20 Must-have Firefox Extensions

An anonymous reader noted that Computerworld is running a story on the 20 must have Firefox extensions. Several of my favorites are in there so I'm looking forward to playing with the ones I haven't heard of.

Adblock?

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Why isn't adblock mentioned?

*fires up internet explorer, browses tfa*

Oh.

Two flash ads & an animated gif (along with the pop-up). Not surprised they didn't mention ad block plus [mozilla.org] and filterset g [mozilla.org].

Install them & never see another ad again. Ever. (without any sort of configuration).

Re:Adblock?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe there's also an extension(or maybe just a Greasemonkey script?) which automatically clicks "next" links to make articles that have been split up for the purposes of advertising more readable, which this one could benefit from. Does anyone have a link to that?

Addons memory usage

[secolactico]

Is there a way to see how much memory is each extension using?

Re:Adblock?

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

It may be selfish, but I kind of wish people wouldn't mention those too often. If they get too widely used, it will just mean more annoying, unavoidable ads.

I don't know, I think that if it comes to an arms race between the ad makers & the ad blockers, the ad blockers would win. For example, the TV stations had to do deals with tivo et al to stop ad-skipping tech.

It's easier for people to control what's displayed on their computer than most think.

APT-get Extensions?

[Doc Ruby]

I wish these extensions would register when installed with my APT repository. That way it's easier to upgrade along with the rest of my system, especially after an OS upgrade (every 6 months with Ubuntu). And easier to clone to a new machine.

The APT dependency management would also make it easier to install, say, a GreaseMonkey script and automatically install GreaseMonkey, because it's the script I want and GreaseMonkey is incidental.

A reverse dependency tool in Firefox would let me install FireFox on a host, then get suggestions of all the extensions I have installed elsewhere. But that's more of a reach than just including the extensions installs in APT packages.

Re:Aren't articles like this bad for Firefox?

[HalAtWork]

The idea that the browser isn't feature-complete unless you install 20 add-ons is certain to scare some people away

What about IE? They weren't even going to include tabs in IE7 originally. The evolution of IE has been mostly in its core rendering and ActiveX, and not the interface or functionality of the application. Internet Explorer has basically always been just a bare shell for MS's HTML handling engine. It's the bare minimum!

Re:20 is too many

[Falesh]

I must say that is what I like about Opera. It has a good core set of features e.g. sessions, mouse gestures, integrated search, content blocking, ad blocking, integrated email, spell checking, etc [opera.com]. Since these are core features I know there will be no compatibility problems with them. It also now has Widgets [opera.com] though they can't alter the browser as much as Firefox extensions can.

Before I'm modded as a troll I'm not saying "Opera rulez, FF sucks", there are features that are superior to Firefox too, like the kick ass Web Developer extension. I just think it would do better to have certain key extensions brought into the core browser.

Re:And add in flashblock while you're at it.

[el americano]

I used to use bugmenot extensively, but then I just decided to avoid those sites that require a free sign-up. For news sites, everyone has the same news as the NY Times, so they are not missed. When I absolutely can't forego a sign-up, I use Trashmail [mozilla.org], but places are starting to catch on.

Re:Adblock?

[Idbar]

Personally, I do what Spybot does, I add a line:
127.0.0.1 ad.site.com
in my hosts file.

Here's a list of mine...

[hacker]

I've posted my list [gnu-designs.com] back about a year ago, and I still use every single one of them every day... (I also describe how to get around a "bug" in FF that forbids non-standard port connections). Check it out here [gnu-designs.com]. I also spoke at my local LUG about the same thing in January.

Here's a list of the extensions I'm currently using in my Firefox build (you can see how I have it tricked out [gnu-designs.com] with all of my theming and extensions over here [gnu-designs.com]):

• Sage [mozdev.org], a really slick and fast rss aggregator/reader for Firefox. It docks on the sidebar and is visible with a simple Alt-S keystroke. Very nice, and easy for me to catch up on some quick headlines when I need to.
• AdBlock Plus [mozilla.org] with the AdBlock Filterset G Updater [mozilla.org] to stop the flood of useless ads from coming at me. I did have to add one small rule for Google's ads, because I do actually like the recommendations they provide from time to time, and it helps out sites I visit with a little revenue. That regex looks like this: @@*.googlesyndication.com/*
• Web Developer [chrispederick.com], a very useful and slick toolbar/menu driven suite that allows me to do all kinds of things to websites I'm viewing, including validation, showing where their css classes are, manipulating forms, cookies, images, and dozens of other features. Hands-down, the most-useful extension I have as a developer/tweaker of web content.
• PrefBar [mozdev.org], another powerful extension I use every single day. This one allows me to change the capabilities of my browser with a simple click of a checkbox. Want Java enabled? Click. Sick of popups? Click. I have Colors, Images, Javascript, Java, Flash, Popups, Proxies, Pipelining, Referers, Cache on my bar. Its completely customizable, and very well-done.
• SwitchProxy [flock.com] lets me manage and switch between multiple proxy configurations quickly and easily. I can also use it as an anonymizer to protect my system from prying eyes. I have Squid [squid-cache.org], Squid + Privoxy [privoxy.org], Privoxy + Tor [eff.org] and i2p [i2p.net] enabled in my configuration at the moment. Quick and easy, and one status-bar dropdown lets me change from one to another.
• FasterFox [mozdev.org] gives me a little boost by auto-configuring some parameters for faster browsing, such as link prefetching, pipelining, DNS cache, paint delay, and others.
• ForecastFox [mozdev.org], weather.. in my status bar. I've changed the icons a bit with a separate icon pack [mozdev.org] called Lansing [mozdev.org], which is nice adn small and out of the way. Minimal is the way to go on my toolbars and status bars.
• Linky [gemal.dk] lets me open or download all or selected links in a page, image links and even web addresses found in the text in separate or different tabs or windows. A simple right-click on any link or web address, and away I go.
• Google PageRank Status [tapouillo.com] gives me a quick overview of the PR of a site in the current view. This is useful as I do a lot of web work, and knowing what kind of sites get a decent or poor PR is useful information.
• SearchStatus [quirk.biz] is another SEO toolbar fo

Re:20 is too many

[mdfst13]

I agree, but I think that if you ask a hundred users what their "key" features would be, you'd probably get 101 different answers.

Yes, for example, could we get tabs out of the core? I don't like them and it is currently impossible to turn them completely off (for example, install an add-on and restart firefox; home page, current page, and add-on page come up in tabs). I'd also currently like to remove the password manager functionality, as the current version is insecure (it can be fooled into sending passwords to other web sites than the one for which the password was saved).

Rather than putting things in the core, what about two classes of extensions: core extensions, which are heavily cross validated and unit tested by core developers; and add-ons, which are what they are now -- a collection of random itches that people scratched. This would allow a set of stable extensions that almost everyone uses, flexibility for those who don't want to use core extensions (since they can be removed), and the current ability to scratch an itch with a less thoroughly tested extension or even just an extension with very narrow use (e.g. only with a single website).

Needed: Nuke Everything Else

[srobert]

I need something like Nuke Anything Enhanced, except that I want to eliminate everything else except the content I'm interested in. I have a small laptop with a 10-inch screen. I resize the fonts in Firefox so that my tired old eyes can see them. If there are 4 columns in the page, one with content and 3 with menus and ads, then with the enlarged font, the content column may have only 3 to 5 words per line. This leads to lots of scrolling. But with a "Nuke Everything Else" extension, the content would fill out the page. Another way to do the same would be an extension that opened up the one item in a separate tab or window by itself.