10 Killer Firefox Extensions That You Probably Don’t Know About

Mon, Mar 10, 2008, by Seanwin

Browsers

The best Firefox Extensions out there, right here.

This isn’t the usual list of extensions that everyone is used to using, but 10 add-ons that many may not know about, but can be very useful for everyday web browsing.

1. PicLens

PicLens instantly transforms your browser into a full-screen 3D experience for viewing images across the web. Makes browsing through pictures a wonderful experience. The interactive 3D Wall and built-in search function, lets you effortlessly drag, click, zoom, and zip your way around a wall of pictures for an amazing viewing experience.

2. Snap Links

You know the times where you have been trying to find something through a search engine, but you have to go through every link one by one in order to find it? All of us have been there, but now with just one click you can open multiple searches with Snap Links. Snap Links allows users to easily open multiple links in new tabs by drawing a box around them.

3. Tab Scope

With Tab Scope you can hover over a tab to get an instant preview of the web page. The cool thing is you have real time navigation, zoom, and you can even click on links without having to switch tabs.

4. Reminder Fox

This is for those who spend hours on Firefox, including myself. Reminder Fox is an extension that displays and manages to do’s. It can set reminders and alert you at the appropriate moment.

5. Download Statusbar

You can view and manage downloads in a small status bar in the corner of the screen, without having that download window get in your way.

6. HyperWords

This add-on makes every word interactive by adding a very handy options menu when you hover over it. Just think, you are viewing a map, and you hover over a location name and you get the option to locate it, search it, or get any information you want on it. Possibilities are endless!

7. Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer

If you’re like me and use Firefox on multiple computers, you’ll want Foxmarks. All you have to do is install Foxmarks on each computer and without you knowing, it will synchronize your bookmarks for you. You can also log onto my.foxmarks.com to have access to your bookmarks where ever you go.

8. Tab Effect

It adds a nice effect to Firefox by simulating a 3D cube being turned when switching through tabs.

9. Cooliris Previews

Cooliris Preview allows you to surf through the web faster by giving you a small preview of the website, without you even having to click on it. Just imagine, surfing without wasting time by clicking on links and coming to realize that it wasn’t even close to what you were looking for. All you have to do is just mouse over any link, and the Cooliris preview window immediately appears in order to show you the content.

10. StumbleUpon

This is by far the best add-on out there. It discovers websites based on your interests, and learns what you like. A fair warning to those that want to download this, it’s so great that you will find yourself spending more time than you thought possible surfing around the web. It basically feels like the first time you got high speed internet.

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151 Comments For This Post

  1. Shawny Nevill Says:

    i use a few of these and from now on will use a few more, nice article

  2. Peter Says:

    I have to say great info for Firefox users. I had no idea there were so many useful downloads that can make your web browsing even more enjoyable. I downloaded almost all of them and I have to say that its going to be tough leaving my computer, now that I have the Stumble Upon extension installed. Thanks

  3. jesse Says:

    my friend lane is an incredibly gifted surfer dude – not like surfing on the ocean – though he probably could do that because he is so skilled – but rather a surfer dude as in the internet. he is a master at it and he highly recommended this cool article and i am happy he did! he surfs the internet like i fish the lakes.

  4. Niki Says:

    Cool!

  5. Alex Santeria Says:

    Firefox really does have some great extensions!

  6. Ray Says:

    Very cool man! i love firefox just because of these reasons

  7. PassinGass Says:

    i’m tempted to use the Tab Scope but how much memory will it consume?

  8. Seanwin Says:

    I have it installed on a few computers, including an old p4 processor and I have to say you can’t even notice a difference. It pops up right when you put your cursor on the tab, and you can even change the speed in order to give it a little delay.

  9. Alex Says:

    Granted, a couple of these MAY be useful, but most are just conceptual. I doubt I’d really need them in day to day browsing – some of them can actually become a nuisance on occasion.

  10. Farhan Says:

    What about AdBlock Plus!!! Its AWESOME :)

  11. manoj Says:

    thanks few are new to me..will try them now

  12. Rob Says:

    the sad thing is i know all those exts and i have all those exts.

