What are the "Must Have" extensions for Firefox

Right, the security aspect is another good reason

 

I agree with Bo. The must have extensions for me are AdBlock Plus & NoScript.

 

Alternatively, Straight Google user script, apparently written by Alex from A Clockwork Orange.

I'm also enjoying this one, Google Hit Hider by Domain (Search Filter / Block Sites).

 

Disabled Element Hiding Helper for ABP since I rarely use it anymore. Already have annoying stuff blocked on all sites I frequent. Once in a long while something new pops up. So I have 8 running now:

ABP (EasyList, EasyPrivacy)
CS Lite Mod (Cookies denied globally)
Ghostery (3P only)
HTTPS-Everywhere
Keyscrambler
NoScript (Default Deny)
RequestPolicy
WOT (negative results only, no popups)

I don't see myself trimming it down any more than this.

 

Why would you need Ghostery when you've got ABP, NoScript and RequestPolicy? Also do you write your HTTPS EveryWhere rules yourself? If not why no HTTPS Finder?

 

Interesting! In my experience, blocking cookies globally breaks far too many sites. That's why I only block 3rd party cookies globally and allow session cookies by default with a couple of exceptions defined with Coookie Monster.

 

True. Gmail for instance will break without cookies and will ask you to enable cookies in your browser.

 

I don't think many of you use Facebook. Anyway, theres an addon called "facebookfastdeletemessages". It delete all your in-box messages at once saves a lot of time.

edit: also avaliable for Chrome

 

I've never had a site break by denying cookies. Naturally, to do things like sign into web mail you'll need to allow them, and I do (temporarily). Or to order stuff from Amazon. Those are about the only reasons I ever have to allow cookies.

I disabled the Element Hiding Helper for ABP since I rarely use it. Once in awhile a new (annoying) element pops up on a site I frequent. Until then I'll just keep it off. So that's now 8 running:

Adblock Plus (EasyList & EasyPrivacy)
CS Lite Mod (Cookies denied globally)
Ghostery (3pes blocking only)
HTTPS-Everywhere
Keyscrambler
NoScript
RequestPolicy
WOT

 

indeed.

i got Firefox to auto-delete everything on exit anyway.

but it's my experience as well that blocking ALL cookies breaks way too many websites.

 

I see a lot of people mention that blocking cookies & scripts breaks a bunch of stuff, and/or is a monumental inconvenience. My browsing habits are obviously vastly different, because I very rarely need either (scripts or cookies) for the sites I visit to function adequately... not even 1'st party.

I was just able to log onto Wilders and make this post here without allowing either, for instance.

Different strokes for different folks

 

Same reason I use RequestPolicy despite already having NS. I came to find it still blocked a lot of things the other(s) missed. Now if I were using Fanboys Lists (namely the tracking/stats blocking), then Ghostery would probably be too much overlap to use. I decided I'd get more benefit from Ghostery + the 2 lists I use than from a bunch of lists.

Also I don't use the pre-arranged whitelists that come with RP. People that do, I don't doubt see very little benefit from it.

 

I use ABP with Fanboy's Ultimate List and NoScript with no whitelists. I do not need Ghostery. It's less hassle. You could try that sometime.

 

Definitely Adblock Plus with Easy List English subscription.
BTW, can I use more than 1 subscription mixed as 1 (like Easy List & Fanboy)?
Thanks.

 

No. But you could use:

 

i use adblock,noscript and WOT.any suggestions for any good others i may need,?
Regards,

 

What if I subscribed to Easy List & Fanboy but I only use 1 of them? Is this possible?
Thanks.

 

You should not add all subscriptions you can get — each filter subscription contains filters that will in some cases block something that is not an advertisement, this is unavoidable. Usually, this will never be an issue for you, but you will be far more likely to hit this problem if you add too many filter subscriptions. As a rule of thumb, you should not use filter subscriptions with overlapping competencies. For example, using EasyList (mainly targeted at English-language sites) with an EasyList supplement for your region (like RuAdList for Russian sites) is fine. However, Fanboy's List (another list with main focus on English-language sites) shouldn't be used in combination with EasyList.

