Firefox Add On's

Appletom · 11-03-2007, 06:21 PM

I'm one of the many Firefox fans around the world, I use Firefox for 99% of my web browsing. One of Firefox's great benefits is the ability to sue Add On's that have been developed by others. Some I can't live without, others I have tried and removed.

There are currently six Add On's in my browser:

Mouse Gestures - If for some reason I was only allowed one Add On, this would be the one. This tool let's you right-click-and-drag to go backwards or forwards (previous page or next page). You can also set it to go up, down or sideways and you can set what your browser does with each gesture. I found a new one today - when I gesture "Up", it takes me to the top of the page. This is great for long pages.

IE Tab - Yep, there are still some pages that work better in Internet Explorer. The IE Tab puts a little icon in the bottom right of your browser, click it once to render the page in IE within Firefox.

McAfee SiteAdvisor - This also lives in the lower right corner of my browser and is usually green. If it's yellow, that means be leery. If it's red, that mans the site has proven to have malware or is known for a lot of spam. I have seen false readings, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is a very legit site, but McAfee flags it as red.

Those are the three I absolutely could not live without. The other three I have are:

CustomizeGoogle - You've got to install it to understand, but your Google search box changes to a drop down box, so if I'm searching for "Google Earth Hacks", by the time I get to the "h" in "hacks", the whole phrase is an option to click on.

FoxClocks - This one also lives in the lower right corner. Hovering over the icon gives a pop-up with a list of the current time for every location I want. I have a good friend in Greece and we IM on occasion. I can hover and instantly tell what time it is in Greece, no need to open MS Messenger if it's 3:00 AM.

ColorfulTabs - This one doesn't work properly in Firefox version 2.0.0.7, my tabs do not show up in color, but I have set it to fade all the open tabs except the active tab. I'm hoping someday this one will color my tabs.

What Firefox Add On's do you use? Are there any you can't live without? Since there are thousands of Add On's, it would be interesting to see if anybody here uses a *Must-Have* that I've never known about.

martin · 11-03-2007, 06:39 PM

- Adblock (most important today!)
- Prefbar: Quickly enabling/disabling Cookies, Javasript, Java etc.
- Linkification: Makes clickable links out of text sources

Captain Hornblower · 11-03-2007, 08:26 PM

Also the McAfee SiteAdvisor, then Router Status, ShowIP, Flagfox and Exif Viewer.

Forkboy2 · 11-04-2007, 05:54 AM

Download Them All - Great download manager. Will download everything that is linked on a page.

Appletom · 11-04-2007, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martin

- Adblock (most important today!)
- Prefbar: Quickly enabling/disabling Cookies, Javasript, Java etc.
- Linkification: Makes clickable links out of text sources

I like Linkification.

I deliberately left out Adblock since Google Earth Hacks is an advertiser supported website. Let's face it, Mickey does GEH as a labor of love, but depends on ad revenue to cover server costs, hosting fees, the vBulletin license, etc., etc. So, in a sense, using Adblock is unfair to a website owner. And if Mickey's ad revenue were to drop to zero, he would have to discontinue this site that we all know and love so well.

On the other hand, take a site like USAToday.com - it can take a full minute for a page to load due to all the adverts they have there. Without Adblock I wouldn't even bother with that site, but with it things are bearable.

Another more pertinent example is FlyerTalk.com - a vBulletin site for airline and travel geeks. FT is an advertiser supported site, and they offer a premium membership for $12 per year. The biggest benefit of premium membership is viewing their forums ad free. So, if you think about it, using Adblock at FlyerTalk is the same as stealing $12 per year from Randy and his crew.

Now that the ethics lesson is concluded, Adblock Plus is way more powerful than Adblock.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forkboy2

Download Them All - Great download manager. Will download everything that is linked on a page.

Whew - I can only imagine the amount of viruses, adware, spyware and malware that is on Forkboy2's computer. I hope you have a GREAT virus protection program and run lot's if spyware/malware checkers!

