Firefox can be further enhanced by installing new Extensions (small add-ons that add new functionality), and Plug-ins (allow websites to provide content to you and have them appear in your browser). Features available vary greatly; from enhanced content blocking to weather reports or refinements to existing features – there's an Add-on available to meet your needs. Not happy with the search engines included by default? Download more.
For starters you may wish to consider some of the following extensions, suggested by myself and other TechSpot staff.
● Download Statusbar. View and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar - without the download window getting in the way of your web browsing..
● NoScript. Extra protection for your Firefox: NoScript allows JavaScript, Java and other executable content only for trusted domains of your choice, e.g. your home-banking web site. This whitelist based pre-emptive blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even unknown!) with no loss of functionality.
● VideoDownloader. Download videos to your HDD from Youtube, Google, Metacafe, iFilm, Dailymotion, and other 60+ video sites.
● IE Tab. Embeds Internet Explorer in tabs of Mozilla/Firefox. With just one click you can switch to and back to Firefox.
● Tab Mix Plus. Tab Mix Plus enhances Firefox's tab browsing capabilities. It includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more.
● Image Zoom. Easily zoom in, zoom out, fit image to screen or set custom zoom on individual images within a web page.
● Paste and Go 2. Paste and Go 2 lets you Paste Text and Load/Search it immediately.
● Adblock Plus. Ever been annoyed by all those ads and banners on the internet that often take longer to download than everything else on the page? Install Adblock Plus now and get rid of them.
● ForecastFox. Get international weather forecasts from AccuWeather.com, and display it in any toolbar or statusbar with this highly customizable and unobtrusive extension.
● Greasemonkey. Allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript. Hundreds of scripts, for a wide variety of popular sites... You can write your own scripts, too.
● Firebug. FireBug lets you explore the far corners of the DOM by keyboard or mouse. All of the tools you need to poke, prod, and monitor your JavaScript, CSS, HTML and Ajax are brought together into 1 seamless experience, including a debugger, an error console, command line, and a variety of fun inspectors.
Beyond the above suggestions, check Firefox Add-ons for many more.
To view installed Extension, load Firefox and click Tools, Add-ons.
Selecting an Extension allows you to Uninstall it, use the Update button to check for, and install, any available updates, while the Options button allows you to adjust any options available for the extension (This can vary greatly).
Themes
If you’re tired of how Firefox looks, that’s another problem easily solved – just download a new theme. The main listing of Themes for Firefox can be found here. To view installed themes, load Firefox and click Tools, Themes.
Selecting a theme allows you to Uninstall it, use the Update button to check for, and install, any available updates, while the Use Theme button allows you to switch to that theme.
