This extension isn’t just obviously named – it also works wonders too.  Once installed, you can right-click on any link and choose the option “Open Link in Private Browsing Mode”. Not sure if this would be useful? Here are a few examples from the extension developer of how this add-on might come in handy.

• You click around Amazon, and suddenly you see an item that you think would make a great gift for your partner, who uses the same computer.
• You encounter an ad for a really silly item that you really want to check out but are too embarrassed to admit.
• Your detour through the depths of Wikipedia gets so absurd that you’d rather not have those pages show up in your browsing history.

Want to give it a shot? You can pick up Open in Private Browsing Mode from the Firefox Add-ons website.

Need a way to easily highlight links you already have bookmarked while you are browsing the Web? The Bookmark Highlighter add-on for Firefox will get the job done.  This quick and easy add-on for Firefox will highlight links to any URLs on a webpage that are currently saved to your bookmarks.

The functionality of this add-on might be a little limited, but it does come in handy – should the situation ever arise.  For example, you could be going through your own website, making sure you had all your category pages bookmarked for quicker reference.  Also, it can act as a quick reminder of when you do have a page bookmarked – so you don’t feel the need to save it again.  That alone would help cut down on duplicate bookmarks a lot.

While it might not be functional for day to day use, I can see where Bookmark Highlighter might come in handy for a few special situations or projects. You can pick it up from the Firefox Add-ons website.

The meat and potatoes behind this Firefox extension are pretty simple.  Once installed, you can double-click on any unlinked URL – then Firefox loads it up in the browser.  You no longer need to copy and paste the website URL into the address bar or do anything else to get to that unlinked address.  You just double click it.

So now, right from within Firefox you can fix somebody else’s bad website coding with one simple add-on.  You can pick up Text link at the Firefox Add-ons website.

LikeJournal’s main job is to help you keep track of both your own Facebook likes and those of your friends’ too.  It saves them all as social bookmarks, so yu can easily search and browse them in a single click.

The way this works is simple.  You only need to log into LikeJournal website.  After that, your likes from Facebook will be instantly pulled in and indexed so you can browse and search them through the extension or LikeJournal website. From then on – each new link you like will be added to your link list on LikeJournal.com.  Even if you are without a like button on the website you are browsing, you can use the power of the LikeJournal add-on to share and archive any link, any time.

If you like (pun intended) both Firefox and Facebook, then you should give LikeJournal a shot.  You can download this add-on from the Firefox Add-ons website.

Mozilla’s social sharing button has gotten a few new improvements. F1, from Mozilla Labs is proposed to be a future default feature in a later version of Firefox, so think we should learn as much about it as we can.

The big update this time around is that the add-on now supports LinkedIn – so you can share things with your friends there. The interface has gotten a ‘bit of a facelift too.  Rather than expanding it’s interface down from the top of the browser, it shows a pop-up window that is more in-line with the Firefox 4 interface.

You also get a thumbnail picture preview when you share things on your Facebook account too.  I wish they would include the ability to post on Facebook fan pages – however, the new ability to post to your Facebook groups is a nice addition.

F1 is an add-on you have to try out if you are using Firefox 4 and have any sort of Facebook or Twitter-like social existence.  It might be about the best add-on I’ve seen when it comes to sharing links you have run across with family, friends and fans.

Not only will the Google Shortener let you shorten links, it also adds a button to your address bar so you can shorten or expand the URLs in the address bar too.   Google’s URL shortener service is pretty simple itself, so not sure this Firefox add-on could do much more as far as features go, even if it wanted to.

A nice feature they might be able to bring to it would be to show you the detail page of when the link was clicked and some of the basic statistics too.  I have been using the Google URL shortening service via FeedBurner for my Twitter posts for some time, and I do like having those basic features handy.

You can pick up the Google Shortener add-on for Firefox from the Firefox Add-ons website.

We all have questions about how Firefox works and how we can tweak it to make it better.  That is the single greatest aspect of this fantastic browser. So, with the end of the year coming up quick I thought it was about time we took a look back at the 25 most popular browser tweaking tips, customizations and tutorials I have posted on Firefox Facts over the years.  These 25 posts you see are the most visited topics from all of the support related articles I have written.

You voted for these with your mouse clicks over the past year, so let us check out the most popular Firefox support posts of 2010.

