Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) is a multipage browser based on the Internet Explorer core. It can open multiple Web pages in just one window, and it takes only a few system resources when you're surfing with the integrated user interface. The application supports special plug-ins and IE extensions, and its features include autoscrolling, form autofilling, external tools, plug-in support, a newsgroup-browsing mode, mouse gestures, customizable skins, and an Autohide panel.

Download Maxthon Standard 1.6.4.20 build 50 in Softonic

Since Firefox exploded onto the web-browsing scene in 2004, it has been downloaded an incredible 200 million times according to its developers, Mozilla. Since then, apart from some minor changes, visual teaks and security fixes, there haven’t been any radical changes – that is until now. Firefox 2.0 is finally here and brings fans a whole host of integrated functions that were previously either unavailable or needed plug-ins.

Note that many of the existing themes and extensions will not work with this beta release although you can try forcing them with the “Nightly” extension – at your own risk of course.

Amongst the security highlights of 2.0 are anti-phishing support which helps the browser discriminate between genuine websites and those intended to store and retrieve your personal information. Other goodies include enhanced tabbed browsing (each with their own close option finally), the ability to un-close tabs, search plug-in/add-on manager, and much, much more. One of the most useful features we found was a predictive search function within the Google toolbar that would suggest potential phrases and popular search terms as you typed. The automatic session retrieval option (previously available with the Tab Mix Plus plugin) is also a tonic when your system crashes or you’ve got too many tabs open and Firefox cripples under the strain.

The extension incompatibility issue is the main drawback although this will change as developers update their plugins over the coming weeks and months. The legendary memory leak also still doesn’t seem to have been fixed as Firefox continues to guzzle processing power. This resulted in frequent crashes, keyboard head-banging and violent swearing.

Whilst the recently released Internet Explorer 7 is only just introducing tabbed browsing, Firefox 2.0 is already taking internet surfing to a new level. Although many of the new features are available with plug-ins anyway, this is still a rip-roaring browser and consolidates Firefox’s position as the best browser on the market by miles.

Download Firefox 2.0.0.16 in Softonic

FoxClocks is an extension for Firefox, Thunderbird and Sunbird which can conveniently add world times to your status bar or alternatively, any any toolbars that you're using.

FoxClocks is a great idea for anyone who has to travel widely or finds themselves constantly having to know what time it is in other regions to contact colleagues etc. You have various choices on which clocks you display in FoxClocks. If you prefer, you can simply set it so that a FoxClocks clock changes colour during certain hours - for example you can make your Tokyo clock turn green if you have to make an important call there and don't want to risk waking them out of bed!

You can browse time zones by country, region or city and if you enable automatic updates, you'll always have the right time (although your PC should update itself automatically anyway so this is no big deal). Other than that, there aren't many other customization options in FoxClocks but you can change the time formats to something more useful or familiar to you.

Foxclocks is an excellent time tracking tool for anyone that works across timezones or regularly calls people in other parts of the globe.

Download FoxClocks 2.4.91 in Softonic

Firefox tabs are a great way to organise your surfing habits no matter how many sites or pages you want to visit at one time.

However, you can only view one page at a time and it's very easy to lose track of what you've got open and for how long for. Aging Tabs allows you to see how expired your tabs are because they change colour according to how old they are. You can define what colour you want them to change to and over which time period with Aging Tabs.

Aging Tabs also gives new colour to tabs that have just been opened or have been reopened after recently closing them. At the end of the day, Aging Tabs is not a major innovation but it does allow you to keep much better tabs on what you've got open and for how long for. However, whether you really need to do this or not is the big question - maybe it's a good way to stop Firefox hogging so much RAM by reminding you to close tabs.

Aging Tabs is an easy way to add an extra touch of organisation to Firefox and make sure that you know exactly how long tabs have been open for - should you ever need to know.

Download Aging Tabs 0.7.1 in Softonic

Don’t you ever wish you had a virtual marker to highlight certain paragraphs on any website? Well, guess what: your marker is here, and it's called Wired-Marker.

Wired-Marker is a handy Firefox plug-in with which you can highlight any text on a website in different colors. The colors can be easily selected from the browser's context menu, so simply select the text you're interested in, right click on it and choose our favorite color.

