Whenever updated versions of Firefox are available, Firefox automatically downloads them and installs them upon the next time you restart Firefox. These updates include mainly security features that help keep you safe, making Firefox the leading internet browser in safety.

Firefox has themes

Finding an internet browser that suits your style can be hard... But that was before Firefox came into the picture. Firefox has an endless amount of themes that are simple to install. These themes change the Firefox colours, buttons, and other features to fit your style.

Firefox add-ons/extensions help make your life easier

The add-ons/extensions on Firefox are endless. You can get add-ons that will control your media players through a control panel in Firefox. You can get an add-on that displays a screen saver to help protect your screen when you wander off. You can even get an add-on that lets you decide whether to save or open PDF files when you click on them.

Firefox is better for viewing pages

Excluding Microsoft pages, which are rigged to work best on Internet Explorer (made by Microsoft), and to work poorly on other browsers; Firefox is the best browser for viewing websites. I am not sure exactly what is it that makes these sites run better, but Firefox pulls it off.

Firefox restores pages when it closes improperly

We've all experienced losing the pages we were on due to browsers/computers freezing up, power going off, etc. And we have all been ticked off when we lost whatever page we were viewing or working on. If Firefox closes improperly, when it restarts it will prompt you to restore your last session or start a new one.

Firefox lists recently closed tabs

Under the history menu, Firefox has a section that lists recently closed tabs. So if you accidentally close it, there are no worries, as you can easily get back to where you were with 2 simple clicks. Even if you didn't close the tab accidentally, it is great for finding any recent page you looked at.

Firefox has built in search engines

Tired of typing in URL's to search engine sites? Firefox provides a section where you can chose your default search engine/site (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia), and you can type in what you want to search on that site. Whether you want to find info on identity theft on Google, or want to look up the history of the Jaw Harp on Wikipedia, Firefox brings you this convenience. Note: This feature is amazing for dial-up users.

Firefox imports Internet Explorer settings

For Internet Explorer users: When you first install Firefox, it will import your existing Internet Explorer settings, including your Favorites, cookies, stored passwords, and a variety of other data. This saves you a lot of time, and makes switching to Firefox even more convenient.

Firefox has keyboard shortcuts

Firefox and Internet Explorer share many of the same keyboard shortcuts. So if you are used to certain shortcuts on Internet Explorer, than changing to Firefox is certainly going to be convenient and the only difference you will notice is that pages load quicker, there are less errors, and it's a better browsing experience.

Firefox is just plain awesome!

There are so many reasons why Firefox is the best browser to chose, but what tops it off is that the experience itself is unique, and after trying out Firefox for yourself, you too will understand this reason. So if you don't have Firefox yet, what are you waiting for!?! It's free, and it's the best! Happy internet browsing!

1. Navigation Popups

   
   
   This Wikipedia tool is one of the most commonly used. It allows you to preview the lead paragraph of an article before you click on the link to it. It also makes it easier to navigate Wikipedia in a simpler and more comfortable manner.

2. WikiEd

   
   
   This is a must have tool for Wikipedia editors who use Firefox. It allows for a more organized approach to editing by separating Wikimarkup from the main text of the article. It also expands the amount of editing tabs in order to make editing easier for everyone.

3. Wikiseek Extension for Firefox

   
   
   With Wikiseek you can search Wikipedia for a topic of interest and receive other related articles as well. It also searches for external links within the articles, so you know that the information you receive is as reliable as possible.

4. Wikipedia Online Widget

   
   
   This simple and handy little tool allows a person to search Wikipedia directly from their desktop without the hassle of opening a web browser and typing in the website

5. Edit Counter

   
   
   This tool counts the edits made by a Wikipedia user and counts where the edits take place. It also shows the editing frequency by month.

6. Tools/Alternative Browsing

   
   
   It is also possible to browse Wikipedia using WAP, a simplified format especially designed for use with mobile devices.

7. Wikirage

   
   
   Wikirage is an interesting as well as useful website that provides an overview of the most heavily edited articles currently on Wikipedia.

8. Wikipedia Tools

   
   
   Here are some more helpful tools "intended to simplify, make more efficient, or provide additional functionality to Wikipedians".

9. Browser Tools

   
   
   This is a reference for additional browser tools that are useful with Wikipedia.

10. Cleaning Up Vandalism/Tools

    
    
    Here is a list of tools for Wikipedians who want to clean up vandalism and other harmful editing aspects on Wikipedia entries.

FoxyTunes

This is one of the only non-safety extensions that I like. I like this extension because it is an embedded media playing device that is compatible with virtually all media playing programs, such as Windows Media Player, iTunes, etc. All you have to do is select your default media playing program, and then FoxyTunes will allow you to control that program without opening it (FoxyTunes runs the program in Firefox, meaning you don't have to switch to your iTunes window to change your song or turn up the volume. The FoxyTunes controls are embedded at the bottom of the Firefox window, and blend in very well, not to mention the convenience.