  13. Jay from Canada Says:

    Very impressive post. I’ve tried 5 from the list and while I ended up unloading one, there are a few gems here. Very impressed by Hyperwords & Tabscope in particular.

  14. Ricardo M. Says:

    I’ll like to add the Firebug and the web developer for work.

  15. Thom Says:

    You should really state whether it’s Windows-only on those that apply. For example, Tab Effect.

  16. Hans Says:

    Tab Effect… requires DirectX 8.0…

    There are still web developers who use Windows???

  17. uh Says:

    PicLens doesn’t work on Linux.

  18. DforDummy Says:

    Somebody slap Jesse from comment number 3.

  19. Angie Says:

    My aunt has firefox and enjoys it.

  20. Aunt Says:

    Yeah, this list is good for all the aunts. Nice article to get digged. But been there, done that kinda list.

    Go here for a better list! http://xploreweb.blogspot.com/

  21. MaxX Says:

    Real nice article. Yeah, Firefox extensions are really cool. I love the one that helps me download cool videos online. :)

  22. Chris Grooms Says:

    Cooliris is nothing short of annoying.

  23. Darlene McFarlanle Says:

    I was browsing through the Firefox extensions a few days ago and came across the ones you have listed here. I wasn’t sure what some of them were for but, after reading your article I know which ones I want to use.

    Great article!

  24. Shawn Says:

    I love Firefox but it uses so much memory. Does anyone else have this problem?

  25. Has the world become a cooliris advert? Says:

    I know nothing of their stuff, maybe great.. but am I the only one feeling like they’re being stabbed in the eye with a PicLens boost every time I visit a new blog?

    Or maybe I’m just late getting to this meme? Yay plugins.. best plugin ever (for me) would have to be the firebug plugin. Every day it makes my life a little easier. And OK, I’m going to try out this PicLens thing.. but if it doesn’t increase my joy at least 15%.. ooh.. /me waves finger ominously.

    Cheers

  26. redx Says:

    What version of firefox are you running?

    No script and the various firefox betas do an awful lot to decrease the memory footprint. No script is also pretty great if you care about your privacy and are lazy(like me).

  27. corncob Says:

    I like cheese.

  28. Sweeeet Says:

    Thanks!

  29. Torley Says:

    Great compilation, well-illustrated with screenshots! I discovered PicLens recently and I agree, what a fun and rewarding way to visually browse the web!

  30. Dragos Says:

    I used download status bar and i am very satisfied with it.
    After i read your post i installed tab scope+tab effect, just from pure curiosity.
    _____________________________
    http://websitetools.110mb.com

  31. Louis Says:

    StumbleUpon and Hyperwords are practically useless, strictly only for those who think the web isn’t cluttered enough. The world would be better if they were wiped.

  32. Popple Says:

    What about an extension that stops FF from crashing on my Mac?
    I’ve had to go back to Safari because FF crashes so much!

  33. Jjames Says:

    great article

  34. Peter Says:

    Are you serious that you didn’t know there were extension for firefox. ffs

  35. mr tips Says:

    meh.

  36. contempozine Says:

    Thank you! What a great article. I am glad Digg is around so that I could find this post. I have seen others, but the seem to focus on more technical fare.

    CONTEMPOZINE – cool gifts for men

  37. Austin Says:

    For bookmarks (and other stuff as well), I use Google Browser Sync. It’s pretty nice. Just throwing another one into the fray.

  38. Bob Says:

    I really like Jeteye as a bookmarking service. The extension for Firefox is great and I much prefer all my stuff on their server than worry about syncing bookmarks to each of my computers. It does more than just links, you can save mark images as well as drag and drop snippets of text.

  39. Paul Says:

    IE tab is nice

  40. Phil Says:

    What about “Save Image In Folder 1.2″

    Speeds up photo saving!!!!

