The internet is a much different place now than it was even 10 years ago. Google Chrome now dominates where Internet Explorer used to rule, and with the advent of web browsers with more flexible architectures, users now have more control over their web browsing experience.
I prefer Firefox over Chrome now due to the privacy concerns about data collection I have with Google. However, both Firefox and Chrome have excellent choices as far as extensions go to keep you producive and safe, so don’t fret if you’re on the Firefox train yet.
I’ll break this post down into two categories of extensions to consider: * Security Extensions * Productivity Extensions
Security Extensions
Under this category I consider things that will protect your privacy on the internet (assuming you don’t want to go down the Tor route). This includes blocking trackers, protecting passwords, ad blocking, and more.
Password Managers
Using the same password everywhere is playing with fire. All it takes is one hacker getting in on one site, and now they know your information for every site. Password managers are a great way to autogenerate passwords and have them available on both desktop and mobile devices. I’ve had good luck using LastPass (2024 Update - please don’t use LastPass! I now recommend Bitwarden), but I know there are alternatives available (KeePass, 1Password) if you aren’t comfortable with that particular tool.
HTTPS Everywhere
This extension makes sure your connections are https whenever possible (as opposed to http). This makes any communication you do on websites far more secure.
Decentraleyes
This extension (to put it simply) comes bundled with some commonly used files that websites generally rely on hitting third-party servers for to load. (Web developers rely on the third-party options because they are cheaper.) Thus, this extension helps to save on both bandwidth and privacy concerns, and this extension is built to complement a lot of other common privacy tools.
Ad Blockers
These are the ones most people have probably heard of before. uBlock Origin is currently the best one out there. Ghostery is also one, but does a bit of everything; it blocks ads, stops trackers, and speeds up websites (according to its tagline). If you want to support a website/creator I recommending turning the blocker off for them so that they can get the advertising revenue, but if you’re venturing into a site where you’re not sure about the content’s reliability, having an ad blocker on can save you a lot of headaches.
Productivity Extensions
Under this category I consider things that will help you stop wasting time on social media or other time-consuming sites.
News Feed Eradicator
If you’re prone to mindless scrolling on social media websites, this extension replaces the news feed with an inspirational quote to motivate you against continuing that habit. Often, this extension adds enough friction that saves me from doomscrolling about the state of the world. Currently, the extension supports blocking feeds on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit. It’s personally not as useful to me now that I’ve stepped back heavily from social media, but keeping that barrier help has added additional insurance that I won’t slip back into old habits.
Distraction-Free YouTube
YouTube is still my biggest weakness when it comes to bad internet habits. This extension is a livesaver, though, as it clears out the clutter that causes you to waste time on YouTube. You can block comments, hide sidebar recommendations, and disable autoplay. It makes the viewing experience much calmer.
LeechBlock
This extension will limit access to websites that you don’t want to visit in moments of weak willpower. You can give yourself a set time period every day to look at a site if you just want to reduce usage, or if the site isn’t adding any value to your life, you can block access to it entirely. The extension also adds friction to be able to change which sites are accessible or not, and you can determine how severe that friction is. (I have it set up so I have to type in a randomly-generated 32 digit password before I can change things.)
Conclusion
The biggest risk with the productivity extensions is just turning them off in the browser menu. It can be very tempting to turn off the ones that add a lot of friction to doing mindless activities, but try to stay vigilant and keep them on.
If you’re curious to research more extensions, here is a link to the variety of extensions available in Firefox. Depending on your needs you can find something useful there.
Happy web browsing!