Go to WindizUpdate

Although this extension is just a mere link, and does nothing else, it is still handy, nonetheless. This extension builds in a link into your Firefox, that way you never lose the link and have to search for it. The purpose of this link is to bring you to the "important" windows updates. For those of you who've turned off windows update because you have dial-up, or you were just tired of it because it downloaded pointless Internet Explorer updates (even when you use Firefox, not Explorer), this extension is ideal for you. The site provides a list of all the important updates that you can install onto your computer, but it leaves out the updates on Internet Explorer and other things like that. This way, you can keep your computer safe and up-to-date without having the fuss of the pointless updates.

PDF Download

Personally, I don't use PDF Download often; however, it is still handy to have. Have you ever been browsing the internet, and clicked a link that opened up a PDF file, (but you didn't know it was a PDF file) and it accidentally freezes up your computer? This program helps eliminate lag by giving you 3 options: Open the file in Firefox, open the file externally (in Adobe Reader, for example), or download the file to a location on your computer. This is handy for anyone who'd rather just download the file than to have it lag up their internet browser.

Adblock Plus

Adblock Plus is one of the best extensions that I ever added to Firefox. This extension is useful to anyone who is constantly annoyed by ads that can really slow your computer down, especially if your computer is a rather old one. When installing this extension, you can automatically click an option that blocks all the ads known to this extension. Or, you can simply block the specific ads that you don't want to load, especially those ads made with flash that really slow you down. To block any ads, you should see a slightly transparent tab attached to the ad saying "block" once you click this, Adblock Plus will block that ad from loading ever again.

WOT (Web of Trust)

This extension got the #1 position because it truly adds to the safety of Firefox. The WOT extension loads very fast, what it does is gives "ratings" on 4 things: Trustworthiness, Vendor Reliability, Privacy, and Child Safety. When you are on a site, and the WOT symbol is green, you are on a good site. If it is a different color, then you should be careful. If you are entering a site which it knows is dangerous, it will block certain content, and will ask you if you want to see it or not. WOT also helps you detect sites which have been reported of fraud. So you can be sure that your browsing will be safe if you use this extension.

Internet domain extensions are similar but serve a slightly different function. In a perfect world, these extensions would always represent exactly what they were designed to do. However, with many people trying to hide various types of sites behind innocuous names, the meanings sometimes get corrupted. As a general rule, the extension do portray the intent of the website fairly accurately.

Websites that use the .edu extension are intended to be utilized by schools. This includes public and private schools, colleges and universities, and trade or technical schools. Knowing this can come in handy if you are trying to decide what the extension is for the site you want to visit. Always try the most obvious one first. It will be right most of the time. Sometimes a school will use a different extension for a second or third website with another purpose other than to promote the school or convey information to the students.

When you see a site have .biz following the web name, it will normally be some type of business. Frequently, the .biz is used more for companies that are smaller and more internet based. The idea here is that .biz sounds more upbeat and today than the old .com. A lot of web entrepreneurs like to use the .biz.

A site with .info as its suffix will almost always be an information website. This extension is not used as prevalently as some of the others. When it is employed, the site is often filled with information about a particular topic that has interest to people in a particular area of interest.

United States national, state, and local governments like to use the .gov extension. With very few exceptions, all government entities make use of this extension. It always flags a political division. The IRS, Social Security, all states, and most cities and towns have at least one .gov website. This is very handy if you know the state or city name. Many times you can just take a shot that it will be the name followed by .gov and be right. A lot of states will use some form of the abbreviated state name. If the agency is military, it will often switch from .gov to .mil. The various branches of the armed forces add this extension to their website names.

Of course, the most common extension is .com. This is considered the plum extension if a company can get it with their name in front of it. Many millions have been spent to obtain and defend domain names ending in .com. If you are an IBM or 3M corporation, this brand identity is your bread and butter. Every effort has been made over the years to insure that the special domains ending .com have ended up with the companies that already have a trade mark or copyright on the name.

If you are a not-for-profit or similar type of agency, you will most likely want to go for an extension of .org. This is the suffix of choice for churches and other benevolent institutions. While the .com would work just as well, by going with .org, any confusion over the type of company can be removed.

Every country has their own extension. They work something like this. Denmark is .de. Russia is .ru. Canada is .ca. The pattern continues. Unless you happen to be in that country, mostly these suffixes will just signal where in the world you are visiting on the internet. This is at least true of the where the website resides.

The list of extensions goes on and on. Although it is nearly impossible to cover them all in one article, this should give you a good start on understanding the reasoning behind the various extensions. By organizing your web addresses by their extensions, you will assure that in nearly every case that websites that are related will be in the same area of your list.