  41. skylights Says:

    Actually, I do know about these, and so do most other people. Many of them are among the most popular extensions for Firefox:

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:1/cat:all/sort:popular

  42. Josh Says:

    One extensions that I have yet to see is something that can save a whole web browsing session tabs and everything.. Similar to when firefox crashes and asks to “Restore Session” and all the webpages (tabs) that were previously loaded reloads. If there is such a thing, please let me know.. If not.. I hope a developer reads this…. Cheers!

  43. joshisgay Says:

    greasmonkey is good too

  44. WebDev Says:

    Meh, Color Picker and Firebug are all you need.

  45. Shualiko Says:

    Super DragAndGo

    The best one of them all

  46. meh Says:

    #52, here are two addons that can do that for you, I personally use Session Manager

    Tab Mix Plus https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122
    Session Manager https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2324

  47. Nelson Doyle Says:

    Excellent article with loads of useful FireFox tips. I’ll pass this along to my friends’ networks.

    Nelson Doyle

  48. Earle Says:

    here are some little known FF security extensions that I use daily

    FIREFOX SECURITY EXTENSIONS

    Dr.Web anti-virus link checker :: Firefox Add-ons –
    https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/938

    LinkChecker :: Firefox Add-ons –
    https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/532

    Finjan
    http://securebrowsing.finjan.com/

    BlockSite :: Firefox Add-ons
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3145

  49. Lazer Says:

    I already have about 10-15 add-ons, they’re a joy, yet I only had one of these.
    That’s about to change.
    Excellent compilation.

  50. overflow:hidden Says:

    StumbleUpon,Foxmarks, Bookmark Synchronizer, Cooliris Previews & Download Statusbar are all on the mozilla recommended add-on page.

    So they’re hardly Extensions That You Probably Dont Know About

  51. Beeyo Says:

    Opera has some of that stuff built into it. I prefer Opera’s interface too. It has better features.

  52. Beeyo Says:

    Opera has some of that stuff built into it. I prefer Opera’s interface too. It has better features.

  53. Pat Says:

    Very Helpful I downloaded a lot of them because I had no idea there were so many crazy extensions. great article.

  54. Jim Says:

    Hyperwords is useless? That’s possibly the most ignorant statement I’ve ever seen.

    Adblock plus, tab mix plus, mr. tech’s local install and hyperwords are the 4 extensions I would not do without.

  55. JQ Says:

    I assume many of you have already seen Zotero. If not, and if you do anything that requires organizing information and references (for instance, if you’re a student or a professor), then get it.

  56. learoid Says:

    dahh where have you all been

  57. opshuninger Says:

    for the occasional browser using firefox, the recommended are adblock, flashblock, noscript, and speed dial.

    the rest are toys.

  58. Susan Says:

    Worse than useless – it gets me interested in using something that would help, but doesn’t give a link to get to it.

  59. Paul Says:

    Try clicking the picture my brother, the link is embedded in the pic
    cheers

  60. Joe Smith Says:

    This is actually a legitimate list, thanks for compiling these :)

  61. Andy Says:

    Some of the add-ons don’t work for FF 2.0.0.12, others don’t have any FF3 versions in beta.
    Otherwise, not a bad list. BTW, download status bar is included in FF3.
    Tab Scope, don’t really see the point in that one really.

  62. Jim Says:

    Here’s one I like Session manager (message #51 Josh should check it out to). Other than that a good list although some do become a bit of a pain in the butt after a while namely Cooliris, even so i,ve still had it installed for months.

  63. Double Up Says:

    Once again Firefox Raises the bar of internet surfing.

  64. Avyaya Says:

    A must have list of tools.

    Thanks for composing such an awesome list of tools.

    Thanks.
    http://avyaya.wordpress.com

  65. keegan Says:

    i have a red bike

  66. dean Says:

    yeah opera has a better interface adn is less cpu intensive, adn has alot of this built in to liek speed dial, th emagic wand for pass words, but it dotn have pic lens sad to say.

  67. John Ridley Says:

    LiveJournal put something almost exactly like Cooliris on their site; it bugs the heck out of me and I took some extra time to figure out how to turn it off.

    Some of these are good though, nice review of some of the lesser-known extensions. I’ve been using Download Statusbar for a while and like that. I may try some of these others once they get updated for Firefox 3, which I’m now running.

