A client recently emailed me this link to check on the top Chrome extensions, which motivated me to finally get around to speaking on behalf of browser extensions. Yes, now that Chrome, the best browser out there for speed and security--the one you SHOULD be using, also has the ability to handle extensions and so there will always be some that are a necessity and others that make your browsing easier so reading articles like the one above can help, but at the same token, it is nothing more then installing a program and giving it a try. If you don't like it you will uninstall it, just like you can do with these extensions, but unfortunately that is where thing can go wrong and usually do. People either aren't sure how to uninstall, or simply 'disable' the extension so it is still installed but not being used, potentially creating other security issues, or the initial installation of that one extension has let to other browser insecurities due to the fact that it also installed other things that you were unaware of that are now running in the background, even if you uninstall the said extension.
Another point I brought up when I receive this email, was to be aware of where it is you are reading this information from. As a tech, I am doing nothing but reading these articles and trying out the different products, learning which are useful and which ones are crap since I get asked all the time, what is good and what should they watch out for. So when you read articles, in this case, from PC Mag, be aware that they are heavily funded by tech companies so the articles can, and usually are, slanted in the direction of promoting other products by these companies, much like when you buy a new computer and find all this 'free software' already installed, most of which is trial-ware and will expire after a short period of time, unless you buy the full version or 'subscribe' by the year.. be aware of this when reading any technical article.
