Firefox is the browser of dreams for many people. One of the great perks of Firefox is that there are tons of extensions that enhance the functionality of the browser. With over 1500 extensions in existence, there are many that can be used to improve your productivity. The following is my take on the top 10 extensions that will keep you focused, reduce distractions, streamline your daily work flow.

1. Adblock Plus: Adblock Plus (ABP) is a content-filtering extension for Mozilla Firefox. ABP, a forked version of Adblock, allows users to prevent page elements, such as advertisements, from being downloaded and displayed.

2. FlashGot / DownThemAll: The default download manager built into Firefox is very handy; however, there are many occasions that you’ll find that you need more flexibility with your downloads. This is where Flashgot or DownThemAll comes in handy. The features of Flashgot and DownThemAll have their differences; however, they generally provide finer-grained control of your downloads.

3. Download Statusbar: Download Statusbar manages your downloads in the status bar instead of the Firefox Download Manager. Default download manager tucks your download progress bars into the generally unused status bar of Firefox. This extension lets you download care-free without the Firefox Download Manager popping up and interrupting you.

4. Gspace: Gspace is a content management extension that lets you turn your Gmail account into an online mass storage device. Gspace integrates nicely into your browser and lets you drag and drop files into Gmail for backup or storage purposes without interrupting your work flow.

5. FoxyTunes: FoxyTunes Firefox extension allows you to listen music while surfing the Web, and control your favorite media player without ever leaving the browser. The extension supports the normal media player functions and displays currently playing track information. Additionally, the extension allows searching various Web sites to get images, videos, biographies etc. related to the music being played.

6. Customize Google: Customize Google is a very robust extension that lets you customize many features of the services provided by Google. Customize Google lets you block advertisements on pretty much any Google page (including Gmail). It remaps Google Images search results to point directly at the images (no longer will you need to click through the originating site). Customize Google lets you add links from other search engines directly into your search results. It can also block Google click tracking and allows you to connect to Google Calendar and Gmail securely (https).

7. Firefox Sync: Firefox Sync allows users to synchronize bookmarks, browsing history, preferences, passwords, filled forms, and last 25 opened tabs across multiple computers. Firefox Sync keeps user data on Mozilla servers, but the data is encrypted in such a way that no third party, not even Mozilla, can access user information.

8. URL Fixer: URL fixer will replace the common typos you enter when typing a Web site into the URL bar (i.e., http://www.lifehack.rog, htp://lifehack.org). The auto correct feature of URL fixer is very helpful. “[URL Fixer] will correct common misspellings of .com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, and .mil, as well as the protocol (http:, https:). It will also correct errors in country code TLDS such as .com.XX, .net.XX, and .org.XX.”

9. Scrapbook: Scrapbook is extremely useful for researchers and students. Scrapbook saves blurbs from Web pages to your hard drive along with the URL of the originating Web site. It allows you to organize and categorize your blurbs in a format similar to your bookmarks so that when it comes to creating a bibliography or works cited, you won’t waste any time. Key features are lightness, speed, accuracy and multi-language support.

10. Open IT Online: Open IT Online allows you to open documents and images online without the need of any software to be installed. It supports Google Docs, Zoho, View Docs Online, Vuzit to edit/view documents and Snipshot, Pixlr, Sumo Paint, etc. to edit/view images.