Build the Perfect Browser

We tested dozens of add-ons to find tools that make the new versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox even more useful.

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Introduction
Today's browsers are sophisticated and highly functional programs--but they can become so much more. Here are 46 great (and free) add-ons for Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 that offer safer browsing, easier site sharing, improved searching, faster news gathering, and more. Plus, we offer tips to help you manage add-ons in both apps without bogging down your browser. To download any extension listed in this story, jump to "Add-Ons for Downloading." For many more add-ons, visit Add-Ons for Internet Explorer or Firefox Add-ons.
Bookmarks and Searching: Instant Information Access
Many browser add-ons automatically save your bookmarks online and allow you to reach them from any PC, or they synchronize all of your regular bookmarks among multiple systems. Some of the add-ons in this category also introduce better searching or sync your log-on information in multiple browsers--and one even checks for spyware.

Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer An extension that focuses on performing one function exceptionally well, Foxmarks synchronizes your regular Firefox bookmarks between multiple computers. It has excellent setup options, too.

Yahoo Toolbar One of this application's many features is the ability to create Web-based bookmarks (separate from your system-based bookmarks) that are accessible from any of your other browsers that have the toolbar installed. The applet also provides quick access to Yahoo Mail and other Yahoo services, and includes a free Norton spyware scanner.

Google Toolbar This program supports Web-based bookmarking, in much the same way that Yahoo Toolbar does. It throws in a spelling checker and a form autofilling feature, but overall it doesn't tie in with the panoply of available Google services as well as Yahoo Toolbar does with the corresponding Yahoo universe.

1-Click Answers With this add-on in place, you can right-click any word or phrase on a page and get a small pop-up with a definition or explanation from Answers.com. To turn off the annoying news pop-ups, change the appropriate setting in Preferences, which you can access via a system tray icon.

Google Browser Sync Synchronize your choice of bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history, and cookies among multiple browsers with this handy application. If you have trouble getting the tool to sync your bookmarks properly (I often did), your best bet is to use this add-on for passwords and cookies and to use Foxmarks for bookmarks.




Inline Search Inline Search adds a useful Firefox-like page-search bar to the bottom of your browser window when you click the <Ctrl>-<F> hotkey.

Kikoz Bookmarks Pro Create a bookmarks sidebar that can import all of your bookmarks from IE, Firefox, and Opera and make them accessible from any IE 7 browser that has the extension installed. You can also share your Kikoz bookmarks with other Kikoz users.

Expand the search box You can add many more search engines to the quick-search boxes located in the upper-right corner of either browser. In IE, click the down arrow located to the right of the box and choose Find More Providers. In Firefox, click the arrow to the left of the box, and choose Manage Search Engines and then Get More Search Engines.


Social Browsing: Share Your Favorite Finds
Social browsing extensions harness the power of collective clicking to help you find and share the best of the Web. You can save, tag, and share a link to a hilarious new video--or an insightful market analysis--with a select group or with the world at large.

StumbleUpon This supreme time-waster and Firefox favorite is now available for Internet Explorer as well. Click a button and commence stumbling onto a huge variety of sites that have earned a thumbs-up from other Stumblers in one or more categories of your choice, or enter a particular search term in the toolbar's search box and see what comes up. Influence others' meanderings with your own site ratings and tags to help categorize sites.

Del.icio.us Save Web pages to Del.icio.us and label them with tags simply by clicking a couple of navigation-bar buttons. Afterward, access those bookmarks from anywhere, share them with friends, and browse the Del.icio.us site to see what other people think is interesting.

Del.icio.us Bookmarks Del.icio.us bookmarks are typically stored separately from your regular bookmarks; this add-on integrates them so that every new bookmark acts like a Del.icio.us bookmark. You can also view bookmarks by tags.




Trailfire Toolbar This innovative new approach to site sharing has you create a "trail"--an overlay of small markers--anywhere on a succession of sites. You can add your own critiques or call out parts of a page with comments that show up when visitors mouse over a marker. All the markers in a given trail are displayed in a sidebar, where you can click through each step or skip ahead.



