Not every Chrome or Firefox extension you use has to be one-hundred-per cent dedicated to productivity or utility. Sometimes, it's just nice to look at something pretty. And in the case of Earth View from Google Earth, I don't really care if it eats up my browser's memory or otherwise impacts its performance in any way. It makes me happy, and it will make you happy too -- exactly why this is our Extension of the Week.

Last year, I spent a chunk of time playing around with different browsers. Microsoft Edge, much to much dismay, got a run for a couple of weeks. I mucked around with the early days of the Firefox Quantum beta. And then, just like everyone else, I went back to Chrome.

But even though I returned to the home of Google, I've still been angling for something different. And over the last few weeks, I found myself using Firefox more and more, until the browser finally became my default option across all platforms.

Even if you're the next Stephen King or George R. R. Martin -- and if you're the latter, please try to write faster -- everyone needs a helping hand with writing. That's why the world has editors, and copy editors, grammar coaches, ten million books on writing, and most importantly, browser extensions that can help you better your craft.

Sometimes, you just don't feel like waiting for a video to stream. That, or a video is so compelling, you want to make an offline copy so you can pull it up (and show your friends) at a moment's notice.

You can't stop Facebook from tracking everything you do on the social network (unless you delete your account, of course), but there is a way to stop it from tracking where you go once you leave the company's walled garden. All you need is Mozilla's new Firefox browser extension: Facebook Container.

Put your hand up if your browser's "Downloads" folder is packed with random stuff? OK, I'm sure some people diligently organise theirs, but for the rest of us, it would be nice if you could sort files ahead of time. "Save In", an add-on for Firefox and Chrome, lets you save files to sub-directories so you can keep that Downloads folder nice and clean.

For three days last week I received a push notification every time Space.com posted a story. While I definitely like my share of space stories, I'm not a huge enthusiast. The notifications started when I accidentally misclicked on a push notification asking if I wanted them and then was too lazy to change it until it got so annoying I couldn't take it anymore.

Google killed the View Image button recently and while it's easy enough to work around, it'd be even better if there was a way to restore it. Hang on... isn't that what browser extensions and addons are for?

Viruses don't want to be removed, so the nastier ones will fight to stay put by disabling protection software, cloaking their presence and even generating fake windows and dialog boxes to give you a bum steer. Looks like malicious extensions are getting in on the action too, doing whatever they can to evade uninstallation.

Amazon and Google have been duking it out for the past few months, and it doesn't look like the two companies will come to an agreement anytime soon. Earlier this month, Google announced plans to pull its YouTube app from Amazon's Fire TV streaming devices starting on January 1. Thankfully, there's a solution waiting in the wings.

It has been revealed that a marketing stunt has left many Firefox users thinking their computers had been hacked. An add-on, called “Looking Glass 1.0.3", has been officially installed with recent builds of Firefox. It's an AR game that lets people play along using clues from the hit TV show Mr Robot. But it's also a warning to software developers to not let marketing teams get too cute.

Mousewheel scrolling is a decent way of navigating a web page. If you know what you're looking for, a text search is faster. But what if you're not quite sure where the information you need is? If you're using Firefox, then Mathieu Pillard's Minimap Scroller might help.

Firefox is adding a new feature that will tell you if you’re visiting a website that has been hacked. Working with Aussie security researcher Troy Hunt, the Mozilla team will use the Have I Been Pawnd service to identify sites that have been compormised to warn you.

In the nine years that it's been around, Google Chrome's speed and simplicity convinced most of us to make the switch from whatever browser we were using before (though not everyone is a Chrome fan). With a new overhaul and some streamlining, Firefox is hoping to claw back some of that market share.

Mozilla claims its updated web browser is twice as fast as its last one, and uses a lot less memory than the competition - Google Chrome in particular. It's called Firefox Quantum, and it might give the web's most popular web browser a run for its money.

Your browser might be doing someone else's dirty work behind your back, mining cryptocurrency for malicious individuals using your desktop or laptops to create the digital currency, which can potentially be exchanged for real cash. According to Wired, hackers have found a way to inject Javascript-based cryptocurrency mining software into compromised sites, borrowing your processing power (and slowing down your computer) to generate the cryptocurrency Monero.

Sure, you need to finish that PowerPoint presentation for next week, but it won't hurt to just check Facebook real quick and see if Mark posted pictures from the party last weekend. And then make a quick online order. And you really should like a few photos in that gallery... It's easy to waste a few minutes (or a few hours) on the web without realising it.

Web: Firefox users bouncing between work and personal accounts on a daily basis are probably tired of logging in and out, or switching accounts. Thanks to the new (and overdue) Mozilla-made Multi-Account Container extension, you won't have to worry about remembering which account you're logged into. If you're unconcerned about separating work and personal accounts, you can still take advantage of multi-account browsing to preserve your privacy or discourage bad habits.

We've grown accustomed to apps and even operating systems collecting data about usage and trends and sending it back to the appropriate mothership. What's more unusual (but very much appreciated) is when a company provides a heads-up about its collection plans, something Mozilla communicated last week for Firefox.