Gadgetory

long before the idea of enhancing the functionality of a web browser to the point where it could be an entire PC operating system was the twinkle in Google's eye enterprising developers have been trying to make the internet a little more exciting with walls of toolbars for sweepstakes coupons asking questions of the world's most knowledgeable Butler and virtual pets that would sing talk and load malicious code onto your unsuspecting PC but as clunky and awful as those early add-ons were they were actually the forerunners of modern browser extensions that's right browser extensions don't actually have to be slick and minimalist like everything you see today in fact an extension is basically just any piece of software that adds functionality to your browser in some way there are huge libraries of these extensions available for Chrome and Firefox with Microsoft's new edge browser finally having the possibility of supporting those libraries in the future so what are these extensions actually come from well they're usually a few that come directly from the publisher of your web browser such as the ever-popular Google Mail checker for Chrome but the vast majority of them are written by third-party programmers checked for bugs and then published in some sort of official store by Mozilla Google or whoever else wrote your web browser either for free or with a usually small cost associated with them ok so I know what they are I know where they come from but why would I want them well in much the same way that Apple never expected anyone to use their phone as a flashlight extensions are limited only by some basic publication rules and the creativity of developers so there are plenty of reasons to love them here are some examples of things extensions can do automatically apply discount codes to vote having you search for them reveal who's tracking your online activity through cookies block distracting websites when you're up really late trying to finish that term paper in the last freaking minute customize the look of popular websites however you could possibly want recover that massive reddit rant that you lost because you accidentally hit the back button and even show you crowd-sourced summaries of EULA's so you don't end up allowing someone to harvest your organs in the middle of the night in exchange for some free music or something but before you go out and install every browser extension known to man here are some important considerations first of all although most browser extensions are small files that you download quickly they can still tie up your computer's resources especially if you try to run too many of them at the same time and secondly and this is much more important poorly secured and even nefarious browser extensions are still out there even after the official stores have vetted them so be sure to read reviews along with the fine print before you install everything some extensions can spy on your browsing habits without telling you and others might even funnel other people's traffic through your connection as was the case with the Jolla VPN extension a while back but as long as you're careful about what you install extensions can enhance your browsing experience just as much as they can enhance your tired old look speaking of enhancing things lynda.com allows you to watch streams of thousands of videos on demand from top experts in the fields of design development web photography and tons more they even bacon some additional functionality like being able to download these tutorials and watch them on the go and the ability to take some well-sorted notes and create custom learning paths for yourself or your team your lynda.com membership will get you all of this for a flat rate starting at just $25 per month whether you're looking to become an industry expert you're just passionate about a specific hobby or you just want to learn something new you can head over to lynda.com slash tech quickie and sign up for your free 10-day trial as always thanks for watching like this video if you liked it dislike it if you disliked it leave a comment if you have suggestions for future fast as possible episodes and don't forget to subscribe