What browser extensions do you have and why

[BWF89]

What browser do you use and what extensions or themes do you have installed on it and why do you like them?

Firefox 1.5
The default theme

Bookmark Backup 0.3.3
Backs up all your stuff

ChatZilla 0.9.69
It's an IRC client built right into my browser. How convenient.

ChromEdit 0.1.1.1
Allows me to edit Firefox's UserChrome.css, UserContent.css, User.js, and Prefs.js files right from my browser.

Disable Targets for Downloads 1.0
You know those blank white screens you get when your going to download something? This gets rid of them.

DOM Inspector 1.8
I haven't gotten around to needing to use this yet.

Download Manager Tweak 0.7.1
Gives me more preferences for the download manager. My favorite is that it lets me have keep it open in a tab instead of a new window.

MR Tech Local Install 4.0
Adds tons of configurability to Firefox.

NoScript 1.1.3.4
Blocks websites from useing JavaScript unless I give it permission.

Talkback 1.5
If Firefox crashes this lets me report the problem.

[GeneralZod]

Firefox 1.0.7

All-In-One-Gestures: Utterly indispensable to me. Gestures are a lot of fun, and being able to open/ close a tab, scroll to the top or bottom, undo closing a tab, enlarge/ shrink images etc and view and scroll to all currently opened tabs with a flick of the wrist is simply awesome.

Session Saver: For when the memory leaks get too big and you need to shut down Firefox!

Focus Last Selected Tab: The only sane behaviour upon closing a tab.

Adblock: Need I say more? :)

Edit:

Oh, and PlastikFox for a theme as it blends in with KDE better. Shame about the file dialogues, though :(

[Lovechild]

I actually don't use any extensions, I have epiphany-extensions installed but I don't really need any right now.

[xequence]

Firefox 1.5. Default theme, I think I have adblock...

[Brunellus]

I use epiphany. One extension I can't live without: gestures.

[-Rick-]

Opera(main):
* No plugins(no need for that)
* Some KDE like theme for opera

Firefox:
* No plugins
* Uses GTK-->QT theme

Konqueror:
* No plugins(no need for that)
* Default KDE theme(plastik)

[matthew]

Firefox 1.0.7

Extensions:

Tabbrowser Preferences 1.2.8.5
--for control

Adblock v.5 d2 * nightly 39
Adblock Filterset.G Updater 0.2.4
--so I don't have to see the latest in self-"improvement" technology

ForecastFox 0.8.2.3
--Gives me the local weather at the bottom of my browser window, convenient

ImageZoom 0.1.7.1
--so I can zoom in on poptones' avatar and try to read what is written on the face

Flashblock 1.2.9
--to avoid the shock and noise of unexpected/unwanted flash embedding

User Agent Switcher 0.6.7
--for the rare case my browser isn't recognized by a site

Nuke Anything Enhanced 0.51
--To avoid looking at anything on a page I don't want to see (especially useful just before I print something)

Feedview 0.9.8
--makes rss feeds look nice in firefox, can browse the link directly

openselectedlinks 2005.6.12
--I can open any multiple of links, each in separate tabs all with one click

CuteMenus - Crystal SVG 0.9.5.1
--just makes the menu icons look nicer

MediaPlayerConnectivity 0.4.7
--helps with media

SwitchProxy Tool 1.3.2
--so I can switch between normal and tor/privoxy anonymous browsing


I like toys and control...

[bored2k]

fox 1.5

tabbrowser preferences - i hate popups. i like tabs.
download manager tweak - i hate popups. i like tabs
noscript - i hate unwanted javascript popups and flashy shizznit.
fasterfox - i like speed (not the drug).

[sethmahoney]

Firefox 1.5 + foXpose!

I have a bunch of others, but, you know, foXpose! is the most exciting of the bunch.

