Top 12 Best Firefox Add-ons of the Year
Even though it is a feature-rich browser, Mozilla’s Firefox can’t do everything. No problem, that’s what add-ons are for. Add-ons introduce missing features as well as new functions, allowing you to change and enhance the way your browser works and looks. Wherever the browser falls short, add-ons fill in the gap.
Mozilla has a community board that analyzes the newest Firefox add-ons and uncovers the best and most useful ones. Each month, this board gives an outstanding add-on the title of "pick of the month". Here are the 12 add-ons that made this exclusive list in 2015.
January 2015 Pick of the Month – The Addon Bar (Restored)
Australis, the revamped interface that Mozilla introduced with Firefox 29, was a huge change. It gave Firefox a sleek-looking interface (which made it look a hell of a lot like Chrome), it did away with the Firefox orb, and it got rid of the add-ons bar. The Addon Bar (Restored) brings it back. If you need a place for all your add-on buttons, then you need to get The Addon Bar (Restored).
February 2015 Pick of the Month – ZenMate Security & Privacy VPN
There are several reasons why you should use a VPN client, the top 3 reasons being security, privacy, and location spoofing. The ZenMate add-on covers all of them. It makes sure you surf the web on an encrypted connection, it hides your real IP address, and it tricks websites into thinking you’re from another country.
I reviewed ZenMate for Firefox back in May, giving it an "Essential” rating. If you want to read the review, you can do so here.
March 2015 Pick of the Month – Toolbar Buttons
This add-on is a button pack that features more than 100 buttons for Firefox. The Customize feature doesn’t list that many buttons. Get the Toolbar Buttons add-on and it will list tons and tons of buttons. Some buttons provide easy access to existing features, others provide access to new functions.
April 2015 Pick of the Month – Google Translator Lite
Unlike Chrome, Firefox has no translation function, not by default anyway. If you want to translate words or sentences from one language to another, you need to install an add-on such as Google Translator Lite. It uses Google Translate, meaning it provides access to features such as automatic language detection, spell-check, and support for lots of languages.
Fun fact: did you know that Skype translates voice and instant messages?
May 2015 Pick of the Month – Save Text To File
This add-on’s name tells you pretty much all there is to know about it. Highlight some text, hit the right click mouse button, and choose Save Text To File. The text you selected will be saved as a TXT file, to the location of your choosing.
That’s quite a handy trick to pull. Here are some more mouse tricks that will help you use Firefox more efficiently.
June 2015 Pick of the Month – Location Guard
Some websites want to know where you are. They query the browser for your location because they want to offer location-aware functionality. If you’re not okay with that and you want to protect your privacy, then you can use Location Guard to hide your geographical location. This add-on will report a fake location to websites that want to know where you are.
July 2015 Pick of the Month – Not Available
I don’t know why, but there was no pick of the month for July 2015.
The pick of the month add-on for the previous year, for July 2014, was SeachWP. “Jump-to-word buttons and highlighting for the search box content.” That’s what the official description says about this add-on. It also says that words types into the search box will be turned into buttons. You can use these buttons to find words on the current webpage.
August 2015 Pick of the Month – Forecastfox (fix version)
Should I take my umbrella with me? Is it okay to go out without a jacket? This add-on answers all your weather-related questions. It pulls information from AccuWeather and displays it within the Firefox web browser. You can view information about the current weather as well as the weather forecast for lots of locations around the world.
This reminds me about Yahoo’s Weather app for iOS and Android. It displays lots of weather info, presents the 5-day and 10-day forecasts, and it alerts you 15 minutes before rain or snow.
September 2015 Pick of the Month – Facebook Disconnect
This add-on puts a stop to Facebook tracking the websites you visit. It works like a firewall, blocking all traffic between websites and Facebook. When you visit a website, that website won’t be able report it to Facebook. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to access your Facebook account.
October 2015 Pick of the Month – New Tab Tools
If you want to customize the New Tab page, follow the instructions presented in this support article. If you want to customize the New Tab page even more, go get the New Tab Tools add-on. You’ll be able to set a custom background image, add more tiles, see recently closed tabs, and more.
November 2015 Pick of the Month – Google Translator for Firefox
No, you’re not having déjà vu. April’s pick of the month was Google Translator Lite and November’s pick of the month was Google Translator for Firefox. Perhaps Mozilla should take this as a hint and give Firefox translation capabilities.
But I digress. Let’s get back to the topic at hand. With Google Translator for Firefox, you can translate text and whole webpages from one language to another. You can do that by using a hotkey, from the right click context menu, or by clicking the toolbar icon.
December 2015 Pick of the Month – Fox Web Security
This add-on is great if you have children. What it does is its blocks access to websites that are inappropriate for kids. On top of that, Fox Web Security blocks access to known dangerous websites. So to sum it up, it keeps your kid safe by blocking access to inappropriate as well as dangerous websites.
Speaking about staying safe, do you know about Trend Micro's Family PAWtector, a series of 7 entertaining videos that feature an adorable pooch? The series is accompanied by a contest that has a $1,000 grand prize.