Wired-Marker maintains highlighted texts even after closing the browser. What's more, Wired-Marker also stores text in its own menu on the browser's toolbar, so it's also a handy way to keep interesting information at sight.

The only thing I missed was having a way to share these text snippets with other users (may be a built-in screen capturer?).

With Wired-Marker you can easily highlight and store text snippets on any website, in different colors.

Download Wired-Marker 2.0.08072400 in Softonic

Zoundry Raven is our a flexible WYSIWYG blog editor that allows you to edit blogs on a wide range of platforms.

The feel of Zoundry Raven is something like that of a word processor except you can add links, tags, photos, music and video files and publish directly to major platforms such as Blogger and Wordpress. The Zoundry Raven editor is WYSIWYG meaning that you know exactly how it's going to look before anything is published.

In addition, you can use tabs in Zoundry Raven to separate multiple blogs. So for instance, you can have one tab for your Blogger blog and one for your Wordpress blog. There's also a useful indexer which links to every blog post you've ever written making it easy to manage your posts. There's no need to even install Zoundry Raven on your hard drive - you can run it from a USB stick.

Zoundry Raven is a brilliant blogging application which makes updating and managing blogs on different platforms insanely easy.

Download Zoundry Raven 0.9.360 Beta in Softonic

Although blogs are now the most common way to be online, there are still people who prefer alternative web publishing methods like a content management system.

Joomla! is one of those systems, in fact one of the most popular ones. On the one hand, it's definitely not as easy to set up as a personal blog on any free blogging platform, but on the other hand, it grants you total control on the way your website is displayed, managed and updated. And in case you need help, Joomla! features a highly detailed help section on its website which can bring light on any problem you may have during installation and configuration.

With Joomla! you can set up a complete website in minutes. You don't need to design or code anything; as long as you install the required apps (PHP, MySQL and Apache) you're ready to go. The whole website is configured and customized through web menus, so that the only thing you need to worry about is creating good content for your site.

If you want to set up a complete website with no coding or designing knowledge, a content management system like Joomla! is the perfect choice for you.

Download Joomla! 1.5.6 in Softonic

There is nothing that annoys me more in Firefox when a PDF document tries to open and crashes the browser. That was until I tried PDF Download.

PDF Download prevents this problem ever arising by allowing you to control exactly how and when PDF files are opened or downloaded. Instead of opening PDF files "blind" which is currently the case, PDF Download lets you know exactly how big it is with options of whether to convert it, open it, download it or convert to HTML. PDF Download stops the annoying problem of PDF files taking ages to open - especially big ones. With PDF Download, you can see instantly whether its a big file, in which case, it's advisable to download it for reading later as opening a big PDF file is like waiting for Christmas to arrive sometimes.

The PDF Download plugin usually presents you with 3 options unless you've instructed it to do the same thing by default all the time - convert the PDF to HTML, download the PDF or open the PDF in the browser. One bonus with PDF Download, that perhaps separates it from others, is that it's not just limited to Adobe Reader. PDF Download also works with Foxit Reader and other PDF readers although to be honest, if you're using Foxit, you won't find much use for PDF Download anyway as it opens PDF files much more smoothly than Adobe Reader.

PDF Download is an excellent PDF tool which will result in fewer Firefox crashes although not everytime as it still seems susceptible to crashes when opening PDF files in the browser.

Download PDF Download 2.0.0.0 in Softonic

The worst part of buying a new computer is the fact that you have to backup your stuff in the old PC and move it all to the new one. Luckily there are some software apps that can help you with that.

One of them is FEBE, which stands for Firefox Environment Backup Extension. As it name states, this Firefox add-on lets you create a backup copy of all the important information in your browser (bookmarks, extensions, preferences, themes, cookies and more) and restore it in a different location, all in a very easy way.

With FEBE you can then have a perfectly synchronized copy of Firefox in each one of your computers, be it your desktop and laptop or home and office computers. It's also a great tool to have a backup copy of your browser just in case it crashes or if you want to test new versions without taking any risks. And if you can't be bothered creating a backup copy by yourself, use FEBE's scheduling tool and let the extension take care of it.

FEBE is seamlessly integrated into Firefox interface: open the Tools menu and you'll be able to access the extension's options menu and main functions. The only drawback we could find to the extension is the sounds played by the program when displaying any warning: they're a bit annoying so remember to turn them off in the settings menu.

