# What Browser Extensions Do You Use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205 "2013-11-18T21:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/1 "2013-11-18T21:03:19Z")
I’ve always been curious about the utility of the dozens of extensions some people seem to use with their web browsers. One of the frequent comments I’ve seen about my browser of choice (Firefox) is that it has the largest library of available extensions (probably being approached by Chrome at this point), but that it bogs down when loaded with too many. Partly because of that, and partly because the plain-vanilla default interface works well enough for me, I don’t have very many extensions at all. I have four, to be exact:[ul][li][DoNotTrackMe](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/donottrackplus/)[_][iCloud Bookmarks](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/icloud-bookmarks/)[_][LastPass](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/lastpass-password-manager/)[\*][Pocket](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/read-it-later/)[/ul]DoNotTrackMe works well for blocking ad-servers and third party web bugs and beacons, which has the welcome effect of blocking ads on some sites (I’ve never felt the need for more heavyweight options like AdBlock). I use iCloud to sync my bookmarks with my iPhone and iPad because I’m a PC™ and I prefer Firefox to Chrome (Firefox doesn’t have an iOS browser). LastPass is my password manager and Pocket is my current read-later option. I’ve used Instapaper and Readability in the past, but have come back to Pocket for its interface and apparent ubiquity.[/li] So I’m just wondering how many browser extensions you have, and how much you use them. I know there’s probably stuff out there I would find useful enough to overcome my slight distaste in adding unnecessarily to the browser, so tell me what I’m missing! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/2 "2013-11-18T21:13:40Z")
Adblock Ghostery Google Cast Honey HoverZoom Missing E Reddit Enhancement Suite SDMB Avatars Social Fixer TooManyTabs Google Cast and Hover Zoom are practically necessities. Adblock and Ghostery are usually on and pretty strong unless I want to support a website and allow their ads and tracking to run. Honey has not proved to be all that useful but I keep it because you never know. I’ve been using them for so long I don’t know what it’s like to see Tumblr, Reddit or Facebook without my extensions. TooManyTabs I should use more often than I do. I often end up with 20 or 30 tabs in my browser. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/3 "2013-11-18T21:34:29Z")
Courtesy of the Extension List Dumper extension: Application: Firefox 25.0 (2013102400) Operating System: Linux (x86\_64-gcc3) November 18, 2013 Total number of items: 121 - 4or6 1.2.1 - about:addons Button 2.0 - about:addons-memory 7 - AdBan 2.3.1 - Adblock Plus 2.4 - Add Bookmark Here ² 23.0.20130728 - Add-on Compatibility Reporter 2.0.1 - AniWeather 0.8.38 (Disabled) - Archive Search 0.9.2 (Disabled, Incompatible) - Autofill Forms 0.9.9.0 - AutoPager 0.8.0.8 (Disabled) - Biscuit 2.4.1 - Block site 1.1.8 (Disabled) - Browser Sign In 0.1.5 (Disabled, Incompatible) - BugMeNot 2.2 - Bulk Image Downloader 4.53.0.0 - Danbooru Uploader 0.5.1 (Disabled) - DeSopa 1.4 (Disabled) - Disable Anti-Adblock 3.1 - Disconnect 1.0.1 (Disabled) - Does Amazon Ship to …? 3.0.0 (Disabled) - Domain Lookup 1.3.1 (Disabled) - DownloadHelper 4.9.21 - DownThemAll! 2.0.16 - DownThemAll! AntiContainer 1.2.3 - Easy YouTube Video Downloader 6.8 (Disabled) - eMuleSearch 0.1.2 (Disabled) - EPUBReader 1.4.2.1 (Disabled) - Extension List Dumper 1.15.2 - FavIconInLocationBar 1.0 - FEBE 7.3.0.1 (Disabled) - Firebug 1.12.4 - FireFTP 2.0.16 - FireSSH 0.94.2 - Flagfox 4.2.14 - Flash Video Downloader 4.0.7 - FlashDisable 0.9.4beta2 - FlashGot 1.5.5.94 (Disabled) - FoxyProxy Standard 4.2.3 - Ghostery 5.0.6 - Greasemonkey 1.12 - HackTheWeb 1.3.20 (Disabled) - Hide Unwanted Results of Google Search 1.4.1 - HistoryBlock 1.4.0.5 (Disabled) - Host Spy 0.4 - HTTPS-Everywhere 3.4.2 - ImageHost Grabber 1.6.6.20130722 - ImTranslator 7.3 - InvisibleHand 3.9.4 (Disabled) - JS Switch 0.2.10 - Konquefox 1.8.2 - Lazarus: Form Recovery 2.3 - list.it 0.5.0.2 (Disabled) - Long URL Please 0.5.1 - Luddite UI 0.2.8 (Disabled, Incompatible) - Megaupload heper 1.2 (Disabled) - Menu Editor 1.2.7 - MinimizeToTray revived (MinTrayR) 1.1.2 (Disabled) - murdochalert 0.2 - Nagios Checker 0.16 (Disabled) - Netcraft Anti-Phishing Toolbar 1.8.3 - Next Tab 0.2.3 (Disabled, Incompatible) - NoRedirect 1.3.2.13 - NoScript 2.6.8.5 (Disabled) - NoSquint 2.1.9 - Nuke Anything Enhanced 1.0.2 - Old Default