Trails may be private or public, and you can share them by posting or e-mailing a link. You can also toggle whether you want to view other people's markers as you browse. The company is working on adding functionality that will show trails and markers only for selected friends.

eSnips Uploader Clip text, images, videos, or entire pages from sites with a toolbar from eSnips, and upload them to 1GB of free storage. Tag your uploaded clippings, recorded voice, or video to share it with friends or with the world.

Clipmarks Click this toolbar button, click and drag to "clip" a section of a Web page, and then save and share your clips, with tags that you define, on Clipmarks' site. You can also use the applet to print a selected portion of a page.



Master IE 7 Add-Ons
Wish you had a manual for operating IE's new add-ons manager? These explanations of the viewing options should help:
'Add-ons currently loaded in Internet Explorer': You'll typically come here for basic management.
'Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer': Unlike the preceding option, this one shows all ActiveX controls, which load only when you visit a Web page that calls on them. Be careful before deleting any controls--you may have to reinstall third-party software to restore their controls if you ever want them back.
'Downloaded ActiveX controls': This option shows only controls that you've downloaded from the Web and installed. They're generally safe to delete, because you can always redownload them.
You can enable or disable add-ons in the new manager; but to uninstall them, you'll need to go to Add or Remove Programs in the control panel.

When you go to Add-Ons for Internet Explorer and use the Advanced Search, a bug in the filtering for IE 7 add-ons won't show the many tools that work in both IE 7 and IE 6. Microsoft says it's trying to fix the problem.
You can clear unused icons from the Command Bar (next to the tabs) by right-clicking it and choosing Customize Command Bar, Add or Remove Commands.



Firefox Extension Expertise

Get the most from your trove of Firefox add-ons with these management tips:
To maximize precious toolbar space, right-click a toolbar, choose Toolbar Properties, and select Icons only. You'll have to remember what the icons represent, without text reminders, but in return you'll get a lot more open space for buttons.
To get rid of icons that you don't want, right-click a toolbar again, and choose Customize. You can drag and drop buttons between the ones shown and the ones that already appear on the toolbar.
The Firefox Addons site should be redesigned by the time you read this, making navigation and search easier. But in case it's not, to find an add-on whose name you already know, you're better off going to a search engine and typing site:addons.mozilla.org [name of add-on].
MR Tech's Local Install is the ultimate metatool for managing your add-ons. It also enables you to load old (and yet often still usable) add-ons. Be forewarned, however: It requires expert setup.


Security: Better Browsing Safety
Both IE 7 and Firefox 2 have welcome new built-in antiphishing features designed to block known phishing sites and (in the case of IE 7) to warn against unknown ones. But no single solution can spot every ill-intentioned site, especially when phishing outposts go up and down more often than a bank of elevators, in an effort to evade blacklist blocking. Supplement your security with these tools.

SiteAdvisor Get a warning icon next to potentially dangerous results from popular search engines, along with an icon in your status bar that indicates the risks and annoyances associated with the page you're viewing. The professional version of this McAfee service includes features such as e-mail and IM link checking for $20 per year.

LinkScanner Lite Much the same as SiteAdvisor, this add-on performs real-time site scanning in search of active attacks. You can scan a given URL on demand, and you can use LinkScanner side-by-side with SiteAdvisor. A Firefox version of LinkScanner is in the works; and a Pro version that automatically scans all links on a page costs $30 per year.

Password Hash This excellent tool lets you use a single password at your end but achieve the safety of generating a unique and robust password at each site. While you continue typing the same password at each site you visit that requires one, Password Hash converts that one familiar string on the fly into a series of safe and unique passwords--one for each site. And you never have to learn the special coding to benefit from its protection.

Noscript JavaScript is a very useful type of Web programming, but many online attacks exploit it. Use this plug-in to block sites from running JavaScript in Firefox until you explicitly say it's okay.

OpenDNS Not technically an add-on, OpenDNS can make your surfing faster and safer by introducing Windows configuration changes to your DNS settings, a necessary part of all browsing. It will block known malicious sites and help correct fumble-fingered mistakes such as typing pcworld.cmo. But consult your IT person before changing it at work, since you might need to keep work DNS settings to reach company servers.



RoboForm This password manager will fill in forms for you and automatically log you in to sites. You'll need an additional extension to use it with Firefox, however.

Netcraft Toolbar Use Netcraft Toolbar to get a second line of defense for blocking phishing sites that might have snuck by your browser's built-in protection.



