omniture would disagree with you.
PudgeNov 9th 2009 4:08PM
No I don't think a lot of soccer moms read Download Squad I'm talking about in general. And IMO, if you do a must have Firefox extension list, AdBlock Plus is number one every time. I'm sorry to assume you were pressured into saying it, that's what it sounded like to me.
kojo87Nov 9th 2009 3:04PM
i use Xmarks to keep my bookmarks synchronized. works quite well. i also am i big fan of All-in-One Sidebar. doesn't really add a lot of functionality i just like how it reorganizes downloads, bookmarks, history, etc
JoshNov 9th 2009 3:20PM
DownloadStatusBar. Besides ABP and GM, it is the absolute essential add-on.
JoshNov 9th 2009 3:50PM
Check out The Cavern Links Checker. Its a greasemonkey script that highlights links green if they are good and red if they are dead. Works with Rapidshare, MegaUpload and so many more.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/29222
The Cavern Links Checker for Greasemonkey
0ldfartNov 9th 2009 4:09PM
Adblock Plus
Skipscreen
WOT
Autopager - this is a MUST-HAVE add on - now that Ive tried it I wouldnt browse without it. Highly recommended. saves heaps of time and clicks!!
MasonNov 9th 2009 5:12PM
Few addons I currently enjoy.
#1 AdBlock Plus: Although revenue IS generated on most sites through ads as a lifeline, bottom line is that I don't want to be pestered. Annoying placement and quite frankly often inappropriate advertisements are easily taken care up with the AdBlock.
#2 KeyScrambler: Using AES encryption, I feel safer with my sensitive information. Albeit my system is well protected with AVG "paid" and OS updates, you never know. Effective against keyloggers, packet sniffers though, eh...
#3 Finjan Secure Browsing: With AVG's link scanner being blacklisted, which I never liked linkscanner, being slow as it is, finjan is another way I can make sure I'm safe online.
#4 Last Tab and about:me and Tab Progress Bar
#5 SearchPreview: To get a page thumbnail preview in search engines.
#6 DownloadHelper
#7 Vacuum Places
#8 ShoIP and Flagfox
#9 Surf Canyon
and #10 is my Real Player Media download option. (I only like DownloadHelper for Youtube videos I like, nothing more.)
idodialogNov 10th 2009 8:07AM
Worst list for beginners I've seen. Greasemonkey would be SO obscure to a starter. Newbies to FF need some basics like:
LastPass - save logins, login automatically - anywhere. Secure, reliable.
TabMixPlus - make tabs work the way it makes sense to you. Elegant, solid.
Download Statusbar - nice visualization for downloads.
FEBE - Back everything up. Safe, solid, easy.
KeyScrambler - Really Useful Security. Seamless.
Easy DragToGo - forget the Ctl-Click and the Middle click. Dragging a link makes sense to the brain.
BernieNov 12th 2009 9:15AM
How is Ubiquity never mentioned?
As far as productivity goes it's one of the best ad0ons I have.
And new users need forecastfox/forecastbar enhanced. Probably saved me ten hours not looking up the weather.
astrotoysevenNov 25th 2009 10:01PM
Adblock plus is a dealbreaker for millions of users and will always be one of the most, if not the most popular FF extension.
The author of this article saying "I wasn't paid to say that" is deluding himself into thinking his overseers would be pleased if he stated a viewpoint that his employers would not like. ie. something along the line of 'adblock is great to get rid of all that junk that you get when you are trying to browse - like down the side of this here page!'
Ethical or not, your comments would be crimped if they didnt toe the company line, so don't pretend that you are working in a journalistic utopia over there and can say what the heck you want.
xmximamvoltNov 29th 2009 3:06AM
The addon that has saved me SO many times is called:
Lazarus
It's a form recovery addon that autosaves whatever you type into any sort of chat box or web form on Firefox. :)