You can always change the filter subscriptions that you use by opening Adblock Plus preferences (press Ctrl+Shift+E). You can remove any filter subscriptions you have in that list, and you can add a new subscription by going to menu Filters / Add filter subscription. Once you are done with your changes click OK.

 

Disconnect.me: Stop all tracking software, I love it. Great mission statement, really good team behind it.
Dashlane: It's a password manager that works as an extension in your browser. I use it in FF and also in Chrome. Super-smart semantic analysis intelligently fills out any form for you -- logins, buying, registering, etc.

 

I just took the axe to Ghostery. It was indeed mostly overlap, not to mention the fact that I only used half of it to begin with because I deny cookies globally. Plus, I just haven't completely trusted the thing all this time... the artist formerly known as Better Advertising.

After removing Ghostery, Firefox now boots up twice as fast... and that's no exaggeration. Though I notice no diff. in actual browsing speed.

I "may" add another ABP list in the future to make up for it, but can't decide on one that wouldn't be a huge overlap with EasyList & EasyPrivacy. Fanboy's List would be. But I wonder, is Fanboy's Tracking/Stats blocking different enough from the 2 lists I have to make it worth it? Maybe also take care of some of the things Ghostery was blocking for me?

So now it's down to 6 running addons:

Adblock Plus (EasyList & EasyPrivacy)
CS Lite Mod (Cookies denied globally)
HTTPS-Everywhere
NoScript (Scripts denied globally)
RequestPolicy (No default whitelist)
WOT (negative results only, no popups)

Installed but disabled: Element Hiding Helper for Adblock Plus

RequestPolicy is a keeper though. I see it blocking a lot of things. One site in particular, people post a lot of pictures linked from image sharing sites in the threads, practically every other post. It may not be a big deal for people with uber fast connections, but here with 1.5 (down) it makes a huge difference... instead of waiting for those pics to pop up there's a nice little box with a flag in it instead. And the page loads instantly. The addon may be worth it for the time it saves me on that site alone.

I am considering doing away with KeyScrambler altogether though. Sure it's neat to have it "just in case", but really... how likely is it that just in case scenario will happen with this hardened box of mine & D+?... That's really the only other thing left I'd consider parting with. The rest are keepers.

Update: It is done... KeyScrambler = gone. And then there were 6.

 

Neither do I

http://venturebeat.com/2012/07/31/g...-blocker-that-actually-helps-the-ad-industry/

 

Because HTTPS Finder will cause slowdown checking for SSL for every site you visit, not to mention the hit from the addon itself.

I did install it initially. Then I took the opportunity to go to every site in my bookmarks so that it'd create rules (in my HTTPS-Everywhere) for the ones that could use SSL. Then I removed HTTPS Finder, as it no longer served me any purpose. I don't browse new sites often. I get on the net with a purpose in mind.

And if SSL does become available on some site I use in the future I trust it'll be reflected in an update to HTTPS-Everywhere. I trust that enough people are using HTTPS Finder, and/or the "SSL Observatory" in HTTPS-Everywhere, and they'll have me covered.

 

A few minutes after booting up Firefox the activity light on my PC used to go crazy for several seconds, and my browser would all but freeze up. It used to happen like clockwork, and I never knew what to attribute it to. I have automatic updating disabled for both FF and all my addons, but figured something may still have been looking for updates regardless.

It would do it a few minutes after booting FF, then again every half hour or so. It got very annoying, especially when I'd be watching a video.

Now I know what was responsible... because now that I've removed Ghostery it no longer happens. The only question that remains now is... what was it doing? Again, updating was disabled and I also opted out of the data sharing thing.

Man am I ever glad I removed that thing. It's never going back on my box again, or any box I work on.

 

It seems so You mentioned Amazon yourself, just add online banking or sites like expedia.com and many more - neither of them would work without session cookies.

 

Same here. Particularly the cache - deleting it also kills Etags.