The 100 Best Free Google Chrome Extensions-gctid260192

[Ajamu]

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358592,00.asp?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=dailynews&utm_medium=title

 
The 100 Best Free Google Chrome Extensions
These are some of the best extensions you can and should add to your Google browser.

By Eric Griffith

• March 2, 2018 4:56PM EST

CONTENTS

• Screen/Page Capture
• Google Services
• Interface/Utilities
• Productivity
• Security
• Shopping
• Social/Sharing
• Tabs
• Video

It's been an up and down few years for Google's Chrome web browser.

When we first did a version of this story in January 2015, Chrome had about 22.65 percent of the browser market worldwide, according to Net Applications. As of July 2016, Chrome had 50.95 percent—it crossed paths with Microsoft Internet Explorer in March of that year, when both hit 39 percent. Today it's at 59 percent. IE continues to dwindle, as does Safari and Firefox and even Microsoft's Edge browser is down, from 5.0 percent in 2016 to 3.89 percent as of this writing. Only Chrome has gained.

But, it has lost some kudos—from us. After several years as PCMag's favorite browser, a resurgent Firefox took our Editors' Choice award. The reason: Chrome lags in graphics hardware acceleration, and it isn't exactly known for respecting user privacy (just like its parent company). And Firefox really kicked it up a notch with the release of Quantum.

That said, Chrome remains a four-star tour de force for web surfing, with full HTML5 support and speedy JavaScript performance. Obviously, there is no denying its popularity. And, like Firefox before it, it's got support for extensions that make it even better. Its library of extras, found at the Chrome Web Store, has rivaled Firefox's for years. Also, the store has add-ons to provide quick access to just about every web app imaginable. The latest version of Chrome even promises to block bad advertising.

Rather than have you stumble blindly through the Chrome Web Store to find the best, we've compiled a list of 101 you should consider. Several are unique to Google and its services (such as Gmail), which isn't surprising considering who made Chrome. Most extensions work across operating systems, so you can try them on any desktop platform (especially on a Chromebook); there may be some versions that work on the mobile Chrome, too.

All of these extensions are free; there's no harm in giving them a try—you can easily disable or remove them by typing chrome://extensions/ into the Chrome address bar, or right-click an extension's icon in the toolbar to remove it. Every extension must have a toolbar icon; you can hide them without uninstalling the extension by right-clicking and selecting "Hide in Chrome Menu." You can't get rid of the icons forever without uninstalling..

Read on for our favorites, and let us know if we missed a great one!

 

Click here to read rest of article