  68. Frank Says:

    Wow, these are the most useLESS extensions I ever saw!

    I have Delicious bookmarks, PDF Download and iMacros – these 3 make me REALLY more productive!

  69. Paul Says:

    Hi
    Try i.EOS extension http://i.eos.pl/

  70. z0mbie Says:

    My pick: AdBlock Plus, Firebug, SEO For Firefox, del.icio.us Bookmarks

  71. UncleDannie Says:

    Bummer. Almost all of them are incompatible with v3 Beta of Firefox. I could never understand why Mozilla would work on an upgrade, yet it was just backward compatible with other add-ons.

  72. phuckin'digger Says:

    DO NOT!! I MEAN DO NOT INSTALL STUMBLE application

    p.s. I havent sleep in 40 hours

    so dont do it 4 real

  73. CHAN LEE PENG Says:

    Good post, thanks!

  74. Pierre Says:

    yo dis is mad sick i love usin it

  75. ephraim turujaun Says:

    I am actually using Firefox all day with Stumble Upon and that was so, so, so great…. More POWER your all Great Guys!!!

  76. Abhisek Says:

    Dude i thank you a lot for letting me know all there extentions…. i never knew… the piclens thing was the best…

  77. Baxter Says:

    I use Adblock Plus, Adblock Filterset G Updater, Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer, IE Tab, Map+, No Script, Statusbar Clock, StumbleUpon, Talkback, Update Notifier.

    StumbleUpon. I’ve found some awesome sites using it. Its fun!
    Update Notifier. Lets me know about updates on ALL my add-ons.

    I found Cooliris annoying too and got rid of it.

  78. Marie Culver Says:

    I am surprised by so few comments about NoScript. While there may be users that never run across issues with scripts, NoScript does noticeably reduce the number of browser errors resulting from problem scripts and has reduced the number of security alerts I receive from Norton.

    Another great add-on is the StopAutoplay. I hate when I’m doing browsing and suddenly get blasted by what somebody calls “music” but sounds like junk noise to me. Stop Autoplay makes it so I can choose whether or not media should play.

    Between NoScript and StopAutoplay, my browsing experience is at least 80% more pleasant.

  79. Manojr Tiwari Says:

    Its great thanks a lot but most of not compatible with Firefox 3b4.
    plz provide a list that for 3b4.

    thanks
    http://mannuforall.blogspot.com

  80. david irvine Says:

    loving the 3d tabs effect and tab scope. Nice action.

  81. huj Says:

    ale hujostwo

  82. reg Says:

    Great finds! Have been using Download Statusbar for sometime now and I love it. Will add several of these listed.

  83. james Says:

    great extentions and great article

  84. rupok93 Says:

    this is one of the best guides i have ever seen. Dude your awsome.
    thx for the knowledge.

  85. Kamilion Says:

    For all of us using firefox 3, here’s a real neat trick…

    NO EXTENSION NEEDED!
    Highlight some text so it turns blue, then drag the highlighted text to the address bar or google search. If the text starts with http:// you will be taken there automatically. No need for URLink anymore with FF3!

  86. Ken Evans Says:

    This is a great article but you didn’t add my favourite Firefox add on. Video DownloadHelper lets you download all the web links you are looking at to a file of your choice but the best thing of all is the ability to download videos from sites including youtube and many more. If theres a video on the web page, this programme will download it to your computer.

  87. Ken Evans Says:

    Forgot to place the link for DownloadHelper:

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006

    It really is the coolest thing ever ;0)

  88. Zoe Says:

    I’m gonna try out Snap Links. Great post!

  89. Ken Says:

    For a moment I thought you said, “It basically feels like the first time you got high on speed internet.”

  90. Pawprint Says:

    Thanks for someone who is’nt all that computer literate this really helps to know that there is helppers out there.

  91. saamy Says:

    I was browsing through the Firefox extensions a few days ago and came across the ones you have listed here. I wasn’t sure what some of them were for but, after reading your article I know which ones I want to use.