Image Style 3.0.5 - One Click Proxy 0.307 - Open Image In New Tab (update) 1.1.2 - openSUSE Firefox Extensions 1.0.2 - Override User Agent 0.4.2 (Disabled, Incompatible) - Oxygen KDE Options 3.7 (Disabled) - Page Speed 1.12.9.1 - PageRank for Firefox 1.1.1 - Password Exporter 1.2.1 - PDF Download 3.0.0.2 (Disabled) - Places Maintenance 1.3 (Disabled) - Print Edit 10.2 - PrivacyChoice TrackerBlock 2.2 (Disabled) - ProxTube - Unblock YouTube 1.5.2 (Disabled) - Quick Maps 1.9.0 - Quick Torrent Search 20130929 - RAMBack 1.0 (Disabled) - Remove New Tab Button 1.0 (Disabled) - Restart Firefox 0.6b3 (Disabled) - Restartless Restart 9 - RightToClick 2.9.5 - S3 Firefox Organizer(S3Fox) 0.6 (Disabled) - Save as PDF 1.5 (Disabled) - Save Text To File 2.0.4 - Saved Password Editor 2.7.1 - ScrapBook 1.5.8 - Search by Image for Google 1.2.0 - Session Manager 0.8.0.8 - Showcase 0.9.5.10 - SixOrNot 0.7.3 - SPDY indicator 2.1 - SQL Inject Me 0.4.7 - Status-4-Evar 2013.10.31.22 (Disabled) - Stealthy 2.5 (Disabled) - StumbleUpon 4.16 - Stylish 1.3.3 - Suspend background tabs 1.0.1 (Disabled) - Tab Mix Plus 0.4.1.3pre.131027a3 - Tabbrowser Preferences 3.0 (Disabled) - TACO with Abine 4.53 (Disabled, Incompatible) - Test Pilot 1.2.2 - Thumbnail Zoom Plus 2.6 - TinEye Reverse Image Search 1.1 - Toggle Web Developer Toolbar 4.3 (Disabled) - TooManyTabs 1.4.3 (Disabled) - TrackMeNot 0.6.728 - Unhide Passwords 1.2.7.0 - Wallflower 1.5.1 (Disabled) - Web Developer 1.2.5 - WebRank Toolbar 4.4 - Webutation 2.0.7 - WorldIP 3.0.8 (Disabled) - Youtube MP3 Podcaster 3.0.2 - YSlow 3.1.8 - ♬ MediaPimp - Internet Radio, Save Videos, Screengrab & More 10.3 (Disabled) Only about 2/3 are activated and a small number are there to revert Firefox back to when it was good, and not a clone of miserable Chrome — but, my Firefox is a King Tiger. No, a lot of extensions don’t slow it down anymore. No, unused extemsions don’t act as a vector for disease. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/4 "2013-11-18T21:57:20Z")
W.JW. **Claverhorse**. I’m amazed that all works together. For me: Firefox 25 Firebug IE Tab XMarks iOpus iMacros That’s enough. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/5 "2013-11-18T22:00:00Z")
My basics for safer and faster browsing are: Adblock Plus Flashblock Disconnect Ghostery I also like TabGroups Manager, it lets you make major tabs which have a subtabs bare below. I separate my major tabs into work, research, and personal. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/6 "2013-11-18T22:00:51Z")
Adblock and Flashblock. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/7 "2013-11-18T22:10:13Z")
1Password. That’s it. I don’t have Adobe Flash installed, which makes an ad blocker much less important. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/8 "2013-11-18T22:18:40Z")
Seems a bit like what I expected in that Adblock and similar extensions are popular, but I’m surprised only **Claverhouse** has (so far) listed many items (and I must admit I chuckled a bit that the Extension List Dumper extension is a real thing). > [@Claverhouse](#): > > No, a lot of extensions don’t slow it down anymore. That’s good to know. The rest of you seem to have just a few that you depend on, not unlike myself. I wonder if my impression there are many users with tons of extensions installed was mistaken (or they just haven’t responded here). Anyway, perhaps we can expand the original intent to also recommend a couple (or a few) you consider essential. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vegetable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Space\_Vegetable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vegetable)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/9 "2013-11-19T03:57:46Z")
Adblock Plus Add-on Compatibility Reporter AutoFormer (helps with filling in stubborn forms) DownloadHelper DownThemAll DragIt (so I can drag selected text and automatically Google for it in a new tab) Exif Viewer Flashblock FxIF (I’m pretty sure I only use one of the EXIF viewers, not sure which one) Google Translator IE View Image Zoom Keyconfig Old Default Image Style Tab Mix Plus Web Developer Plus some that are turned off. Firefox 25. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/10 "2013-11-19T04:33:07Z")
Absolutely none. Chrome’s the most common browser I use. Don’t need no extensions. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/11 "2013-11-19T07:55:49Z")
AdBlock Plus Awesome Screenshot Better Privacy Colorful Tabs Downloads in Tab Downthemall DuckDuckGo Plus FoxyProxy Standard HTTPS Finder NoScript Pentadactyl Reddit Enhancement Suite TinEye \*Image Search Tree Style Tab Disabled: Download Helper Fire Gloves Firebug Ghostery Last Tab Close Button Left Side Star Skip Screen Tile Tabs Also, FXOpera. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/12 "2013-11-19T09:46:26Z")
