Browser Extensions

The best thing to happen to the internet in the past 20 years is web-browser extensions (or add-ons). These are a few of my favorites and they exist for both Firefox or Chrome (Safari, Vivaldi, Brave, Edge, etc. all use Chrome).

Quick List

    DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials

    Prevents third-party blockers and other privacy enhancements for your web browsing. No more websites tracking your activity after you leave! Ever wonder why you see an ad on Facebook for something like “panda food” when you search in Google? That’s why. You can stop it with this. In addition, it also offers to set DuckDuckGo as your default search engine, which is my favorite. Ads are relevant to what you search for and not your history.

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/duckduckgo-privacy-essent/bkdgflcldnnnapblkhphbgpggdiikppg?hl=en-US

    uBlock Origin

    Speak of ads, you can block them with this if you don’t have a PiHole as I do. There are a lot of adblockers out there, but this one has incredible blocklist support and low memory usage. The best blocklists are here: https://firebog.net

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en-US

    I don’t care about cookies

    The point of this extension is to remove the annoying privacy setting popups that appear on basically every webpage now thanks to the GDPR. I mean this sarcastically and seriously. On one hand, it’s great that websites have to get your consent on what information they can store on your computer, but on the other hand, every site has unique settings and has to ask your permission to do so. Since you have the DuckDuckGo privacy essentials, you probably don’t care about cookies anymore. This extension removes those annoying questions.

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/i-dont-care-about-cookies/fihnjjcciajhdojfnbdddfaoknhalnja?hl=en-US

    Grammarly

    Not for everyone, but this checks your grammar as you type. Since I write articles like this, it’s very useful.

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/grammarly-for-chrome/kbfnbcaeplbcioakkpcpgfkobkghlhen?hl=en-US

    LastPass

    In a few words, this stores and auto-fills passwords, contact information, and credit cards for you. It also works across browsers and platforms, though using it on your phone costs $25/year. It works fantastic on applications too. The only password I know is this one.

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lastpass-free-password-ma/hdokiejnpimakedhajhdlcegeplioahd?hl=en-US

    Save to Pocket

    This application is actually owned by Mozilla (Firefox), but it’s amazing anywhere. If you ever come across something you want to read later but don’t want to keep a thousand tabs open, then Pocket is a perfect choice. It also eliminates a lot of the fluff on websites so it displays only text. I like the platform compatibility so if I see something at work that catches my eye, I can save it to read later on my phone.

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/save-to-pocket/niloccemoadcdkdjlinkgdfekeahmflj?hl=en-US

    Smart HTTPS

    This extension forces HTTPS, a secure protocol for browsing the web. Not all websites are configured smart to force encryption, so anything you fill out in forms could be easily exposed. This extension prevents that from happening.

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/smart-https/cmleijjdpceldbelpnpkddofmcmcaknm?hl=en-US

    Wayback Machine

    Ever come across a website that is down? Maybe it’s temporary and maybe it’s forever, but this extension will allow you to see an archived version of that website. (Side note: this will also get you around school/work filters that prevent you from a certain website.). If you want to see an older version of a website because you swore something changed, you can do that too.

    Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/wayback-machine/fpnmgdkabkmnadcjpehmlllkndpkmiak?hl=en-US

    Worth mentioning:

    Tab Suspender: This is great for laptops. There’s a setting you can set where it only suspends tabs when you’re on “battery mode”. Tab Suspender saves memory and CPU power by suspending (or pausing) tabs until you visit them again, which is why this is great on laptops and not so much for desktop computers.

    Honey: It automatically applies coupons to shopping sites when it finds a coupon for wherever you’re shopping. If you like to shop at multiple places online like BestBuy, Macys, etc., then this is a great extension. I don’t use this since I pretty much only buy used stuff or Amazon