Build a Better Browser

Ready to make the most of today's Web? These 35 free downloads add invaluable new features to Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Laurianne McLaughlin is a freelance writer based in the Boston area.

Putting a new shine on your browser won't take much elbow grease: You'll find a bevy of easy-to-install plug-ins for Firefox and Internet Explorer awaiting you on the Web. We rounded up dozens of the best free miniprograms, which can expose cookies on sites you visit, give your browser a new look, provide easier access to RSS feeds, blogs, or weather reports, increase your online safety, and more. A few of them even work with both browsers (look for the ones marked with an asterisk). We also list a couple of IE plug-ins that, for a small fee, store and organize Web pages, and tighten security. By the end, you might be surprised at what your enhanced browser can do.

Firefox

1.Forecastfox Weather junkies--people who prefer the Weather Channel to HBO--will love this feed from AccuWeather.com. It pops into the Firefox toolbar and delivers current and forecast info for specified locales.

2. CustomizeGoogle Use this utility to fine-tune your foraging--for example, to obtain results without ads, get suggestions for improving your search, and set preferences.

3. IE View Some pages don't do Firefox. But that's no problem, thanks to this extension that lets you view IE-only pages inside a window.

4. POTO Sidebar Extension If you've used the Opera browser, you're already familiar with the navigation pane and its icons that link you to all sorts of handy info. Firefox fans can enjoy a similar tool, with one-click access to bookmarks, history, and recent downloads.

5. NoScript Get a beefy bouncer for your browser: This one automatically stops JavaScript code at the front door. You can make exceptions for online shopping and banking sites by listing them as trusted.

6. PDF Download How much of your life has been wasted working with Adobe Acrobat document downloads? This tool lets you quickly read a PDF--or open it in HTML--inside a Firefox tab, or save it directly.

7. NetCaptor 7.5.3 This utility suite lets you align browser tabs at the top or the bottom of apps. In addition, its Address Tools offer you cached versions of pages and quick access to Anonymizer.com for trackless browsing.

8. Dictionary Search Word to the wise: Look erudite by using this little gem. Simply select a word, right-click, and select Dictionary Search to see a definition from any of four online dictionaries that you've picked from a large list.

9. Google Toolbar for Firefox The open-source Googlebar has long and faithfully served Firefox users, but now Google has cooked up its own customizable Google Toolbar for Firefox (see below). Especially noteworthy: its spelling check, online form completion, and translation tools.

10. FoxyTunes Control your media player (ITunes, Windows Media Player, or any of about 30 other apps) in Firefox with this sound choice (see below). Buttons for playback, volume, and other controls are always handy.

11. View Cookies Wondering what unappetizing cookies lurk in a Web page? This tool gives you all the details (see below) and lets you delete trackers you dislike.

12. ConQuery Firefox's contextual search feature enables you to highlight, right-click, and google a word. ConQuery lets you choose results from any other plug-in search engines you use.

13. Gmail Notifier Pining for your Gmail? Snug in your status bar, this tool alerts you when new messages arrive.

14. Sage 1.3.5 This compact RSS and Atom reader packs plenty of punch. Sage offers a wiser way to peruse your many feeds than Firefox's LiveBookmarks because it shows you more of the blog material, rather than just the titles.

15. Copy Plain Text If you copy text from Web pages to your PC, you'll love this tool that lets you grab text without the strange, hard-to-delete formatting.

16. Adblock This ad blocker lets you call the shots by customizing filters. For example, you can block ads with.gif images or ads from a specific source.

17. FlashBlock Prevent all Macromedia Flash content, including Shockwave files, from starting up. Placeholders on the Web page allow you to click to download the Flash snippet if you like.

18. Greasemonkey The name conjures images of a pit crew at the Indy 500, but this extension allows you to add scripts--commands or miniprograms--to make Web pages do special things. Firefox fans have already created a large library of no-cost scripts that can perk up hard-to-navigate sites, and more.