[ssam]

http://www.radialthinking.de/radialcontext/

its the best pie menu + gestures plugin i have tried.

unfortunatly no 1.5 version yet

[ember]

Venkman [de] 0.9.84
-> A Javascript debugger

DOM Inspector 1.0
-> well ... it inspects the DOM of a webpage ;)

ViewSourceWith [de] 0.0.7.4
-> you can specify useful editors to view and edit a page

Deutsch (DE) Language Pack 1.0.4
-> Hmm ... I am german? ;)

Web Developer [de] 0.9.3
-> More debugging possibilities for Web developers, I mostly use the JavaScript console

English (GB) Language Pack 1.0.4
-> Installed by default

fireFTP [de] 0.88.3
-> An FTP client inside Firefox (I use it seldomly)

gTranslate 0.2
-> use google translation for words on webpages

Popup Count [de] 0.3.2
-> counts the number of blocked popus on this site (like the google popup blocker for IE)

Print It! [de] 0.3.6
.> print from context menu (very useful for seperately opened webpages and for frames)

ScreenGrab! [de] 0.5
-> rather useless because it grabs the context-menu from which it is called too

Tabbrowser Preferences [de] 1.2.8.2
-> control tabbed browsing

IDN Info [de] 0.6.4
-> enhances your status bar with an IDN field that lights when you are on an IDN domain (e.g. www.günter.de)

Adblock [de] 0.5.2
-> well ... it blocks ads ;)

Gcache [de] 0.2.1
-> browse pages from google cache (very useful if a page is down but you need the information urgently)

Nuke Anything [de] 0.2.1
-> remove objects from a webpage (useful, if someone thinks he has to put large images on a page / a chat)

PDF Download [de] 0.5.1.2
-> specifiy, if you want to view or download a PDF when clicked

Show Image [de] 0.3
-> you can reload images with that (I use it seldomly)

All-in-One Gestures [de] 0.17.3
-> my favourite extension for mouse gestures (actually I cannot imagine how I had browsed without them)

OpenBook [de] 1.3.4
-> enhances your bookmark adding dialog

Sort Bookmarks [de] 0.5.1
-> sort bookmarks in alphabetical order (useful if you have much of them)

AboutConfig [de] 0.5
-> control firefox configuration

Allow Right-Click [de] 0.2
-> stops webpages bugging you with right-click not allowed (fortunately I haven't met such a page for a while)

Show Failed URL [de] 0.1.4
-> leave incorrect URLs in the location bar

DownThemAll! [de] 0.9.4
-> it allows you to download files (e.g. pdfs or mp3s) in one go

Download Manager Tweak [de] 0.6.6
-> extends you download manager with a few options

Fasterfox 0.7.6
-> tweaks network settings for you, makes firefox a bit faster

Ext2File [de] 0.2.8
-> puts your extension list into a txt-file (useful for threads like this ;))

So as you can see, I am an extension man - I like all these little toys. They really make surfing the web (and devoloping websites) much more enjoyable.

Best,
ember

[BWF89]

http://www.radialthinking.de/radialcontext/

its the best pie menu + gestures plugin i have tried.

unfortunatly no 1.5 version yet
It's really easy to get an older extension working with the newest Firefox.

A Firefox extensions is called and XPI file. And an XPI file is basically a kind of zip file. So if you have an older extensions you want to use instead of installing the exnension download it to your desktop.

Then open up the XPI with your file archiver (in my case 7-Zip).

You should see a few files. But the one your looking for is called "Install.rdf".

Now select Install.rdf and either open it up with your text editor or click on it and go to file > edit.

You should see some code that looks like this:

<em:targetApplication>
<Description>
<em:id>{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}</em:id>
<em:minVersion>0.8</em:minVersion>
<em:maxVersion>1.5.0.*</em:maxVersion>
</Description>
</em:targetApplication>
I bolded the text of the important info. Now all you have to do is change the "maxversion" to your current version of Firefox version number.

Now just save the file, and it will ask you something like "do you want to update the archive" just click yes.

Than open up Firefox, go to File > Open File and open up your modified XPI file. The extension should then install. If the extension is no longer maintained you'll probably have to do this everytime you want to upgrade to a newer version of Firefox.

