Tin
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02:54:22 am on February 12, 2006 | # |
If you Google the above phrase, you’ll get a ton of search results. There are plenty of lists out there, all with varying opinions of what’s “essential.” Here’s just another list to throw into the fray. I currently have seven extensions installed, but I’ve found that I use these four almost every day.
Adblock Plus with Filterset.G Updater
Those are actually two separate extensions, but they really do go hand-in-hand. As the name suggests, Adblock Plus lets you block ads. If you see an ad, right-click on it, and tell Adblock to block it. It’s gone. Problem is, doing this over and over gets old real fast. This is where Filterset.G comes into play. Basically, it’s a collection of complex filters that try to distinguish between advertisements and actual content on a website. Adblock uses the filters to block the ads, leaving only the real content. It works fabulously.It is worth noting that it’s not perfect. Sometimes, although rare, you will run into a website that doesn’t seem to display properly. It could be that Adblock Plus accidentally blocked actual content. This isn’t an issue though, because Adblock Plus will allow you to whitelist websites. I’m telling you, these two extensions are must-haves for Firefox users.
Here are a couple before-and-after screenshots of Adblock in action.
BugMeNot
No one likes websites that require you to login just to view its content. Newspaper websites are notorious for this. Someone started a website called BugMeNot, where you can submit account information for everyone to use. So, if I wanted to read an article on dallasnews.com, but they wanted me to register first before I can read it, chances are, someone else has already created an account and posted the information on bugmenot.com. Very convenient.The extension takes it one step further. Rather than visiting bugmenot.com to get the account information, why not have an extension do that for you? The BugMeNot extension will automatically pull the login information from bugmenot.com for the website you’re currently at. All you have to do is right-click on the login field and select “Login with BugMeNot.” The extension takes care of the rest.
PDF Download
If you mess with PDFs often, this extension is for you. It gives you more control of how you view your PDFs.As I find other extensions that I use often, I’ll make sure to share them here.