Introduction
I want to tell you about how bad my browsing experience was before I found these tools.
Every morning, I would open Chrome and wait. Pages loaded slowly. Videos would freeze every few seconds. My computer fan would spin loudly. I felt frustrated before I even started working.
Every website I visited was covered with advertisements. Pop-ups would appear out of nowhere. Video ads would start playing automatically with loud sound. Banners would cover the text I wanted to read. I could not focus on anything.
YouTube was the worst. I would click on a video. Then a 3030-second video would play. Sometimes two ads in a row. Sometimes the ad was longer than the video itself. I would watch a 55-minute video and spend 1 minute watching ads.
I also had a password problem. I used the same password for every account. My email, my bank, my social media, my shopping sites. All the same. I knew this was not safe. But I could not remember different passwords for different websites.
My writing was full of mistakes. I would send emails with typos. I would publish articles with missing commas. I would read my words later and feel embarrassed.
The bright white backgrounds of websites hurt my eyes. After a few hours of work, my eyes felt dry and tired. I would get headaches.
And I always had too many tabs open. Twenty tabs. Thirty tabs. Sometimes forty tabs at once. My computer would become very slow. I could never find the tab I needed.
Then I learned about browser extensions. Small add-ons that add new features to Chrome. I tested many extensions. Some were useless. Some made my browser slower. Some were actually dangerous.
But I found five that are genuinely helpful. They are free. They work well. They do not slow down my computer. I use every single one of them every day.
Today I am sharing these five extensions with you. I will tell you what each one does, how to install it, and why you need it.
Extension One: uBlock Origin
This is the most important extension on my browser. If you only install one extension from this list, choose this one.
uBlock Origin stops advertisements from appearing on websites. Not just some ads. Every kind of ad. Video ads on YouTube. Banner ads on news sites. Popup ads that appear suddenly. Floating ads that follow you as you scroll. It stops them all.
Before I found uBlock Origin, YouTube was almost impossible to use. I would find a video I wanted to watch. I would click on it. Then a 330-second ad would play. Sometimes two ads in a row. Sometimes ads would interrupt the video in the middle. I would get so annoyed that I would just close YouTube and do something else.
Now I click on a YouTube video, nd it starts playing immediately. No waiting. No interruptions. The video begins. I watch. That is the whole experience.
Before uBlock Origin, many news websites were unreadable. Ads would load slowly, pushing the text down the page. Ads would cover the article. Ads would play audio without my permission. I would just close the tab and find a different website.
Now those same news websites are clean and easy to read. The content loads first. The ads never appear. I can read an entire article from beginning to end without any distractions.
Here is something most people do not realize. Ads make your browser slower. Every ad loads images, videos, and tracking codes. These take time to download and process. When you block ads, web pages load much faster.
uBlock Origin costs nothing. There is no paid version. It does not show you ads. It does not collect your information. It does not sell your browsing history. It just blocks ads.
How to add it to Chrome:
Open Chrome. Go to the Chrome Web Store. Type "uBlock Origin" in the search box. Look for the extension with the purple icon. Click "Add to Chrome." Click "Add extension." That is all. You are done. You will never see another ad again.
Extension Two: Bitwarden
For years, I had a bad habit. I used the same password for every website. My email password was the same as my bank password. My social media password was the same as my shopping password. I knew this was not safe. Security experts warn against it constantly. But I could not remember different passwords for dozens of different sites.
Bitwarden solved this problem completely. It is a password manager.
When I sign up for a new website, Bitwarden offers to create a password for me. I click yes. Bitwarden creates a long, random password full of letters, numbers, and symbols. Something like "kL9#mQ2$vR5&pN8@". I do not need to remember this password. Bitwarden remembers it for me.
When I go back to that website later, Bitwarden puts my username and password into the login form automatically. I do not type anything. I just click a button, and I am logged in.
I now have more than 80 passwords stored in Bitwarden. I only remember one password. The rest are all random and secure. If one website gets hacked, my other accounts are safe because every password is different.
Bitwarden also includes a password generator. When I need to create a new password, I can open Bitwarden and ask it to generate a random password of any length I want. I can choose to include numbers, symbols, uppercase letters, and lowercase letters.
Bitwarden costs nothing for individual users. There is a paid version for companies, but the free version has everything a normal person needs. It works on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. It also has apps for Android and iPhone. Your passwords are available on all your devices.
How to add it to Chrome:
Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for "Bitwarden." Click "Add to Chrome." Click "Add extension." Click the Bitwarden icon in your browser toolbar. Click "Create Account." Enter your email address and create a strong master password. This master password is the only password you will ever need to remember. Do not lose it. Do not forget it.
Extension Three: Grammarly
I am not a perfect writer. I make mistakes. I type "hte" instead of "the." I forgot to add commas. I use the wrong word sometimes. I write sentences that are too long and confusing.
Grammarly finds my mistakes while I type. It works in almost every text box on the web. Gmail, Google Docs, Facebook, Twitter, comment sections, forums, everywhere.
When I write an email, Grammarly puts a colored line under my errors. I move my mouse over the line. Grammarly shows me the correction. I click it. The error is fixed. It takes one second.
Grammarly also suggests better word choices. If I use a word that is too simple or not quite right, Grammarly offers alternatives. If I write a sentence that is too long, Grammarly suggests breaking it into two shorter sentences.
Grammarly has a free version and a paid version. The free version catches basic spelling and grammar errors. It finds typos, missing commas, and incorrect word usage. This is enough for most people.
The paid version costs about 2,500 PKR per month. It catches more advanced issues like sentence structure, writing tone, and clarity. I use the paid version because I write for a living. But the free version is very good.