If you want to have a complete backup copy of all your Firefox data or need to move Firefox settings from one PC to another, this is the tool you're looking for.

Download FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) 6.0 in Softonic

Some months ago I learnt about Greasemonkey, a Firefox extension that enables you to customize the appearance and behaviour of certain web pages by means of some Javascript snippets. But that coding bit somehow kept me away from testing it. You know, I'm a lazy user and I want software apps to do all the work by themselves.

Now I've found this great extension that features the best Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail. You don't even need to have Greasemonkey itself installed. Better Gmail is the only thing you need to add new functionalities to your Gmail inbox, customize its appearance and improve your productivity.

Among other things, you'll be able to see previews of message content, identify attachments with a file type icon, save searches, add skins to Gmail's interface and even integrate Google Reader under the Gmail page.

Unfortunately I had problems with some of the scripts (label coloring wouldn't work for me) but in general terms this makes a great extension for Gmail fans.

If you think Gmail is great, install this Firefox extension and make it even better with new functionalities and an improved look.

Download Better Gmail 2.0.6 in Softonic

You probably visit the same websites every day, when you turn on your PC. It's some sort of ritual, like having a strong, delicious cup of coffee every morning. So what not mixing both things together?

Morning Coffee is a Firefox extension with which you can easily organize those routine web readings. In a way it works as a folder in the bookmarks toolbar, because it can open several tabs simultaneously. But the main difference is that these tabs can be configured according to the day of the week. So you can, for example, include some Internet blogs in your Morning Coffee for weekdays, and then add videogame magazines and personal websites for the weekend Morning Coffee.

The only thing I missed was having the possibility to open these tasty morning coffees right upon starting the browser, as a homepage. However it looks like they're working on this feature to implement it in later versions.

A helpful extension to manage websites you visit on a daily basis

Download Morning Coffee Extension 1.32 in Softonic

One of the things that drew most people to Firefox in the first place was its wonderful tabs feature, which, for many, revolutionised the way they navigate the Web. Of course, most browsers these days now have this feature. Despite the convenience of a tabbed interface, it can still be a little tricky to figure out what's what in terms of the pages you have on each of your tabs. Tab Catalog gives you the power to take control of your tabs by managing them all from one screen.

With the click of a single button this neat extension allows you to view thumbnails of all the tabs you have open at once. The default shortcut key is F8, but this can be customised to your choosing. Once the tabs are in view, you can open a page simply by clicking on its thumbnail image. There are a few other nice options, such as the ability to zoom in on or close a tab with a single click.

Download Tab Catalog 1.4.2008050271 in Softonic

There are great sites on the Internet to watch videos, but most of them don't allow you to directly download those clips to your PC. A good option is having this extension installed on Firefox, enabling you to download embedded video files from a great variety of video sites all over the Internet.

Although it gave us some error messages (it wasn't able to find anything on a Youtube video page) Fast Video Dowloader is still a convenient tool to download embedded clips. It sits unobtrusively on Firefox's statusbar and saves video files in several formats, depending on which website you're downloading from.

Download Fast Video Download Firefox Extension 1.6.1 in Softonic

If there's one thing that Firefox has always lacked, it's a decent download manager but FlashGot gives more power to your favourite browser.

FlashGot is a free Mozilla Firefox (and Thunderbird) extension that ¡s designed for those who do a lot of downloading. It can handle large numbers of batch downloads with it's own intuitive download manager. This simple but powerful plugin can even handle batch downloads for many anonymous or redirected download link services such as anonym.to, tinyurl.com, moourl.com, anonymz.com, shorten.ws and tubeurl.com. This most recent version has been updated to support rapidly growing sites such as megaupload.com, rapidshare.com and depositfiles.com.

The one drawback is the constant update warnings. You'll find that frequently, when it comes to starting Firefox, FlashGot will prompt you for an update which is a bit annoying but a small price to pay for a great download manager. No more clicking multiple links and "Save as" - FlashGot simply scans the page for downloadable links and then you select which ones you need.

A much needed addition to Firefox although some users may find it an inferior choice to DownThemAll!

Download FlashGot Plugin 1.0.5 in Softonic

Anyone with kids worries about what they might be exposed to on the Internet. To protect them you need to make sure you can monitor their usage of both the internet and the computer. Net Nanny is a parental control tool built to help you do this.

