At the end of each year, most people enjoy reviewing notable events for the previous 12 months. With that in mind, we are taking a look back at Firefox for 2015.
Which new browser features were added? Which MakeUseOf posts for Firefox stood out? Which helpful add-ons were recommended? Here is a wrap-up of these noteworthy items as we say good-bye to another year.
New Firefox Features in 2015
Every year users hope and look forward to new browser features. This year Firefox incorporated several changes and here is a list of just some of them along with the month they were released:
- Firefox Hello was introduced for real-time video chatting with friends and coworkers (January)
- New sharing features were added making it easier to connect and stay connected (July)
- A fresh look for Windows 10 and safer add-ons were implemented (August)
- Firefox for iOS was released worldwide for mobile users (November)
- The new Tracking Protection feature was added for more private browsing (November)
3 Must-Read Firefox Posts
Switching From Chrome: How to Make Firefox Feel Like Home – For those who decide to make the full change from Chrome to Firefox, Joel Lee takes you through helpful ways to feel comfortable with your decision.
The piece begins with reasons for making the switch that include privacy, performance, and personalization. It then goes on to assist you with how to transfer your data from Chrome to Firefox. If you are interested in a different theme and would like to change the tab scrolling, this helpful article has you covered there as well.
Update Firefox Now! Or a Security Flaw Can Steal Your Local Files – Back in August when Mozilla issued a critical update to address a security flaw, Mihir Patkar jumped in to help users through it. This article describes the steps that need to be taken, how to perform them, and why it is so important.
The piece then goes on to explain why other browsers might be safer. For those who might believe they should stop using Firefox all together, the article explains that Mozilla took steps immediately to remedy the issue.
How Easy Is It for a Chrome User to Switch to Firefox Today? – For users who are still on the fence regarding the change from Chrome to Firefox, Mihir Patkar provides a useful piece. Using his own experience with the two popular browsers, you can easily see what you would miss with Chrome by making the switch.
From extensions to Chromecast support, the value of add-ons is discussed. Then, with a wrap-up, mention of the browsers on mobile devices, and a challenge to readers to try the switch for one week, the article prompted many opinions in the comments from users.
Standout Firefox Extensions in 2015
As with other browsers, MakeUseOf checks out many add-ons throughout the year to find the best ones. From productivity to social networking to security and more, here are some of the best Firefox add-ons we used in 2015.
13 Essential Firefox Addons To Begin 2015 – To get your year started right, Mihir Patkar provided a terrific list covering various categories of add-ons. Here are some of those helpful tools:
- Privacy Badger for improving privacy and security
- Tab Grenade for turning tabs into a list on one page
- Fokus for highlighting text on a page
- Download Plan for scheduling links to be downloaded later
- Profilist for switching profiles quickly
7 Great Customization Add-ons for Firefox – For those who love to customize their browsing experience, I put together this list with a nice selection to spruce up Firefox and here are just a few:
- Personas Plus for adding an fun theme or attractive skin
- ColorfulTabs for turning tabs into different colors, manually or by domain
- Classic Theme Restorer for bringing back features of previous Firefox versions
6 Great Social Sharing Extensions for Firefox – Social sharing is simple with this list of Firefox add-ons that I created to help keep users stay connected which includes:
- AddThis for sharing to social media sites as well as Gmail, WordPress, and more
- Buffer for sharing to Facebook or Twitter using a scheduler
- Pinterest Pin Button for quick uploading of images to Pinterest boards
Completely Secure: 11 Must-Have Firefox Addons For Security – When it comes to security, having reliable tools is key to keeping you safe and Joel Lee has a great list to help, including these five items:
- HTTPS Everywhere for secure browsing by forcing HTTPS all the time
- Ghostery for blocking Web trackers
- Blur for data collection blocking and management of passwords and payment details
- BetterPrivacy for protection of long-term super-cookies
- Bloody Vikings! for using temporary email addresses for miscellaneous signups
The Best Firefox Add-ons of 2015
From security and productivity add-ons to articles that assist you with the switch from Chrome to Firefox, MakeUseOf is here to help. These popular posts and useful extensions are the ones that really stood out for Firefox in 2015 and there will certainly be more to come in the new year.
What are your favorite new add-ons for Firefox? And which of our Firefox articles did you enjoy the most this year?
Image Credit: Gustavo Frazao via Shutterstock.com