How to add it to Chrome:
Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for "Grammarly." Click "Add to Chrome." Click "Add extension." Click the Grammarly icon in your browser toolbar. Create a free account. You can use your Google account to sign up. That is all. Now Grammarly will check everything you type.
Extension Four: Dark Reader
Many websites have very bright designs. White backgrounds. Black text. High contrast. Staring at these screens for hours hurts my eyes. I would get headaches. My eyes would feel tired and dry by the end of the day.
Dark Reader changes any website to dark mode. It turns white backgrounds into dark gray or black. It turns black text into light gray or white. The contrast is lower. My eyes feel much better.
I use Dark Reader for Google Docs, Gmail, Google Calendar, news sites, Wikipedia, and any other website that is too bright. It works on every website I visit.
Dark Reader has settings you can adjust. You can change the brightness. You can change the contrast. You can choose between different dark mode styles. You can also tell it to leave certain websites alone if you prefer them bright.
Dark Reader costs nothing. It is open source, which means security experts can inspect the code to make sure it is safe. It does not collect your information. It does not show ads.
How to add it to Chrome:
Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for "Dark Reader." Click "Add to Chrome." Click "Add extension." Click the Dark Reader icon in your browser toolbar. Dark mode will turn on right away. Click the icon again to turn it off.
Extension Five: OneTab
My Chrome browser used to be filled with tabs. I would open a tab to read an article later. Then another tab. Then another tab. I would not close them. I would tell myself, "I will get to that soon."
Soon, I would have twenty tabs open. Then thirty tabs. Then forty tabs. My computer would become very slow. Chrome would use all the available memory. The fan would spin loudly. The whole computer would feel sluggish.
And I could never find the tab I needed. All the tabs were squeezed into tiny icons. I could not read their titles. I would waste minutes clicking through tabs trying to find the one I wanted.
OneTab solves this problem.
When I have too many tabs open, I click the OneTab button. All my open tabs are saved as a list on a single page. The tabs close immediately. My computer speeds up right away.
Later, I can restore individual tabs or all tabs at once. I can also group related tabs together. I can give each group a name.
I use OneTab for research. When I am working on an article, I open many tabs. When I finish for the day, I click OneTab. The tabs are saved. I close my browser. The next day, I open OneTab and restore the tabs I need.
OneTab costs nothing. It is simple. It works well. It does not collect your information.
How to add it to Chrome:
Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for "OneTab." Click "Add to Chrome." Click "Add extension." Click the OneTab icon in your browser toolbar whenever you have too many tabs open.
How These Five Extensions Work Together
Let me show you a typical day with these extensions.
I open Chrome in the morning. Dark Reader immediately changes bright websites to dark mode. I do not have to do anything.
I open Gmail to check my email. I start typing a reply. Grammarly finds my mistakes as I type. My email looks professional.
I open YouTube to watch a video. uBlock Origin stops all ads. The video starts playing right away. No waiting.
I need to log in to my bank account. I go to the bank website. Bitwarden fills in my username and password automatically. I do not type anything.
I start researching for an article. I open many tabs. Ten tabs. Fifteen tabs. Twenty tabs. After an hour, my computer starts to slow down. I click the OneTab button. All twenty tabs are saved in a list. My computer speeds up.
I continue my work. The extensions work quietly in the background. I do not have to think about them.
Five extensions. All free. All useful. I use every single one every day.
Common Questions About Chrome Extensions
Question one: Do these extensions make Chrome slower?
No. uBlock Origin actually makes Chrome faster because it stops ads from loading. Ads take time to download. Blocking them makes pages load faster. Bitwarden and OneTab have no effect on speed. Grammarly might cause a very small slowdown because it checks every word you type. But the benefit is worth it.
Question two: Are these extensions safe to install?
Yes. uBlock Origin is open source and used by millions of people. Bitwarden is open source and has been checked by security experts. Grammarly is a well-known company used by millions. Dark Reader is open source. OneTab is simple and does not collect your information.
Question three: Do these extensions work on Firefox or Edge?
Most of them do. uBlock Origin works on Firefox, Edge, and Safari. Bitwarden works on Firefox, Edge, and Safari. Dark Reader works on Firefox and Edge. Grammarly works on most browsers. OneTab is only for Chrome.
Question four: Which extension should I install first?
uBlock Origin. No question. It will change your browsing experience more than any other extension. Install it first. Use it for one day. You will be surprised how much faster and cleaner the web becomes.
Question five: Can I use these extensions on my phone?
Chrome on Android does not support extensions. You would need to use a different browser l, like Kiwi Browser or Firefox. Chrome on iPhone does not support extensions at all. For iPhone, you are limited to Safari with content blockers.
Question six: Do I really need all five extensions?
No. Start with uBlock Origin. Add Bitwarden if you want better password security. Add Grammarly if you write a lot of emails or documents. Add Dark Reader if bright websites hurt your eyes. Add OneTab if you always have too many tabs open.
Question seven: Are there good free alternatives to these extensions?
For ad blocking, AdBlock Plus is another popular choice. But AdBlock Plus allows some ads by default unless you change the settings. For password management, LastPass has a free version, but it limits you to one device type. For dark mode, Chrome has an experimental dark mode, but it does not work on every website.
My Final Advice
You do not need to be a computer expert to use Chrome extensions.
Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for these five extensions. Click "Add to Chrome." Click "Add extension." That is all.
Start with uBlock Origin. That single extension will improve your browsing experience more than anything else.
Then add Bitwarden. Your online security will become much better.
The other extensions are optional. Add them only if you need them.
Try these extensions today. You will wonder how you ever used Chrome without them.
Related Articles
){kind=link}
0 Comments