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THE BASICS: Web Browsers

Clint Mukarakate April 9, 2019

The internet isn’t a complicated thing, but adding these little extra’s makes it a whole lot more fun to use.

The internet: that place we spend as much time being productive as we do wasting time. We literally have our whole lives on it these days ,and while we spend a significant amount of time in internet connected apps these days, the web browser is still the basic tool you need to experience everything the internet has to offer. And while some of you may scoff at us giving you a basics guide to how you should use your web browsers (and which browsers to use) , too many people these days click on scams, malware or false download links while trying to enjoy the web simply because they don’t have the tools we’ll state below. Not to mention people basically not enjoying the web as much as they should because they don’t know how much they can do on it with their simple web browser. Well fear not, whether you thought you needed them or not, here are THE BASICS on what to get for your web browser.

Choosing a browser.

*Don’t kill us now, but in one of those rare cases in tech, the basic or common options are actually the best ones.*

Now we understand that this part may be a little controversial to some, and we mean it when we say we’re all about people using their preferences in devices or apps when it comes to doing something. But like we mentioned in our BASICS for Windows PCs, the best browsers to use, whether on Windows or Mac, are honestly Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. I’m sure a lot of you may bring up Opera, Microsoft Edge or even UC Browser and Vilvadi. But here’s the case Opera, UC and Vilvadi are all based on Chromium, the same browser engine that Chrome is based on, basically making them offshoots of Chrome that come with some cool features but tend not to be as fully featured as Chrome itself. Microsoft Edge on the other hand, is sort of another brave attempt from Microsoft that while having admirable features like the best touch-screen support for a windows browser, still falls short of what its competitors have to offer. So much so that Microsoft is in fact switching Edge to the Chromium engine , keeping its many features however, and you could even try a beta version of the browser right now.Hence in the end we come back to Firefox and Chrome again, and while these two are different in a lot of their implementations and even how the companies believe the web itself should work, they both still offer a solid, reliable experience across the board. You likely won’t face bugs or issues with these two and most likely all properly coded websites and web apps will work well in either one. There are some tidbits to handle: both browsers have recently become pretty RAM intensive for example, but we think those are small in the scope of what we’re trying to cover here(we can do some coverage for anyone who wants suggestions on really lightweight browsers for really slow/under-powered machines). So now that we hopefully haven’t stepped on too many toes, lets get into how you’ll make the most of your browsers: Extensions.

Also called plugins or add-ons depending on what browser you use, extensions are like mini applications that help you browser do a lot more. Some are for a specific audience while others are basically a must for almost everyone who constantly surfs the net. As such, here are the extensions we know you probably need.

Ad Blockers(or just Ad-Block)

We already did a quick shout-out to ad-blockers in our basics for a Windows PC (which you might want to check out), but considering that we can’t stress their importance enough, we’ll bring them up again. Look guys, you need these. They may not seem as important if say, all you did was check your email and Facebook and YouTube on the net, but considering the internet is a HUGE place, and all of us tend to go searching for something in it every once in a while from places we’re not all too familiar with (not to mention those sites where we get movies music and series from, that tend to lead you to seven other sites when you just click on something) it’s safe to say that having basic ad-block protection really is a must.

U-block origin(download here) is an awesome option for both Firefox and Chrome, but Ad-block plus(download here) is also a good Chrome alternative.

Video Downloaders.

Now as great as streaming is, sometimes we all just want to keep a video with us for later on ,whether to share it or watch it all over again . So whether it’s for YouTube, Facebook or Twitter, along with those sites you use to maybe not so legally stream those series and movies you love, these extensions will help you save the best online video content.

Twitter Video downloader(Firefox): probably a self explanatory extension, this handy little thing helps you save all those funny videos and GIFs the world of twitter has to offer you.(download)
Twitter Video/GIF downloader(Chrome): basically a Chrome version of the aforementioned Firefox plugin, you’ll get all the same features and an arguably better implementation.(download)
Flash Video Downloader(Firefox): This video downloading behemoth gets content from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram in some cases and probably any site you can stream video on ,legally or otherwise (basically this is what you should use if you want to download those series you stream online) unless that site uses a specialized streaming or encryption format. This is honestly one of our favorite plugins on this whole list, having an easy enough to understand model (the trademark arrow icon glows blue if something on the page can be downloaded). There is a bit of a learning curve to understanding the multiple file types it can download, but trust us, you want this extension.(Download)
Video Downloader Proffesional(Chrome): Virtually an equal to Flash Video downloader for Firefox, minus the capability to download YouTube videos because Google isn’t a fan of that and basically stopped all vendors on the Chrome Webstore from doing the same. However we can offer an alternative, Go to Savefrom and download their specialized extension, which allows you to view a download button just under any YouTube video you can use to download the video.(Download)
Easy YouTube Video Downloader express (Firefox): this one definitely wins points for ease of use, which makes up for its crazy long name. It also provides a simple download button with varying quality and conversion capabilities just under the YouTube video. Saves a crazy amount of time and work when you just want a YouTube Video.(Download)

Pocket: Do you like reading a lot of web articles? Do you hate the fact that you don’t have the time to read them all or you don’t remember which ones you wanted to read after a long day of working? Well this is where pocket comes in. Coming built in in Firefox and easy to add for Chrome (search for the save to pocket extension), this handy article reading app shaves off all the ads , distractions and puts all your favorite article in a virtual “pocket” for you to read at your leisure. Multiple copycats like Google Keep and Microsoft’s Reading List have all replicated parts of Pocket’s appeal, but it still is best in class for what it offers. Also, you can download the Pocket app for offline reading on your PC as well as get it fir android, iOS and even a third party client called Poki for Windows Phone. So if you need a convenient, smooth article reader that works across all your devices and offers offline functionality too, Pocket is your best bet.

Download Pocket Chrome Extension
Download Pocket App (For PC)
Download Pocket for iOS
Download Pocket for Android
Download Poki for Pocket for Windows Phone

Undo Close Tab : Ever closed a tab you’re still using and immediately regret it? Life’s too short for typing in the website URL again (if you can even still remember it) , so why not have an undo button the same way you do in a lot of desktop programs. There are two different extensions that give the same service whether on Chrome and Firefox and next to Ad-Block extensions, this might be the other thing on this list that you legitimately need.

Chrome version(Download)

Firefox version(Download)

Reverse image search(aka Search by Image): This little trick has personally been a help to me with multiple jobs, assignments, or just understanding what some thing in a picture is. It also comes in handy when trying to find some high-quality versions of some artwork or posters you like, or even expose a Catfish. The app allows you to search from Google, Bing, Yandex, even China’s Baidu. Basically, if you’re trying to find out more info about an image, or get different versions of it, this is what you need.