Top 10 Open Source Browser Extensions for Hackers and Researchers

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Top 10 Open Source Browser Extensions for Hackers and Researchers

Modern browsers cannot satisfy all possible user needs.

Although modern browsers are quite stable and with lots of features, they cannot satisfy all the possible needs of users. In order to add particularly specific functions, so-called extensions are used. For example, hackers and researchers using open sources need additional tools for anonymous surfing, authorization through SSH and collecting evidence on the Internet. The following is a list of your favorite extensions.
What is an extension?
Extensions for browsers or add-ons are mini-applications for adding new features that may be useful in individual cases. An example is the Grammarly extension, designed to automatically correct spelling and grammar errors.
In addition to spelling adjustments, there are many other incredibly cool extensions. For example, by managing the information sent by browsers when making requests while loading sites, you can increase anonymity and make tracking difficult. You can even change the logic of the site depending on your system when requesting web pages, which can be useful in various situations.
For researchers using OSINT technology (open source), browser extensions allow a more detailed analysis of information on the Internet. For example, EXIF extractors can extract information from any image, data formatting tools allow you to access the API and see the information in a more visual form. There are extensions to extract archive pages on the Internet in order to access historical information that has been deleted.
What is required
To test the extensions covered in this guide, you need a browser Google chrome or Mozilla firefox . Make sure you are using the latest version, then go to Google Chrome Web Store or Firefox add-ons where are the extensions for the corresponding browser.
It is also recommended, as shown in the video below, to install Buscador os as a virtual machine, since this operating system has all the necessary and already installed extensions. In addition, working in a virtual machine isolates you from the working system and potential information leaks that may occur in the main OS.

1. Increase privacy
A lot of personal information desired by many companies can flow through the browser. Advertisers use advanced methods of tracking on the Internet, which is difficult for an ordinary user to protect themselves from, because it is not easy to manage information sent by the browser to the side.
There are many tools to maintain privacy at the right level while surfing the net, but the best extensions are designed Electronic Frontier Foundation (Electronic Frontier Foundation). This group has different projects for protection against tracking on the Internet, but one of the easiest to use is the extension " Privacy badger ”, Available in both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. The tool is free and open source. Helps the average user protect themselves from advertiser tracking.

• Install Privacy badger

Figure 1: Privacy Badger Extension Settings ​

Another extension to maintain privacy that deserves attention is Ublock Origin, which, in addition to blocking advertisers and tracking links, also allows you to see each blocked request in a visual form with the ability to filter the list. Although you can turn off the loading of a specific site if necessary, automatic blocking of tracking is a serious help in maintaining anonymity.

• Install Ublock Origin: Firefox add-on | Chrome extension

Figure 2: List of blocked requests by the Ublock Origin extension ​

The image above shows all the elements blocked on foxnews.com. The list is huge! With the two extensions discussed above, you can easily counteract even advanced tracking techniques from advertisers and other unscrupulous organizations.
2. Internet history
Have you ever wanted to visit a site that no longer exists, or to see an earlier version of an existing page? For example, you can discover valuable deleted information or learn more about the history of the company.
One of the most useful extensions for this task is Go Back in Time, available only for Google Chrome. After installing the add-on, right-click on any page, go to the “Go Back in Time” section and select the archive to search. For example, you can search the Internet Archive through the Wayback Machine.

• Install Go Back in Time: Chrome extension

Figure 3: Searching for information in archives using the Go Back in Time extension ​

Depending on the selected archive, you will receive a list of previous versions of the page. In my case, I found a version of foxnews.com from 2001 with articles about Jeb Bush.

Figure 4: Old version of foxnews.com ​

Using browser extensions to search for previous versions of pages can help you find information that is nowhere to be found.
3. Substitution of device type
Before downloading web pages, your browser will send information about the device to get the version of the site that is most suitable for your device. Unfortunately, at the same time a lot of information leaks about you, as well as a unique fingerprint of your device. This trouble can be circumvented by changing the user-agent in order to mask the type of device.
In addition to improving privacy, we can also change the behavior of a web page by pretending to be a specific device. For example, Instagram allows you to upload photos only from a mobile device. Accordingly, to download images from a computer, you need to change the user-agent to one of the smartphones used.