Appletom · 11-04-2007, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Hornblower

Also the McAfee SiteAdvisor

BTW - SiteAdvisor isn't a true Firefox Add On. It comes from McAfee, it is absolutely free, and there is a version for IE as well as Firefox. I have both versions on my computer.

Forkboy2 · 11-04-2007, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Appletom

Whew - I can only imagine the amount of viruses, adware, spyware and malware that is on Forkboy2's computer. I hope you have a GREAT virus protection program and run lot's if spyware/malware checkers!

Other than that one virus about 5 years ago that infected pretty much everyone, I've never had a virus or spyware in the 15 or so years that I've been on the internet. A little common sense and paranoia is worth far more than anti-virus/spyware programs.

But I do have Eset NOD32, Sunbelt CounterSpy, hardware router and Sygate firewall, and check my task manager every week for anything unusual just in case

Matt

Appletom · 11-05-2007, 01:35 PM

I misunderstood Forkboy2's post. "DownThemAll" is the name of the extension he was referring to, I read too quickly and thought he just downloaded everything he sees on every page. Misunderstanding acknowledged, apology given.

This is what happens when I'm caught up on my projects and get bored. I spent a boatload of time yesterday checking out the top thousand popular extensions. Now I have three more in my arsenal:

Linkification (Thanks to Martin) - As mentioned below, when a webpage has links in cleartext, i.e. the link is spelled out but it isn't a hotlink, Linkification makes it a clickable link.

WellRounded - Gives the url and search boxes rounded corners, makes them look nicer. Just eye candy.

Tab Effect - When switching from one tab to another, it "rotates" as if each tab was the side of a cuber. "Pimp My Firefox" is how one user reviewed it. This one might become annoying after a while, it does add a second or so to each tab switch. But even if I end up turning it off (probably will), I will definitely leave it available and turn it on if someone is going to visit and we will be using a browser - the "Whoa - That's cool!" comments will be worth it. And it absolutely goes on my laptop for when I give presentations just to add some "Wow" factor.

Poomuckl · 11-05-2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Appletom

So, in a sense, using Adblock is unfair to a website owner. And if Mickey's ad revenue were to drop to zero, he would have to discontinue this site that we all know and love so well.

I see it in a different way.
The internet existed long before there were banners and popups everywhere. And it worked without them. I use Adblock since the first version and used an external blocking program before it. Couldn't live without s.th. like that.

But Adblock has a whitelist option.
So if there is a site that offers cool content and I want to support this site because I visit it regularly, I just add this site to my whitelist.

But in general I don't like to see all these ads from every trashy website I'm surfing on once in my life.

sarenax · 06-10-2009, 07:16 AM

What ports does Mozilla Firefox use to acess the internet? The application itself, not websites. My router is blocking Mozilla Firefox and I don't know what ports to foward. Thank you.

Jrod · 06-10-2009, 04:15 PM

adblock is very nice also auto pager, it allows you to continuously scroll though pages like this forum when there are several pages on a post or through google search results.

Captain Hornblower · 06-10-2009, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarenax

What ports does Mozilla Firefox use to acess the internet? The application itself, not websites. My router is blocking Mozilla Firefox and I don't know what ports to foward. Thank you.

Hmmm... Firefox is usually using port 80 like all browsers. Do you use a proxy-server? Then probably have to use another port, mostlikely 8080. Do other browsers work?

alisha159 · 09-21-2009, 10:17 AM

I have used many of these add ons. Auto pager is very nice.