Join Mozilla’s Community Board
All the add-ons presented in here were picked by a community board made up of add-on developers, users, and fans. You too could be part of that board. You see, board members are changed every six months. So if you want to nominate your favorite add-on(s), you should try to get on the board. Power users, theme designers, developers, and evangelists are welcome to apply.
Mozilla has a community board that analyzes the newest Firefox add-ons and uncovers the best and most useful ones. Each month, this board gives an outstanding add-on the title of "pick of the month". Here are the 12 add-ons that made this exclusive list in 2015.
January 2015 Pick of the Month – The Addon Bar (Restored)
Australis, the revamped interface that Mozilla introduced with Firefox 29, was a huge change. It gave Firefox a sleek-looking interface (which made it look a hell of a lot like Chrome), it did away with the Firefox orb, and it got rid of the add-ons bar. The Addon Bar (Restored) brings it back. If you need a place for all your add-on buttons, then you need to get The Addon Bar (Restored).
February 2015 Pick of the Month – ZenMate Security & Privacy VPN
There are several reasons why you should use a VPN client, the top 3 reasons being security, privacy, and location spoofing. The ZenMate add-on covers all of them. It makes sure you surf the web on an encrypted connection, it hides your real IP address, and it tricks websites into thinking you’re from another country.
I reviewed ZenMate for Firefox back in May, giving it an "Essential” rating. If you want to read the review, you can do so here.
March 2015 Pick of the Month – Toolbar Buttons
This add-on is a button pack that features more than 100 buttons for Firefox. The Customize feature doesn’t list that many buttons. Get the Toolbar Buttons add-on and it will list tons and tons of buttons. Some buttons provide easy access to existing features, others provide access to new functions.
April 2015 Pick of the Month – Google Translator Lite
Unlike Chrome, Firefox has no translation function, not by default anyway. If you want to translate words or sentences from one language to another, you need to install an add-on such as Google Translator Lite. It uses Google Translate, meaning it provides access to features such as automatic language detection, spell-check, and support for lots of languages.
Fun fact: did you know that Skype translates voice and instant messages?
May 2015 Pick of the Month – Save Text To File
This add-on’s name tells you pretty much all there is to know about it. Highlight some text, hit the right click mouse button, and choose Save Text To File. The text you selected will be saved as a TXT file, to the location of your choosing.
That’s quite a handy trick to pull. Here are some more mouse tricks that will help you use Firefox more efficiently.
June 2015 Pick of the Month – Location Guard
Some websites want to know where you are. They query the browser for your location because they want to offer location-aware functionality. If you’re not okay with that and you want to protect your privacy, then you can use Location Guard to hide your geographical location. This add-on will report a fake location to websites that want to know where you are.
July 2015 Pick of the Month – Not Available
I don’t know why, but there was no pick of the month for July 2015.
The pick of the month add-on for the previous year, for July 2014, was SeachWP. “Jump-to-word buttons and highlighting for the search box content.” That’s what the official description says about this add-on. It also says that words types into the search box will be turned into buttons. You can use these buttons to find words on the current webpage.
August 2015 Pick of the Month – Forecastfox (fix version)
Should I take my umbrella with me? Is it okay to go out without a jacket? This add-on answers all your weather-related questions. It pulls information from AccuWeather and displays it within the Firefox web browser. You can view information about the current weather as well as the weather forecast for lots of locations around the world.
This reminds me about Yahoo’s Weather app for iOS and Android. It displays lots of weather info, presents the 5-day and 10-day forecasts, and it alerts you 15 minutes before rain or snow.
September 2015 Pick of the Month – Facebook Disconnect
This add-on puts a stop to Facebook tracking the websites you visit. It works like a firewall, blocking all traffic between websites and Facebook. When you visit a website, that website won’t be able report it to Facebook. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to access your Facebook account.
October 2015 Pick of the Month – New Tab Tools
If you want to customize the New Tab page, follow the instructions presented in this support article. If you want to customize the New Tab page even more, go get the New Tab Tools add-on. You’ll be able to set a custom background image, add more tiles, see recently closed tabs, and more.
November 2015 Pick of the Month – Google Translator for Firefox
No, you’re not having déjà vu. April’s pick of the month was Google Translator Lite and November’s pick of the month was Google Translator for Firefox. Perhaps Mozilla should take this as a hint and give Firefox translation capabilities.
But I digress. Let’s get back to the topic at hand. With Google Translator for Firefox, you can translate text and whole webpages from one language to another. You can do that by using a hotkey, from the right click context menu, or by clicking the toolbar icon.
December 2015 Pick of the Month – Fox Web Security
This add-on is great if you have children. What it does is its blocks access to websites that are inappropriate for kids. On top of that, Fox Web Security blocks access to known dangerous websites. So to sum it up, it keeps your kid safe by blocking access to inappropriate as well as dangerous websites.
Speaking about staying safe, do you know about Trend Micro's Family PAWtector, a series of 7 entertaining videos that feature an adorable pooch? The series is accompanied by a contest that has a $1,000 grand prize.
Join Mozilla’s Community Board
All the add-ons presented in here were picked by a community board made up of add-on developers, users, and fans. You too could be part of that board. You see, board members are changed every six months. So if you want to nominate your favorite add-on(s), you should try to get on the board. Power users, theme designers, developers, and evangelists are welcome to apply.
