Top 5 Security Add-ons for Firefox

Malware, of all sorts, is quickly evolving and looking for different ways to compromise your system. While the obvious e-mail and messenger viruses are still out there, they can still make their way onto your computer through holes in your web browser. While Firefox is genuinely an incredibly effective browser in stopping malware, it’s not perfect. As a result, these five add-ons are highly recommended to ensure you have the safest browsing experience.

Note that the numbering system here is just for the purpose of making a list. This is not a ranking system; so the add-on listed at the top of the page is no different of quality from the add-on listed at the bottom of the page. Just so you know.

NoScript is an add-on that monitors websites that run JavaScript. It is a bit of a hassle at first as it will block any and all JavaScript on websites, such as YouTube, and any other multimedia sites that you know and trust. You’ll have to individually approve of the use of java on each website. This add-on may seem pointless, but there are forms of malware that can try to access your system through JavaScript, so this add-on is recommended.

BlockSite is exactly like a blacklist. You can insert websites that you do not want access to, thus eliminating hyperlinks that lead to that particular site. It is not the most effective for Parental Control, as it can be easily disabled, but should be used personally.

Who here likes pop-ups? Anyone? The only danger of blocking pop-ups will be on the occasional website where pop-ups are necessary either for logging in, or by accessing certain features of that particular website. Fortunately, AdBlockPlus is fully customizable so you can actually choose which pop-ups you actually want to appear.

Browsing somewhere that you don’t want to be tracked? If you’re online shopping for gifts and don’t want nosy household members to find out where you’ve been shopping, or for other reasons that you don’t want information stored of where you’ve been browsing, just activate Stealthier to temporarily disable cookies, browsing history as well as its cache. Note that some websites do not function properly unless cookies are enabled.

To find extensive protection and warnings in regards to certain websites, WOT offers different safety ratings for each websites, which websites you want to block from children, and even warning you of potentially dangerous hyperlinks in your e-mail. On top of that, for e-commerce websites, you’ll find reviews of whether the site is a potential scam, or just a poor shopping experience.

To find out how you can make Firefox more secure with using third-party extensions, be sure to read the Firefox security tips in our article How to Secure Mozilla Firefox.

Be sure to read our other "Top" lists including Top Ten Free Security Tests, The Top 5 Reasons Hackers Use the Web for Attacks, Debunking The Top 10 Security Myths, Top Five Free Security Programs, Top Three Free Online Virus Scanners, Top Five Free Firewalls for Windows PCs and Top Ten Sidebar Security Gadgets for Windows Vista.