I do not use IE as my default browser due to security concerns. For several years I have used Firefox, first to address the security issue, then because I liked the tabs and add-ons. Here are my favorite add-ons.
NoScript allows JavaScript, Java and other executable content to run only from trusted domains of your choice, e.g. your home-banking web site, and guards the “trust boundaries” against cross-site scripting attacks (XSS). Such a preemptive approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even unknown!).
Tab Mix Plus provides all sorts of Tab options that don’t exist in Firefox.
Cooliris Previews lets you preview a web link without having to open up the whole page. You can expand the preview to a full tab/window, navigate within the preview, e-mail the site/page link to others, etc..
PDF Download solves all the problems with opening PDF files in Firefox.
Zotero is a citation manager, recommended and supported by about 100 academic institutions.
Split Pannel allows you to view two pages simultaneously for comparison or copying info from one to the other. Can be resized by dragging the bar between the main browser and new panel.
Internote allows you to create persistent sticky notes on a web page which will be there once you return. Notes are very customizable, and come with many small, useful features. A manager is available, in which you can see all of your saved notes, edit them, print them, and delete them.
Resurrect Pages 1.0.8 allows you to see dead pages, broken links by searching through five big page cache/mirrors: CoralCDN, Google Cache, Yahoo! Cache, The Internet Archive, and the MSN Cache.
The two following add-ons save time and allow access to pages that are browser specific without switching browsers to view IE only websites.
User Agent Switcher allows access to sites that might restrict your access based on which browser you are using. Since it does not render a page as another browser might and doesn’t work with every site.
IE Tab enables use of the embedded IE engine
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, I rate this article for 4/5. Detailed info, but I have to go to that damn yahoo to find the missed parts. Thanks, anyway!