RSS Readers: News Junkie Power-Ups
Both Internet Explorer and Firefox now have RSS feed management, but neither browser's built-in features shine. Firefox's Live Bookmarks feature improves significantly under the influence of some excellent free add-ons like Sage. So far, IE doesn't have an equivalent, but Microsoft says that IE's new feed management is meant to serve as a platform for other applications to build on--and some of these are starting to appear.

Sage This clean and functional news reader displays inside your browser and uses a bookmarks folder to store feed subscriptions. Paired with a bookmarks synchronizer like Google Browser Sync or Foxmarks, it offers easy access to all your feeds from any browser.


Bloglines Browser Plug-In Add new feed subscriptions to your personalized Bloglines feed bookmark page instead of to IE's Favorites center. You have to register for a free Bloglines account first.

Newsgator Desktop Sync This application synchronizes feeds from Internet Explorer's Favorites via a Newsgator feed page. With this tool, unlike with the Bloglines Browser Plug-In, your feeds remain stored in IE's Favorites, and a separate program that runs from the system tray handles the synchronization.


Wizz RSS News Reader This news reader will enable you to back up (and restore) your feed list to (and from) an online server--but Sage has a more intuitively organized interface.


Watch Out for Too Much of a Good Thing
All of the add-ons discussed here are free--but they can still cost you. Each uses a certain amount of system memory and could increase the time it takes your browser to start up. Add too many, and you'll notice a definite slowdown.
In informal tests, we compared the amount of memory used by Internet Explorer and Firefox with and without the Google Toolbar, FoxyTunes, SiteAdvisor, and Trailfire add-ons.

Also, some add-ons don't play nicely together. It's almost impossible to test the whole universe of possible add-on combinations in advance, but using two incompatible ones could break your browser.
If your browser is acting up and you want to see whether your extensions are at fault, try starting either browser without add-ons: For IE 7, click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then select Internet Explorer (No Addons). For Firefox 2, click Start, All Programs, Mozilla Firefox and then choose Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode). Then you can selectively disable particular add-ons by using the add-ons manager in either browser.


Browser Boosters
Too good to languish under a
Miscellaneous tag, these great add-ons don't fit into our other categories.


Quero Toolbar
This navigation-bar replacement blocks some advertisements and gives you plenty of other useful options, but its best feature is that you can use it to convey a more-familiar IE 6 look upon much of the IE 7 interface.
After installing the toolbar, choose Hide standard address/navigation bar under the Appearance option. Then consult "Master IE 7 Add-Ons" for advice on how to rearrange the toolbars to your liking; for example, you may want to move the menu bar back up top.
Unfortunately, though Quero does include a set of 18 search engines in its search box, you can't add more.



Adblock Plus This is one of the most popular Firefox add-ons, and for good reason: Adblock Plus automatically blocks online ads, based on their source URL. You can easily turn it off or tell it to display ads when you visit certain sites.


Bayden IE Power-Ups Supercharge your right-click! This collection of tools gives you new options in the right-click menu, such as looking up selected text on Wikipedia or hiding all of the images on a page at once for easier reading. There's also an option for speeding up broadband page-load times by using additional simultaneous connections.

Mouse Gestures You can save time (and a little wrist strain) by using particular mouse gestures to execute common commands. For example, you can quickly go back a page by holding the right mouse button and moving the mouse to the left.


Browser Boosters [continued]

IE Tab If you use Firefox but at times need to visit sites that display correctly only in Internet Explorer, this extension is for you. Right-click a link and choose Open in IE Tab, and you'll see the page in a Firefox tab as rendered by IE. Click a browser icon to alternate between the different views while staying in the same tab.


IE View It behaves like IE Tab, except that it starts up Internet Explorer to display a selected page.

IESpell Gain a right-click 'Check Spelling' option for text that you've entered into forms and fields.

FoxyTunes Another Firefox favorite that is now available for IE, FoxyTunes introduces a toolbar that lets you control a multitude of media players (including iTunes, WinAmp, and Windows Media Player) from inside the browser. Foxy indeed.


LeechGet Ideal for the inveterate power-downloader, LeechGet handles downloads in an external program that runs from the system tray. It can accelerate downloads by splitting files into different parts and pulling them all down at the same time. If you use Firefox, you'll need to install an extension as well as the main application to use LeechGet.

