The picture above represents extensions: the good, the bad, the ugly. But, today’s post isn’t about hair extensions. Instead, it’s all about browser extensions. “What is that?” I hear you ask! A browser extension is software which can be added to a browser to customize how the browser works. A good example is the Adobe Acrobat extension which allows you to save a webpage in PDF format. Since webpages often come and go, this would be a way of saving something important on your own computer.

Extensions We Use

Here at Keystone Computer Concepts, we use a number of browser extensions in addition to the Adobe Acrobat. RoboForm- our password manager, Amazon Assistant and Amcrest Webview (for our cameras) are three extensions that we use. These extensions would fall under the “Good” heading.

In Remote Technical Support (https://www.4kcc.com/rts), we often take off tons of extensions that sound good on the surface but cause multiple problems with a browser. We refer to these types of extensions as “bad” because they can cause pop-ups to appear even when a browser isn’t open and they can cause page re-directs. Examples of these kinds of extensions include ones that claim they will give you safe searches, packages tracking, mapping, coupon discounts, cheap flights, etc. Again, although these sound like they might be good things, they almost never are.

Oh, let’s not forget the “Ugly” extensions. These are extensions that can track what you’re doing; access privileged areas of the browser like bookmarks and history; and, some can even download and install other extensions without your knowledge.

Ways To Tell If An Extension is Good, Bad or Ugly

Having told you all this, I get it. You’re not a computer expert. How can you know which extensions are good, bad and/or ugly? Here are some suggestions:

1. Keep browser extensions to a minimum. We sometimes remove as many as twenty to twenty-five extensions from a browser. Using KCC as an example, we have two extensions in Microsoft Edge, three extensions in Firefox, one extension in Opera and twelve extensions in Google Chrome. All of our extensions fall under the “Good” heading.
2. If you think you would like an extension, use Bing or Google to search what others say about that particular extension. If you’re still not sure, drop us an email at [email protected] and we’ll give you our feedback.
3. Stay away from the types of extensions I mentioned under the “Bad” section above – package trackers, etc. The really “Good” ones in this category are few and far between.

That’s it for extensions! Use the ones that are good and stay away from the rest!