[jrib]

All-in-One gestures <--this thing is amazing. Try it for a couple of weeks until you get used to it and you will wonder how you ever used firefox before.

Flashgot <-- good if you want to download a lot of links

NoScript <-- everyone needs this extension installed. You can whitelist sites you need javascript in so you don't lose any functionality. There are firefox exploits that use javascript. With this you'll be a little safer.

User Agent Switcher <-- why do some sites require you to use internet explorer?!


I think I am going to add the disable target for downloads extension in the first post too. Thanks!

[joflow]

I don't understand why people support adblock. Alot of hardworking webmasters put their own money into webhosting (can be hundreds if not thousands a month for medium - huge sites) and the only way they have to recoup is money generated by ads on their site.

I understand blocking pop-ups, pop-unders, and other intrusive ads but blocking unintrusive banners is just malicious web useage.

I'm glad adblock isn't widespread because alot of good free content would cease to exist.

[ember]

I cannot speak for everybody, but I installed adblock because ads became very intrusive. I do not like blinking microsoft ads inside the news I read and I am generally detesting that moving things on a website.

[GeneralZod]

I cannot speak for everybody, but I installed adblock because ads became very intrusive. I do not like blinking microsoft ads inside the news I read and I am generally detesting that moving things on a website.

It's also a very good way of disabling pop-ups that slip by the pop-up blocker.

[joflow]

Well, its good to hear you guys aren't blocking banner ads with it. I understand pop-ups, pop-ins, pop-unders...they can be very annoying.

[majikstreet]

adblock doesn't block all ads.. I use filterset.g with adblock and I am ad-free.. I do see google ads and stuff like that... but it's way less annoying.

anyway, I have too many extensions to list, and I don't use them all.

[bjweeks]

Well, its good to hear you guys aren't blocking banner ads with it. I understand pop-ups, pop-ins, pop-unders...they can be very annoying.

We are, adblock will block any ad in image form. Thoes of us runing filterset.g have a auto updated list block most known ad sources. I don't click on ads anyways so I have no need to see them.

I took some screen shots of adblock in action.
Without Adblock (http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/files/2/9/2/3/8/withads.JPG)
With Ad Block (http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/files/2/9/2/3/8/noads.JPG)

[matthew]

We are, adblock will block any ad in image form. Thoes of us runing filterset.g have a auto updated list block most known ad sources. I don't click on ads anyways so I have no need to see them.

I took some screen shots of adblock in action.
Without Adblock (http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/files/2/9/2/3/8/withads.JPG)
With Ad Block (http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/files/2/9/2/3/8/noads.JPG)That's why I love it.

[joflow]

We are, adblock will block any ad in image form. Thoes of us runing filterset.g have a auto updated list block most known ad sources. I don't click on ads anyways so I have no need to see them.

I took some screen shots of adblock in action.
Without Adblock (http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/files/2/9/2/3/8/withads.JPG)
With Ad Block (http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/files/2/9/2/3/8/noads.JPG)


Well then thats bad.

Alot of banner networks pay per ad view meaning that the webmaster gets paid a small amount everytime the ad is loaded. If everyone started blocking ads then alot of your favorite sites would either 1. shutdown 2. start charging users money to access content. A banner ad being loaded on a page isn't really hurting you or ruining your experience. Alot of webmasters go out of their way to get rid of the annoying ones (ones with sound, ones that extend and take up alot of screen real estate) so why not just set up adblock to load the banners, skyscrapers, and leaderboards and only block pop-ups, pop-ins, pop-unders, and maybe flash ads. Its not hurting you to view them and its helps keep your favorite sites alive and active.

[bjweeks]

You don't know how much $h1t I had to look at before I started useing adblock. There is just to many click and win banners, mortgage, and viagria ads out there.

[joflow]

I agree...the sound ads are annoying, very annoying. They should be blocked. Most of them are flash, is there an option to only block flash ads in adblock? Or you could only block ads on sites that use those annoying ads.

I just don't think blocking all ads on all sites is a reasonable solution to getting rid of a few annoying ones.