StarDownloader Like LeechGet, this program adds a download manager that runs outside the browser in the system tray. LeechGet may have more options than this application, but StarDownloader has a more straightforward interface.

All-in-One Sidebar This excellent extension creates a cleaner Firefox interface by collecting the normally separate array of add-ons and download windows and pulling them into a highly functional sidebar.

Yahoo Mail Notifier This app tucks a small icon into the lower-right corner of your browser to identify the number of unread Yahoo e-mail messages you have. You can configure it to show new e-mail alerts, too.


Browser Boosters [concluded]

Gmail Notifier This program functions in much the same way as the Yahoo Notifier, but (surprise!) for Gmail.

IE 7 Menu-on-Top Tweak This one-trick pony modifies the Registry so that the classic Menu bar goes back to the top your screen. But your other toolbars move above the navigation bar as well, so you might prefer to use the Quero Toolbar.

Forecastfox Another longtime Firefox favorite, Forecastfox adds a highly configurable toolbar showing local weather conditions and forecasts from Accuweather.com or other weather sites. Mouse over the toolbar for more detailed information, or click the toolbar to visit the site.


PDF Download If you have ever growled in frustration after accidentally clicking a PDF link and then watching your browser screech to a standstill, PDF Download can help. Whenever you click a PDF link, you'll get a pop-up asking whether you want to open the PDF as usual in the browser or save it. (Alternatively, you can change your browser settings under Options, Content, File Types to open PDF documents externally with Adobe Reader instead of with the potentially slower browser plug-in.)


ChromaTabs This program helps you navigate by introducing colored tabs that signal the particular site being loaded; you assign the tab colors initially, and ChromaTabs does the rest. Since pages keep their assigned tab color, you'll soon associate a common destination with a certain color.


Tweak Network Settings Speed up your browsing by using this application to access under-the-hood network settings via a Tools Menu options window. Two buttons included on the Tweak Network Settings interface let you quickly switch back and forth between default and suggested 'Power' settings. This arrangement is not a good idea for dial-up connections, but it could accelerate broadband load times at many sites.

Add-Ons for Downloading
Here's a linked list of all of the add-ons mentioned in this story, for easy downloading.


Browser Boosters (noncategorized)

Quero Toolbar (Internet Explorer)
Adblock Plus (Firefox)
Bayden IE Power-UPS (Internet Explorer)
Mouse Gestures (Internet Explorer)
Mouse Gestures (Firefox)
IE Tab (Firefox)
IE View (Firefox)
IE Spell (Internet Explorer)
FoxyTunes (Firefox)FoxyTunes (Internet Explorer)
LeechGet (IE and Firefox)
StarDownloader (IE and Firefox)
All-in-One Sidebar (Firefox)
Yahoo Mail Notifier (Firefox)
Gmail Notifier (Firefox)
IE 7 Menu-on-Top Tweak (Internet Explorer)
Forecastfox (Firefox)
PDF Download (Firefox)
ChromaTabs (Firefox)
Tweak Network Settings (Firefox)
MR Tech Local Install (Firefox)


Bookmarks and Searching
Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer (Firefox)
Yahoo Toolbar (Firefox)
Google Toolbar (Firefox)
1-Click Answers (Internet Explorer)
1-Click Answers (Firefox)
Google Browser Sync (Firefox)
Inline Search (Internet Explorer)
Kikoz Bookmarks Pro (Internet Explorer)


Social Browsing
StumbleUpon (IE and Firefox)
Del.ico.us (IE and Firefox)
Del.icio.us Bookmarks (Firefox)
Trailfire Toolbar (IE and Firefox)
eSnips Uploader (IE and Firefox)
Clipmarks (Firefox)


Security
SiteAdvisor (IE and Firefox)
LinkScanner Lite (Internet Explorer)
Password Hash (IE and Firefox)
Noscript (Firefox)
OpenDNS (IE and Firefox)
RoboForm (IE and Firefox)
Netcraft Toolbar (IE and Firefox)

RSS/Online News
Sage (Firefox)
Bloglines Browser Plug-In (Internet Explorer)
Newsgator Desktop Sync (Internet Explorer)
Wizz RSS News Reader (Firefox)



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