Change Default Search in Firefox

Tired of having Google as the default search engine in Firefox? Maybe it is another search engine’s turn to be on top?! If you feel the urge to dethrone Google as the default search engine for your Firefox search box – this is how you can get it done.

How to Backup Firefox Bookmarks

Backing up your bookmarks is one of those chores you have on your to-do list but never get around to it.  Then when they are lost, you say – I wish I would have.  Here are a few Firefox bookmark backup techniques to help you out.

Firefox Private Browsing Mode Help and FAQ

Want to increase your privacy on your PC?  With the release of Firefox 3.5, our favorite browser now has a Private Browsing mode.  Usually your browser remembers the web sites you have visited, your user names and passwords, your browsing history and more.  However, with this newest addition to the Firefox 3.5 feature list, you can now go incognito on the Internet.

about:robots – Firefox 3 Secret!

For those of you playing with Firefox 3 – Beta 5, try typing about:robots into your address bar and hit enter.

Firefox 3.6 Fix – Open New Tabs in Far Right

New to Firefox 3.6, when you are on a page, and you want to open a link in a new tab – rather than opening the link in the far right of the tab bar, Firefox will now open the link right next to the tab you are in.  Now, while this might be convenient for some, it is a feature I don’t really need.  So here is how you can disable the new “Insert Related Tab After Current” tweak in Firefox 3.6.

Google recently released an excellent web-based front end to the link shortening service they provide, but no Firefox add-on to compliment it.  Have no fear, because goo.gl lite is here.  This simple extension lets you shorten long URLs, using the goo.gl domain with just one click – and instantly copies the resulting URL to your clipboard for you. 

Once you have goo.gl installed, all you need to do is customize your menu toolbar, and drag it onto your Firefox interface.  Once there, click the button and the link for the webpage you are currently viewing is shortened.  As an extra bonus, you even get a temporary popup at the top of the page saying that the link has been shortened too – which is a nice cosmetic feature.

Every link you shorten with this extension also shows up when you visit the goo.gl website.

If you want to use the new goo.gl link shortening service, but also want an easy way to shrink links via a button in Firefox – then this is the perfect combination and solution to your problem.  You can download the goo.gl lite add-on for Firefox from the Firefox Add-ons website.

Tired of right-clicking to get a link to open in a new Firefox tab? Well, with the DblClicker installed – that will be a thing of the past.  This simple add-on for Firefox adds double clicking to the list of things you can do in your browser to bring up new links.

This lightweight tab extension for Firefox is pretty cool.  Once installed, it pretty much enables double-click action to a lot of things we do daily.  Here are the amazing features it brings to the table.

• Double-click Link to open in new tab.
• Double-click Bookmark/History to open in new tab.
• Autohide Bookmark/History after selection – according to DblClicker Options.
• Double-click tab action – according to DblClicker Options
• Duplicate Tab – default || Close Tab || None – avoid conflicts when using other tab clicking extensions.
• New tab will open in front/background for Links, Bookmarks/History according to FF preferences/DblClicker Options.

I open links in new tabs all the time, so having this add-on installed is a definate must for me.  Once you get used to double-clicking links, the functionality this add-on brings really feels like second nature.

You can download the DblClicker add-on from the Firefox Add-ons website.

I have a quick and easy tutorial you can all do (as long as you are on Facebook, that is).  I have started up my own fan page for Firefox Facts and my other projects – and here is how you can make sure you do not miss any of the awesome tips, links, videos or anything else I post there for you.

Step #1

The first thing you have to do is go log into Facebook – and visit this link (I don’t yet have enough fans to have a personal short URL yet).

http://www.facebook.com/MitchProjects

Step #2

Next, you will want to click the “Like” button at the top of the page.

Step #3

Enjoy!  This Facebook Fan Page is not for me – it is for you.  So if you have any questions, comments or just want to say, “Hey there!” please feel free.  Also the fan page is still a work in progress, so if there is something you would like to see there (such as a certain application or ability) let me know and I will try to make it happen.

For the last four years, I have absolutely enjoyed providing the over 7,000 subscribers of Firefox Facts with the best Firefox add-ons, the coolest themes, the neatest hacks and more.  This is just one more place we socialize, connect and make this resource even better.  Thanks for the future, “Like” and hope you stop in and say, “Hi!” too.