[benplaut]

FF1.5
Flashblock
Flashgot
CustomizeGoogle
Adblock Plus
SessionSaver
CuteMenus
Google Suggest
Download Statusbar
Colorzilla
Tab Mix Plus - beats the pants off Tabbrowser Prefences
Fasterfox
Disable Targets for Downloads

[matthew]

I just don't think blocking all ads on all sites is a reasonable solution to getting rid of a few annoying ones.We all understand your position. Since this thread is really about browser extensions let's move back to that topic.

@benplaut: I have to check out Tab Mix Plus. What makes it better in your opinion?

EDIT: I want to be sure joflow and anyone else reading my comment understand that I'm not trying to censor him and that my post was intended to have a kind and gentle tone as well as guide the conversation back to the original topic. If someone wants to start another thread about ad blocking that would be perfectly fine. :)

[cstudent]

FF 1.5 (Default theme)
Tab Browser Prefs
Google Toolbar

[Zarkoth]

Firefox 1.5
Acid Burn Theme

StumbleUpon - it's like ADD, only on the internet, and it also takes surfing up a notch
Tabbrowser preferences - Editing little things about my tabs that I like

Colorful tabs - it is what it is

Fasterfox - I like fast!

Adblock - Well...it blocks adds!

NukeAnythingEnhanced - Hehe, you can just remove things from a website while viewing it, very nice for those annoying flashing ads!

[23meg]

These essential extensions are the reason I prefer Firefox over Opera and Epiphany. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be using Firefox.

Scrapbook - #1 Favorite, top reason for preferring Firefox. Great for organizing all sorts of info; I can't live without it.

Adblock - No need to explain.

Greasemonkey + Platypus - I customize most sites I frequently visit with them.

Tab Mix Plus - It lets one use the scroll wheel anywhere outside the view area to switch tabs, which is a great feature that I got addicted to.

Clippings - Easy copy+paste from predefined strings; good for giving help on forums :cool:

I have a few more (such as StumbleUpon, del.ici.ous etc. ) but these are the ones that make the difference.

[zenwhen]

Last updated: Mon, 09 Jan 2006 12:10:33 GMT
User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.12) Gecko/20051010 Firefox/1.0.7 (Ubuntu package 1.0.7)
Extensions (enabled: 6, disabled: 0)

* Fasterfox 0.7.9
* Adblock 0.5.2.039
* All-in-One Gestures 0.17.2
* Single Window 1.4.2
* Redirect Remover 0.43.1
* InfoLister 0.8.2+

Themes (1)

* Firefox (default) 2.0 [selected]

Plugins (4)

* RealNetworks Rhapsody Player Engine
* CrossOver - npdsplay.dll
* CrossOver - npwmsdrm.dll
* Shockwave Flash


Well then thats bad.

Alot of banner networks pay per ad view meaning that the webmaster gets paid a small amount everytime the ad is loaded. If everyone started blocking ads then alot of your favorite sites would either 1. shutdown 2. start charging users money to access content. A banner ad being loaded on a page isn't really hurting you or ruining your experience. Alot of webmasters go out of their way to get rid of the annoying ones (ones with sound, ones that extend and take up alot of screen real estate) so why not just set up adblock to load the banners, skyscrapers, and leaderboards and only block pop-ups, pop-ins, pop-unders, and maybe flash ads. Its not hurting you to view them and its helps keep your favorite sites alive and active.

Adblock does not prevent you from loading the banner images. To the ad company, it looks just the same as as it would if you had viewed the ad. I will not be advertized to if I can help it.

[Koobi]

i actually stopped using Firefox and began using Galeon instead because firefox had that chrome profile corruption issue which made FF crash 1-2 times for me...is that fixed now?

anyway, when i did use firefox, i used the web developer extension. helpful extension if you are a web dev.

[fuscia]

i use firefox 1.5 with the blackjapan theme, or some of the 'simple' themes. i use mouse gestures, menu edit, cookie extras, customize google and tab mix plus. i was using fasterfox, but i found ff is faster on my machine, without it. but lately, i've been using dillo which is way faster than all of them.