Four Scripts for Greasemonkey

See what Greasemonkey can do.

Butler: Google and Froogle users can remove ads and insert links to other search sites for news, weather, shopping, and more.

Gmail Searches: Use this script to preserve your Gmail searches for further use.

Platypus: Got an idea? Use this point-and-click system to create your own Greasemonkey script.

Book Burro: This handy tool activates when you are shopping for books and adds a toolbar that lets you see competing prices at major online stores.

Click here for more Greasemonkey user scripts.

Internet Explorer

1. Password Safe Don't settle for easy-to-guess passwords just because you have a hard time remembering them all. Password Safe stores your myriad passwords in an encrypted database. Its password is the only one you need to know.

2. Microsoft MSN Search Toolbar Unwieldy name, handy add-on: This toolbar will try to steer you to MSN-related properties, but don't reject it on that account. It lets you quickly search for files in your Outlook e-mail or My Documents folder (see Desktop Searchers), and adds a Firefox-like tabbed interface to IE.

3. Avant Browser 10 This veteran shell program bestows a customizable new look on IE, including tabbed browsing and colorful skins. It also blocks Flash animations and pop-ups, cleans your history and temp files, and offers a full-screen mode for simplified viewing.

4. IeSpell Avoid embarrassment with this spelling checker for blog entries, forum posts, chat room conversations, and other Web work.

5. CachePal Launder your cache (and increase your privacy) with this security tool that clears history, temp files, and cookies.

*6. BookmarkSync Synchronize your bookmarks between browsers, access them when you travel, and share bookmarks with other users.

7. IE Xtreme If you like software that takes the Swiss-army-knife approach, consider this collection of security and convenience tools from cache-scrubbers to form-completers.

*8. Pluck Just can't get enough of RSS feeds and blogs? Check out this cool RSS reader, organizer, and search tool studded with sharing features for your feed-savvy friends. It also organizes browser bookmarks. A beta version of this plug-in adapted for Firefox is available as well.

9. Amplify If you habitually use disorganized Favorites folders, Amplify can help sort out your links for research, shopping, job hunting, and the like (see below). And you can access your info while away from your PC via its Web site, too.

10. Browster Think of this as a magnifying glass for IE: Mouse over search or shopping results, and you'll see the full page (see below), not just a cryptic description.

11. Maxthon Previously known as My IE2, this seasoned IE shell offers many of the same cosmetic and privacy tools that Avant does, including new skins and pop-up blockers (see below); try both of them out to see which one you like better.

12. Feedreader 2.90 Back-to-basics types will appreciate the functionality of this simple but capable RSS reader.

13. PureText 2.0 Copy-and-paste mavens: Simplify your life with this tool that grabs text from Web pages without retaining formatting, giving you plain text and no cleanup hassles.

14. Privacy Bird for IE Reading Web page privacy policies can take forever. Privacy Bird automatically checks any privacy policy written in the standard format of the World Wide Web Consortium's Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) against the personal preferences you specify.

15. FraudEliminator Avoid scams with this plug-in, which lists where a site is hosted and when it was created--be skeptical if Citibank.com seems to have moved to the Caribbean, for example. The app also alerts you to sites in a database of known security and phishing threats.

*16. Net Snippets This research utility saves your online info in organized folders with the sources clearly noted. You can add your own comments, too. It's useful for students researching a particular topic or for job-hunters organizing data on a technology or company.

*17. RoboForm Save your vitals and automatically fill online forms requiring the data with this utility.

Two Worthy, Low-cost Add-Ons for IE

If you're willing to spend a few bucks to spruce up your browser, check out these.

SurfSaver 6: With this clever utility, you can save Web pages for offline reading, preserve Web pages, and organize pages into searchable folders. Free trial; $30 to keep.

Secure IE: This useful security add-on blocks unauthorized ActiveX controls, JavaScript, cookies, and file downloads. It cleans out password info, prevents browser hijacking, and more. Free trial; $30 to keep.