addons

Selected Search is a new add-on for Firefox that makes it easier to start a search from any page you're on. It works by taking text you've highlighted with your mouse, and then bringing up a small pop-up list of all the search engines you have installed. From there you just pick the one you want and it opens up behind the scenes in a new tab.

Firefox has its own built-in contextual shortcut that does this with whatever search engine you've got set up as the primary. The big difference with this extension is that you … Read more

It's too bad that add-ons for Microsoft Outlook haven't caught on with the intensity of Firefox extensions. The good ones can save as much time for office workers who live and breathe by the in-box as a browser extension can enhance the power of your Internet experience. I wouldn't recommend loading up on dozens of Outlook add-ons--they could slow Outlook's performance--but here are three I find useful (and light enough) for daily use.

Xobni With its hint of bubble gum visuals, Xobni is a free Outlook add-on that quickly searches through your e-mail. Just as Xobni's name comes from spelling 'in-box' backwards, so does its search philosophy, which is all about contacts. Finding contacts and message subjects routinely takes a fraction of Outlook's chugging.

Without ever using up more than three-quarters of the reading pane (and often much less when you collapse it,) Xobni can reply, forward, or open a message, or even a file. Its ability to throw in public information scraped from Facebook, Skype, LinkedIn, and Hoovers can add extra context. Dataheads will be intrigued by the stats analyzing your e-mail relationship with the contact, including the rank assigned to your most frequent correspondents. The analytics haven't figured much into my usage, but the Facebook pictures and quick-find searching do. Every day.

Gwabbit I'll admit that I wasn't initially a huge fan of Gwabbit ($19.95), and it showed (I initially called it "weally wame.") Perhaps I was too harsh. This Outlook add-on scours the signature block in an e-mail and creates from it a full contact record in Outlook's address book, going far more in-depth that Outlook does when you attempt to perform the same function by right-clicking a contact's name. Business users who volley e-mail back and forth with unknown recipients will find Gwabbit to be a savvy way to fill in the digital Rolodex.… Read more

If you're into toolbars, Internet Explorer, and Google, the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer does more than give IE a mere shot of nitro. With a set of features both useful and self-promoting, Google Toolbar 6 feels like it adds eight cylinders to IE's engine, turning it into a powerhouse of personalized functionality for both IE 8 users and those who are stuck on earlier versions.

There's the dedicated Google search window, the effective pop-up blocker, the form autofiller, the translation utility, the spell checker, and the map tool that automatically links addresses in Web pages to … Read more

Considering that it's based on Mozilla Thunderbird, it was a bit of a surprise that add-ons weren't available for Postbox when it debuted. That's now been remedied in Postbox beta 13 for Windows and Mac. Given Postbox's emphasis on social-networking technology and Mozilla's own success with add-ons, this move puts the e-mail client in an excellent position to attract more users.

A Webware 100 winner, the list of supported extensions isn't long at the moment, and notably it doesn't include Thunderbird's calendaring tool Lightning. Since Postbox doesn't have its own supported … Read more

Editors' note: Updated June 30, 2009, at 5:55 p.m. with more extensions details. Updated at 12:42 p.m. with more add-on details and a statement about Google Gears.

Like you, we've been hotly anticipating the launch of Firefox 3.5 for Windows and Mac. Yet every time a browser receives a major update, it ghosts out a good chunk of those favorite, ingenious, and time-saving extensions we've come to rely on. That is, until the lagging publishers update their add-ons to make them compatible once again.

Google is one high-profile example with Gears. "We'… Read more

Since Twitter has become such an important part of the social-networking world, it only makes sense that developers would create a variety of browser extensions that give you access to the microblogging service's features.

If you don't like extensions, or you want to be more social with your browser, downloading the Flock browser could naturally be your answer. Built on Firefox, Flock provides a variety of cool social features while also supporting most Firefox extensions. But for those sticking with the Mozilla browser, the Twitter-based extensions in this roundup are impressive.

InstantTweets InstantTweets lets you quickly update your status, add images, or share links by entering tweets into your Firefox address bar. You can also click on pictures, and you have the option of automatically updating your status with that image. I had some trouble with that feature. Sometimes it worked, and other times it didn't, so beware. InstantTweets is a neat app, but it's not perfect.

Power Twitter Power Twitter adds some neat features to your Twitter page. After installing it, you'll find a photo-uploading option, a tab to help you shorten a link, and more. I found it that worked really well and made it quite easy to perform basic Twitter functions. It's a great extension.

Twitbin Twitbin is installed in your Firefox sidebar. Once there, the extension enables you to send and receive messages. It works well, and I've found that it provides an easy way to monitor my conversations with others. It's worth having.… Read more

This one-hit wonder of a Firefox extensions nevertheless provides a useful feature for those who do a lot of cutting and pasting from Web pages into text fields or documents. AutoCopy copies any text you highlight to the clipboard--it's that simple.

It does do a bit more than that, though. The extension's Options menu lets users configure highlight behavior, post-copy pasting behavior, keyboard shortcuts, toggling a Status Bar button, and a menu that pops up after copying. From that pop-up menu, you can automatically paste the selected text into the location bar, the search bar, a new tab, … Read more

Oh yes, I did just go there. Hands-down, without a skerrick of doubt, AutoCopy is the best Firefox extension. It may also be the best Firefox extension you've never heard of. Here's what it does, and then I'll tell you what makes it so great.

Developed at Mozilla, AutoCopy is a lightweight, single-feature add-on that copies any text you highlight to your clipboard. No more hitting CTRL+C, or using the context menu. That in and of itself is not so revolutionary. The feature has been around for a while in other programs. What makes it the … Read more

The Internet is full of threats like cross-site scripting attacks and clickjacking. A lot of these attacks work by injecting scripts in Web pages that you don't even know are there. You can give yourself a modicum more protection by running a Firefox plug-in called NoScript.

NoScript blocks all scripts from running until you authorize them. Let me show you how it works.

Go to addons.mozilla.org and search for NoScript or get it from Download.com. Install it as you would any add-on. Once you have it installed, look in the bottom right corner at the little … Read more