  92. CM Says:

    When I middle-click a click (open it in a new tab), the tab opens quicker than when I actually open a new blank tab with Ctrl+T. IE6 (Windows Live Toolbar) seems to be better although IE6 isn’t a tabbed-browsing enabled browser. Safari and Opera are the winners. :)

    By the way, we also have Speed Dial for Firefox. Just Google for it. Thanks for telling us about the thumbnail tab preview, which is built-in in Opera 9. What else extensions will be there that utilize Opera integrated functions? ;)

  93. Me Says:

    Know about all of them and already use most of them.
    Some of them don’t work in FF3.

  94. rc primak Says:

    With all of these Firefox Extensions, I’m surprised no one has mentioned FEBE 6.x (Get it through the developer’s Home Page — otherwise it won’t work with FF 3!). This Extension lets you back up your Firefox Extensions and settings to an external file. Great for restoring everything instead of going back and searching all over again.

  95. Mudkips Says:

    4chan extension + ReloadEvery + DownloadAll = WIN

  96. godofserpents Says:

    Is there a plugin which auto corrects text which I type in a text box in the browser? like the auto correct in word.

  97. 3mikey1 Says:

    Dude, there are SO many people that know about stumble Upon, in fact, THAT’S HOW I FOUND THIS SITE!

  98. DAFOX HAS LANDED Says:

    adblock plus just a memory hog,just download a host script and embed it in explorer shell (MVPS)-no add problems no more and no memory hog.
    Try Tamper Data a great addon+informEnter oh and ie tab for the dinosaur sites that are too lazy to code there web sites for other browsers like firefox.

  99. John Hopkins Says:

    I went to look at this to see if I ddint have any. HAd them all. Thats how much of a firefox freak I am. Love it and great Addons.

    http://www.healthmad.com/Nutrition/Food-That-Tastes-Good-and-is-Good-for-You.309079

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  101. ren Says:

    good list

    Some more firefox plugins to add to your list
    http://www.shankh.com/?page_id=35

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  103. Raja Says:

    Great list of Addons. Was very helpful.

  104. wtbrit Says:

    I don’t know much about foxfire, but the more I see the more I like!

  105. KJ Says:

    Neat article. Thanks!

  106. Rameez Says:

    liked it

  107. cmr Says:

    here is my comment

  108. SCC Says:

    I haven’t heard of snap links, but now I will check it out!
    THANKS!

  109. AC Says:

    Liked it!

  110. MES Says:

    liked it!

  111. bll Says:

    liked it!

  112. kyrious Says:

    very useful information i’m always on a search for a new download

  113. akr Says:

    liked it

  114. Darlena Says:

    DSR

  115. smith Says:

    thanks few are new to me..will try them now

  116. momof3 Says:

    Ah some of these may be useful for work! jmp

  117. PC Says:

    Pretty nice… This can come in handy.. HAHAHA!

  118. Sherlyn Says:

    Lots of useful tools and add ons. Thanks for all the interesting information!

  119. mini Says:

    Nice information about firefox. I liked it.

  120. Tomi Says:

    I love firefox and most of their add-ons. There’s so many things I can do with firefox that would take ages on IE.

  121. mark Says:

    i just love all of the extensions for firefox, and websites like this that help me find the better ones.

  122. Samantha Schuh Says:

    SJS

  123. big nasty Says:

    i’m big nasty wat bout all yall

  124. sunshiine Says:

    imaaaaaaaaaaa rrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaallllllllll gggggggggggggg

    yall can suck blue ball FLAT!

  125. rthr Says:

    wats hood stanky ass

  126. Journeys Says:

    Stumble upon is the coolest and I and gonna try hyper words. Thanks for the Info

  127. Steven Schuh Says:

    hi

  128. sikiş Says:

    wats hood stanky ass

  129. sikiş Says:

    But I think they can not be more popular then Google. The reason is that Google has more other quality free services.

  130. mithusaha143 Says:

    These are absolutely the best Firefox extension collection all at one place. You always provide support us in our internet marketing goals. Keep up the good work.

  131. yuz estetigi Says:

    A logical approach. But I think there is missing information.

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