Currently running are the following: [ul] [li]Adblock Plus[/li][li]Add-on Update Checker[/li][li]BitTorrent WebUI[/li][li]Cleanest Addon Manager[/li][li]CustomAppButton[/li][li]Download Panel Tweaks[/li][li]Element Hiding Helper for Adblock Plus[/li][li]Flashblock[/li][li]Gmail Notifier[/li][li]Google Translator for Firefox[/li][li]Google/Yandex search link fix[/li][li]Greasemonkey[/li][li]Image Zoom[/li][li]No XPI Install Delay[/li][li]NoSquint[/li][li]PDF Viewer[/li][li]Restartless Restart[/li][li]Resurrect Pages[/li][li]RightBar[/li][li]RightToClick[/li][li]Saved Password Editor[/li][li]Session Manager[/li][li]Status-4-Evar[/li][li]Stylish[/li][li]Suspend Tab[/li][li]Tab Mix Plus[/li][li]Text Link[/li][li]Theme Font & Size Changer[/li][li]UpdateBookmark[/li][li]Vlc context menu[/li][/ul] The slowdown is less of an issue now that I’ve got Suspend Tab. The main reason things slow down is running out of memory. It does suck that it takes Firefox nearly three times as long to start. List of addons I have but are currently off: [ul] [li]avast! Online Security[/li][li]checkCompatibility[/li][li]Cookies Manager+[/li][li]Custom Toolbar Buttons[/li][li]FEBE[/li][li]Firecookie[/li][li]Flash Video Downloader[/li][li]Force Content-Type[/li][li]InlineDisposition[/li][li]Replace Bookmark[/li][li]SQLite Manager[/li][li]Low Quality Flash[/li][li]Personas Plus[/li][li]UAControl[/li][li]Who stole my pictures?[/li][li]YesScript[/li][/ul] BTW, how sad is it that it took an SDMB thread to get me to organize these? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/13 "2013-11-19T09:54:54Z")
Adblock Plus - To shutdown Facebook’s tracking and assorted other bloated scripts, like on the Huffington Post. DownloadHelper - So I can rewatch series from Youtube or Blip without re-downloading the whole thing. Modify Headers - A way of telling US-only websites “Oh, I’m just picking this up for a friend. Honest.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/14 "2013-11-19T10:12:55Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Adblock Plus - To shutdown Facebook’s tracking and assorted other bloated scripts, like on the Huffington Post. I just added Ghostery for a similar reason (posts here reminded me), I’ve read that killing trackers can speed things up, and I must admit that [Cracked.com](http://Cracked.com), one of the worst offenders before, now loads up pretty quick. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/15 "2013-11-19T13:01:52Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > So I’m just wondering how many browser extensions you have, and how much you use them. I know there’s probably stuff out there I would find useful enough to overcome my slight distaste in adding unnecessarily to the browser, so tell me what I’m missing! I have a similar list to yours, actually. **Chrome Browser** [ul] [li]AdBlock[/li][li]DoNotTrackMe[/li][li]Pocket[/li][li]LastPass[/li][li]Google Voice[/li][li]Chrome to Phone[/li][li]Evernote Web Clipper[/li][/ul] The first two are hidden and work behind the scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/16 "2013-11-19T16:44:09Z")
Appreciate the responses, everybody. There seems to be a split between those of us who have just a few essentials and those of you who have a bunch. Also the Firefox slowdown issue apparently affects startup but possibly not the running process itself (?). Of the many extensions listed, it looks like quite a few are specific-use cases where you wouldn’t necessarily want or need them unless you did a lot of their specialty (downloads, for instance). Which is the intended scenario for extensions, so not surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/17 "2013-11-19T18:07:15Z")
Using Chrome Adblock Plus Add to Amazon Wish List Bookmark Sentry ChromeAccess FlashBlock Google Dictionary Hangouts IT Tab Multi Notifier for Twitter Pocket RSS Subscription Extension SDMB highlight old threads The Old Reader Notifier ---
**Author:** ![allenp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@allenp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/allenp)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-extensions-do-you-use/674205/18 "2013-11-20T08:03:20Z")
First and foremost, ADBLOCK, can not stress how important this one is!!! And along with that I have ghostery to help keep things private. When I’m not suing the torch browser I also use IDM and uTorrent for downloading content and hola for unblocking sites. Feedly for an RSS feed is good. And then whatever else is of interest.