First things first, Net Nanny lets you block inconvenient material such as adult sites, violence or drug related websites. In all there are 31 categories of sensitive material that you can choose to block or not. Net Nanny also integrates Safe Search, a feature which works with most search engines like Yahoo! or Google.

Net Nanny also lets you set time restrictions and decide when your computer is blocked. You can also put limits on games played on internet by your kids.

The best way to use Net Nanny is probably to create profiles for each of your kids and set filters, different login types and passwords for each of them.

Net Nanny will also generate reports of login and usage and keep you aware of any attempts at accessing restricted material.

Although the installation is a little lengthy, Net Nanny will give you good control over what your children can access on your computer.

Download Net Nanny Parental Controls 5.6 in Softonic

When browsing the Internet with Firefox, sometimes you open so many tabs that you end up not knowing where is each webpage you opened a few minutes ago. The solution is Tab Scope, a Firefox extension which enables you to preview the each tab's contents in a preview window opened just below the tab.

The preview window offers real time content with buttons you can use to actually navigate through the site, support for page scrolling with your mouse wheel and two sizes available for smaller or larger preview images that you can customize in the extension's configuration options.

Download Tab Scope 0.2.2.8 in Softonic

ScribeFire (previously Performancing for Firefox) is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post to your blog.

Just hit F8 or click the little pencil icon at the bottom right to bring up the blog editor and easily post to your Wordpress, MovableType or Blogger blogs. You can also drag and drop formatted text from pages you are browsing, take notes, and post to your blog.

ScribeFire also offers Technocrati support and Delicious integration. It also supports trackbacks and creating drafts.

Download ScribeFire 2.3.1 in Softonic

If you've got a website, you'll know how annoying it is when links break or suddenly move to another location meaning your site is littered with broken links all over the place.

HTML Link Validator is a a highly useful tool for checking web sites for broken links. HTML Link Validator checks links case sensitively, and can validate thousands of HTML links all at once. HTML Link Validator can be used to check links on a web server, on your local computer and even your browser bookmarks and favourites.

As a bonus, when validating pages and sites which are on a web server, somewhere in the Internet, Link Validator behaves as a fully automated webspider, which gives you a full report on the links found in all scanned files and pages. This report isn't much use unless you're a webmaster but it's a good way to see the latest on where your links are going and whether they are working.

HTML Link Validator is a great tool for anyone to check that their website is in fully functioning tip top order without manually going through the links.

Download HTML Link Validator 4.42 in Softonic

If you're tired of your old web browser, try using alternatives which, despite not being very well-known, they work perfectly well. One of them is Sleipnir.

Sleipnir is a complete web browser that can fully replace Internet Explorer or Firefox. In fact, it uses the Internet Explorer core engine but you can replace it by the Mozilla Gecko engine if you want. Sleipnir also comes bundled with Roboform, a handy password and web form manager.

When running Sleipnir for the first time, you can import data from quite a varied amount of browsers. I must say however that my first impression of Sleipnir wasn't very good: the interface is simply bloated with buttons and toolbars, too many for someone like me who loves minimalist design.

That said, Sleipnir does have many positive sides to it. You can browse the web comfortably (thanks to its powerful tab management system) and safely (with a wide array of security tools). Sleipnir also features a complete built-in search tool, an RSS manager similar to Firefox Live Bookmarks, support for proxy servers and many other interesting tools.

Sleipnir is a powerful alternative web browser that's definitely worth a try, even if you're happy with your current browser.

Download Sleipnir 2.8 in Softonic

EasyGestures is a Firefox add-on intended to make it easier to control the browser's main functions. It displays a pie menu that can be triggered with a hotkey (the default is the mouse middle button) and which displays Firefox's main navigation buttons, so that you can go forward and back, show bookmarks or load your homepage from anywhere on your screen.

This is supposed to be a more comfortable way to use Firefox, but my feeling is that it's just too different from the menu toolbars we're used to. Besides, the pie menu buttons don't have any explanation and you have to leave your cursor on the pie menu central spot if you want some hints as what to use them for.

For those of you who overcome the initial show, EasyGestures is still a good alternative to keyboard shortcuts and can be totally customized to display different options on its menu.

Download easyGestures 4.2 in Softonic