11-03-2007, 06:21 PM	#1
Appletom Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 1,051	Firefox Add On's I'm one of the many Firefox fans around the world, I use Firefox for 99% of my web browsing. One of Firefox's great benefits is the ability to sue Add On's that have been developed by others. Some I can't live without, others I have tried and removed. There are currently six Add On's in my browser: Mouse Gestures - If for some reason I was only allowed one Add On, this would be the one. This tool let's you right-click-and-drag to go backwards or forwards (previous page or next page). You can also set it to go up, down or sideways and you can set what your browser does with each gesture. I found a new one today - when I gesture "Up", it takes me to the top of the page. This is great for long pages. IE Tab - Yep, there are still some pages that work better in Internet Explorer. The IE Tab puts a little icon in the bottom right of your browser, click it once to render the page in IE within Firefox. McAfee SiteAdvisor - This also lives in the lower right corner of my browser and is usually green. If it's yellow, that means be leery. If it's red, that mans the site has proven to have malware or is known for a lot of spam. I have seen false readings, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is a very legit site, but McAfee flags it as red. Those are the three I absolutely could not live without. The other three I have are: CustomizeGoogle - You've got to install it to understand, but your Google search box changes to a drop down box, so if I'm searching for "Google Earth Hacks", by the time I get to the "h" in "hacks", the whole phrase is an option to click on. FoxClocks - This one also lives in the lower right corner. Hovering over the icon gives a pop-up with a list of the current time for every location I want. I have a good friend in Greece and we IM on occasion. I can hover and instantly tell what time it is in Greece, no need to open MS Messenger if it's 3:00 AM. ColorfulTabs - This one doesn't work properly in Firefox version 2.0.0.7, my tabs do not show up in color, but I have set it to fade all the open tabs except the active tab. I'm hoping someday this one will color my tabs. What Firefox Add On's do you use? Are there any you can't live without? Since there are thousands of Add On's, it would be interesting to see if anybody here uses a Must-Have that I've never known about.

11-03-2007, 08:26 PM	#3
Captain Hornblower Super Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Koblenz, Germany Posts: 1,903	Also the McAfee SiteAdvisor, then Router Status, ShowIP, Flagfox and Exif Viewer. __________________ Software is like entropy. It is difficult to grasp, weighs nothing, and obeys the second law of thermodynamics; i.e., it always increases. Norman R. Augustine

06-10-2009, 07:16 AM	#10
sarenax Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1	What ports does Mozilla Firefox use to acess the internet? The application itself, not websites. My router is blocking Mozilla Firefox and I don't know what ports to foward. Thank you. __________________ yahoo keyword tool ~ overture ~ traffic estimator ~ adwords traffic estimator Last edited by sarenax; 06-10-2009 at 07:23 AM.

09-21-2009, 10:17 AM	#13
alisha159 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1	hello I have used many of these add ons. Auto pager is very nice.

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11-03-2007, 06:39 PM	#2
martin Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 384	- Adblock (most important today!) - Prefbar: Quickly enabling/disabling Cookies, Javasript, Java etc. - Linkification: Makes clickable links out of text sources

11-04-2007, 05:54 AM	#4
Forkboy2 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 375	Download Them All - Great download manager. Will download everything that is linked on a page.

11-05-2007, 01:35 PM	#8
Appletom Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 1,051	I misunderstood Forkboy2's post. "DownThemAll" is the name of the extension he was referring to, I read too quickly and thought he just downloaded everything he sees on every page. Misunderstanding acknowledged, apology given. This is what happens when I'm caught up on my projects and get bored. I spent a boatload of time yesterday checking out the top thousand popular extensions. Now I have three more in my arsenal: Linkification (Thanks to Martin) - As mentioned below, when a webpage has links in cleartext, i.e. the link is spelled out but it isn't a hotlink, Linkification makes it a clickable link. WellRounded - Gives the url and search boxes rounded corners, makes them look nicer. Just eye candy. Tab Effect - When switching from one tab to another, it "rotates" as if each tab was the side of a cuber. "Pimp My Firefox" is how one user reviewed it. This one might become annoying after a while, it does add a second or so to each tab switch. But even if I end up turning it off (probably will), I will definitely leave it available and turn it on if someone is going to visit and we will be using a browser - the "Whoa - That's cool!" comments will be worth it. And it absolutely goes on my laptop for when I give presentations just to add some "Wow" factor.

06-10-2009, 04:15 PM	#11
Jrod Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 174	adblock is very nice also auto pager, it allows you to continuously scroll though pages like this forum when there are several pages on a post or through google search results.