Cloud

10 Chrome and Firefox add-ons that streamline data sharing, storage, and security

By // June 3, 2015, 2:13 PM PST // jas_np

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  • Use Pushbullet to share data and notifications between your phone and computer

    Arguably the most useful extension day-to-day is Pushbullet, which is available for Android and iPhone, as well as Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari, and system-level native apps for Windows and Mac. The Pushbullet app allows users to share clipboards, share calls or texts between a phone and a computer, and send links between devices.

    Image: Pushbullet

  • Move tabs between devices with TabCloud

    TabCloud is an extension that allows the user to save the tabs in an open browser window and re-open them on other browsers, computers, or devices — a very handy feature when moving between a desktop, notebook PC, tablet, and smartphone. Extensions exist for Chrome and Firefox, and an Android app is also available.

    Image: Connor Dunn

  • Capture and annotate web pages with Evernote

    Evernote Web Clipper gives the user the ability to save and annotate web pages in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer for use with the standalone Evernote service on any device with an Evernote app.

    Image: Evernote

  • Open a wide variety of files with rollApp

    rollApp, a file viewer add-on for Chrome and Firefox, allows users to view over 500 file formats in the browser, such as file archives, ebooks, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, diagrams, and desktop publishing file formats.

    Image: rollApp

  • Call landlines using RingCentral

    RingCentral is a business-oriented VoIP solution with a Chrome plugin, which allows for integration with their infrastructure. With the RingCentral plugin, users can make calls, listen to voicemails, schedule conferences in Google Calendar, and manage business SMS conversations.

    Image: RingCentral

  • Test your website using BlazeMeter

    BlazeMeter allows developers to test the strength of their back-end design and server infrastructure by sending cloud-originated traffic to the website to test how it holds up under pressure. Using the Chrome plugin, users can create and record traffic events to determine weak points in website infrastructure. It requires a free account at BlazeMeter, where performance graphs and other analytics can be viewed. BlazeMeter is compatible with Apache JMeter.

    Image: BlazeMeter

  • Save files or screenshots to Google Drive

    Using the Google Drive plugin provided by Google, users can save photos, screenshots of web pages, and other web content to their Google Drive account.

    Image: Google

  • Connect SugarSync and Google Drive

    Using this browser extension from cloudHQ, users can sync files and folders with Google Drive and SugarSync, Evernote, or BaseCamp.

    Image: CloudHQ

  • Use consumer-level Amazon Services in the cloud

    On Chrome, the Amazon MP3 Cloud Music Player allows users to stream music purchased on Amazon, including physical CDs purchased from Amazon that are eligible for AutoRip. You can also store and manage data in Amazon Cloud Drive, and read books using the Kindle Cloud Reader.

    Image: Amazon

  • Encrypt data with Boxcryptor

    Data stored in Dropbox, OneDrive, and many other public file storage clouds is not encrypted in any way, which leaves your data vulnerable to inspection and mining by your cloud provider. Boxcryptor is available as a Google Chrome plugin. The standalone versions for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry, allows you to store and retrieve encrypted data from public cloud providers.

    Image: Boxcryptor

Use Pushbullet to share data and notifications between your phone and computer

Arguably the most useful extension day-to-day is Pushbullet, which is available for Android and iPhone, as well as Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari, and system-level native apps for Windows and Mac. The Pushbullet app allows users to share clipboards, share calls or texts between a phone and a computer, and send links between devices.

Image: Pushbullet

Related Topics:

Cloud Security Enterprise Software Networking Data Centers Microsoft Amazon

By James Sanders

James Sanders is a technology writer for TechRepublic. He covers future technology, including quantum computing, AI, and 5G, as well as cloud, security, open source, mobility, and the impact of globalization on the industry, with a focus on Asia.