These days, the world wide web is a portal to both heaven and hell alike. Search engines make it possible to get a bird's eye view of any array of websites, good or bad. With the right keywords it's easy to find whatever one desires. From comical to cruddy, the internet is a gateway that can occupy the average person for hours on end. Yet, with all the capabilities the internet offers, that doesn't mean that there isn't anyone out to get you. Pornography and warez sites are some of the most polluted websites on the dark side of the web. Whether you browse those sites or not, this article will help ensure you don't walk into a spyware death trap.
Mozilla Firefox
If you haven't already, get Mozilla Firefox. Mozilla Firefox is a world away from internet explorer in ways that you can't imagine unless you've used the application before. Firefox is the foundation upon which you will build your own mechanical composition of add-ons and themes so that you'll be able to browse safely and efficiently. AdBlock Plus
AdBlock Plus is a firefox extension that does, well, basically just what it's name says. It is extremely good at weeding out any lingering advertisements and annoying marketing jibberjabber right before the page is loaded, and all without corrupting the layout of the page. Sxipper
Sxipper is a firefox addon that basically manages forms. If you've ever heard of Roboform, compare it to that; it's only better and free. Stylish & Greasemonkey
These two are so great that when combined they have the potential to create an entirely new 'look-like-you-want-it-to' internet. The two extensions allow the code of any selected page to be modified to what is specified, as well as improved and changed. Stylish uses 'userstyles' and greasemonkey uses 'userscripts', and they use them well. In order to incorporate one, all you have to do is click the button on the website and voila, you can check out the new look or functionality that's been added to whatever website you chose. One style I highly recommend is Gmail Redesigned (by Globex Designs). ScrapBook
Ever want to save a web page on your hard drive and not have to deal with the risk of the page eventually turning into a 404 error page? ScrapBook has your answer. Scrapbook allows you to save a webpage quickly and effortlessly with a click of the mouse. It operates almost exactly like the bookmarks menu, all of your saved pages are stored in a menu right above your address bar.
