by Maxwell Payne

Created on: August 11, 2007

Mozilla Firefox is an amazing internet browser and part of the reason for it being as such is the accessibility that Firefox users have to tons of free add-ons (extensions) that do everything from entertain and inform to protect and secure your web experience. But with all the extensions to choose from how do you decide which are the best for your needs?

While all internet users have slightly different needs, I have compiled a short list of some of the best extensions that every Firefox user should be using to get the best web browsing experience possible.

- Adblock Plus: This is a top rated extension that many users swear by. Adblock Plus is an extension that through a constantly updated list of ads and ad server information is able to effectively block many of those annoying ads that pop up, slow down page loads, and seem to take over every website you view. You can view your favorite sites minus the pesky ads. Plus ad free pages tend to load quicker, lessen your risk of being phished or infected, and save your vision from sometimes blinding bright colored ads. You can even allow ads on certain sites and block individual ads that may have slipped by. A must have for dial up users for whom this program will speed up page load times quite well.

- KeyScrambler Personal: A great extension that encrypts every keystroke you type so that keyloggers can't record and transmit your keystrokes and what you type to hackers, criminals, and malicious computers. It is an easy way to protect valuable information such as online banking, passwords, and more. One downside is that this program is not yet available for Macs.

- Fasterfox: This small extension not only shows you how long it took for that web page to load, it also helps make pages load quicker. It does so through a mix of additional browser caching and optimizing network connections and browser defaults.

- Distrust: One of the many extensions that allow you to 'cover your tracks' when it comes to your online activities. With various settings, this program will allow you to surf without page histories, saved passwords, caches, or anything else left behind. Downside of it is that without these things your web browsing may be slowed since re-visited pages will have little to no past data to load from.

These are just a fraction of the great extensions available to Firefox. Other cool categories of extensions available include in-browser audio controls, download virus scanners, RSS feeds of everything from news to weather, and much more. The best part about Firefox and the add-ons? It is all 100% free and is driven by a diverse community of programmers and users with your online enjoyment and security in mind.

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