What are Chrome Extensions and what extensions we suggest for beginners?
Google Chrome is the most used web browser worldwide, thanks to its snappy response, secure nature, its clean interface and the most important of them all: it’s integration with Google and our mobile devices. But what if we could customize the browser, add features that the default browser does not have or integrate our desktop apps with it?
Chrome Extensions are the answers to these questions. Let’s see what they are, how to install them and share some of our favourite extensions with you.
Extensions are small software programs that can be installed into Chrome to improve or customize our browsing experience. They are built on web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. These give the browser either a unique look, additional features or shortcuts to tedious paths for web apps.
However, some caution is to be taken when downloading these. Like Google Play in our mobiles, Chrome extensions can be installed from a similar store: Chrome Web Store
where some developers may deploy malicious extensions. So, be sure you download these from a trusted developer and if you are not comfortable with the permissions the extensions demand, it is best to not download them.
Nearly all extensions need access to read and change all your data on the websites you visit to make any visible changes to your browser. So, any other permission that doesn’t make sense is an indication of the extension being malicious.
This Extension system is also applicable to Chromium-based browsers like Chromium, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave etc. Firefox has its own system called “Add-ons” where most of these Chrome extensions are available.
That being said, there are a boatload of extensions in the Web Store (188,620 as of August 3, 2019) and selecting the right extension for you can take some time and experimentation. To give you a start, we have compiled a list of extensions we think would be useful for all types of users.
1. AdBlock — best ad blocker (As the name suggests)
YouTube binging and online news has become the bread and butter for many of us and some have even cut our cable connections in exchange for streaming services and YouTube. If you’ve been in the field for some time, you know that ads in websites pop up once in a while before the lockdown.
With more people now online than ever, ad services ramped up their services and force unavoidable or pop up ads down our throats. It would have been just a substitute for TV ads, if not for ad personalization and some in-appropriate ads passing the filters of even some reputed services.
To avoid these, we suggest using AdBlock; a reputed content filtering browser extension that has been around since 2009. AdBlock is totally free, but will ask for donations the first time you open it (which won’t affect basic features and won’t pester after ignoring it). It blocks nearly every type of ads (YouTube ads, ads on news articles and social media, pop-ups etc.)
This raises the concern of creators being robbed of ad money by blocking it. So AdBlock also has provisions to allow for non-intrusive advertising by default and to exempt specific YouTube channels, websites and web apps from being blocked, which you can change as you wish. It also has protection against Cryptocurrency mining by default.
2. Dark Reader: Forces dark mode on websites
With the advent and popularity of dark mode on mobiles, PCs and some websites, we may wish for every website to have its own dark version. Dark Reader does exactly that. It forces dark mode on all websites (except for protected websites like Chrome Web Store) giving it a look that is pleasing to the eyes of the dark mode community and those who work late at night.
But some sites may not go well with this and may even be shown only as pitch-black screens (1 in a 1000th possibility) or may substitute black spaces for some words. If you’re not satisfied with the default dark mode offered by Dark Reader, you can change the filter and select which one suits you or if a website already has a satisfying dark mode, you can grant an exception for those websites and can also have customized settings for individual websites.
3. Pushbullet: File Sharing Utility
This is an extension that links multiple devices signed in to your Facebook or Google or Pushbullet account and allows for easy file transfers up to 25 MB, remote file access and even chatting. So basically, you can send a song from your phone to your laptop wirelessly or you can send an important link to all of your devices at the same time.
Moreover, when connected to a mobile device, the extension can mirror (display as it is) the notifications in your mobile on your PC’s screen. The paid version allows you to access Android exclusive notification features for apps (features other than replying and dismissing notifications come under this).
A PC version for Windows is also available if you’re interested to use this without having to run your browser in the background.
4. Black Menu for Google: One-stop shop for all Google services
Chrome users may not relate with this (but can still use this efficiently). Other Chromium-based browser users do not have an option to open Google services and apps in their new tabs, which can be irritating when your quick links are already filled with important websites you cannot trade with Google apps.
This is where this extension comes in. Black Menu for Google gives you quick access to your favorite Google services with a convenient drop-down menu that lets you use Search, Gmail, Translate, and many others without leaving the page you’re on.
Click on menu items to get a small windowed preview or click on the open in new button on the right to open them in a new tab. Services include things like Account settings, AdSense and other settings (some of which we didn’t even know existed until this extension showed us).
So even Chrome users can also use this efficiently to access Google apps in pop up view if needed.
5. OneTab: Tab manager
Picture this. You are working on your latest program or your research paper and you need to check various sources as fast as possible. So, you open a multitude of tabs and start to ferret for information. Suddenly you want to take a YouTube break. Opening a YouTube tab with this many tabs can be taxing on your system and we don’t want that, do we?
So, this extension can store your tabs and reload them when needed. You can also group a set of tabs, lock them and use the extension like a personal bookmark of tabs or open the tabs the next day. It is claimed to save nearly 95% of the RAM occupied by the tabs by converting them to a single tab.
6. Save to Pocket: Saves articles with tags
Coming to the audience who cater to the online news category, you would have come across some articles or a specific news page which you didn’t have time to read completely. So, instead of missing the article, you can save it using this extension.
A question may arise in your minds; why can’t I just bookmark it? Well, bookmarking it will limit it to your PC only and cannot be identified easily among a sea of similar articles. But Save To Pocket offers a tag system where you can insert topics to classify articles.
7. User-Agent Switcher for Chrome: Mimics other web browsers
If you were an Internet Explorer user (RIP Internet Explorer (1989–2020)) you would have this lasting memory of some websites nagging you to use Chrome or Firefox to access them. Even in current times, some websites still ask for specific browsers to access them.
To bypass them without having to install another browser, we can install this extension to mimic them. Mainly concentrated on developers, this can also be used by laymen to access browser-specific websites easily.
8. Google Meet Enhancement Suite: Provides additional features for Google Meet
This is an interesting extension for those who attend online classes and WFH meetings. When you attend a Google Meet, you would encounter a preview of your audio and mic settings and the Meet details. While this is helpful, if you know what meeting you will be attending and always prefer to mute your mic and video, this can be a bit frustrating to do this mundane task day in and day out.
So, this extension automates that task for you by muting them and joining the meeting automatically without any user input. Additionally, it has features like Push to Talk (temporarily mute mic while holding a button), shortcut to leave meetings and to turn names of participants off.
There’s also a pro version which provides additional features like Quick Emoji Reactions, Auto Admit New Entrants, mute all, remove all and more (which are mostly useful only if you are a presenter).
9. Chrome Remote Desktop: Desktop accessible by mobile
Our phones are basically handheld computers. But we still require a PC for other tasks. If you can access your PC from anywhere with internet, how would that feel?
Chrome Remote Desktop enables us to control our desktop with a mobile companion app (with the same name) so you can access your files, provide hands-on help without having to be in the same location or stream your PC to your mobile so you won’t have to carry it with you.
The ability to showcase your PC exclusive work on a mobile device triumphs the mild lag we face when using it in our opinion.
10. Extensity: Extension to manage Extensions
Speaking about these many extensions, if you were to download all of these, your browser would seriously take a hit in the performance department (that depends on your PC) by operating them all at the same time. When not in use, it is suggested to turn off those extensions which you do not use.
But that is to be done by navigating to the Extensions menu, finding the said extensions and turning them off one by one, which is a tedious process. What if there was an extension to manage these extensions?
Extensity does this by bringing an on-off structure for extensions under one roof (or extension in this case). Running one or four extensions is better than running a multitude of them at the same time.
-Ashwin Kumar. V