• Install User-Agent Switcher :

Figure 5: Substitution of device information in the User-Agent Switcher and Manager extension ​

4. Information in photos
Photos contain a lot of information. Exif metadata may contain information about where the photo was taken, which camera and which settings were used. To access hidden information inside the images, there are several extensions that allow you to extract data in Exif format with one click.
Many sites remove Exif data from uploaded photos, but some do not. The figure below shows when the photo was taken, the type of camera and settings.

• Install Exif viewer :

Figure 6: Photo Information ​

5. Website profiling
If you are interested in what technologies are used on the site, try the “BuiltWith Technology Profiler” extension. This tool allows you to quickly determine whether a web application made on one’s knee and for fraudulent purposes is used, or whether we are dealing with sound development and a legitimate business.
By clicking on the BuiltWith icon, you can get versions of all the services on which the site operates. In my case, we see hosting, an e-commerce system and content delivery networks on a fraudulent website selling prom dresses.

• Install BuiltWith Technology Profiler :

Figure 7: Website Details ​

6. Download video
Video downloaders are useful for preserving evidence found during an investigation. Many Chrome extensions prohibit downloading videos from YouTube, but many, such as the One-Click Video Downloader, can download from almost any other video hosting service. If you want to download from YouTube, try the Flash Video Downloader add-on for Firefox, which has no such restrictions.
After installing any of the above extensions, you can download any videos found on the pages you visit. It doesn't get any easier.

• Install Flash Video Downloader: Firefox add-on
• Install One-Click Video Downloader: Chrome extension

Figure 8: One-Click Video Downloader Extension in Chrome ​

7. Safe shells
If you need to log in to a local or remote device with SSH support, a terminal is not required. Thanks to the “SSH Agent” extension for Chrome, you can log in directly from the browser. For Firefox there is a similar extension "SSHGate" (ssh-client and terminal emulator).

• Install SSHGate: Firefox add-on
• Install SSH Agent: Chrome extension

Figure 9: Login to ssh using the SSH Agent extension ​

8. Traffic masking
If you want to make life difficult for someone who monitors your network traffic, or make the data collected less useful, try extensions like "Chaff", which are designed to generate fake traffic. According to the established rules, Chaff will visit the sites at random, starting from the ones you specify. You can specify other parameters in order to make traffic more or less realistic.
· Install Chaff: Chrome extension

Figure 10: Extension Settings Chaff ​

9. Creating screenshots of sites
If you want to create or share a screenshot of the site, there are many tools for solving this problem with options for capturing the entire page, individual fragments, and even recording video during the transition between sections.
One of my favorite extensions is Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder for Chrome and Nimbus Screen Capture: Screenshot, Edit, Annotate for Firefox, which allow you to take screenshots of sites using different methods.

• Install Nimbus :

Figure 11: Various Numbus Extension Options ​

10. Data in JSON format
There is a huge amount of information on the network, most of which is accessible through application programming interfaces or APIs. Through API calls, you can, for example, request the current location of a bus or access giant databases for specific information.
Using the API, you can access data from cities, governments and other organizations that can be constantly updated. This information is usually in JSON format, which is difficult to read in standard text form.

Figure 13: Sample JSON Data ​

Since I personally often use the API, I resort to the "JSON Viewer Awesome" extension, which greatly facilitates the perception of information. The excellent JSONovich and JSONView add-ons with similar functionality are also available for Firefox.

• Install Jsonovich :
• Install Jsonview :
• Install JSON Viewer Awesome :

Figure 14: Displaying JSON data in human-readable form using the JSON Viewer Awesome extension ​

Extensions add new features to browsers
Although your computer most likely does not have all the necessary tools, there is a browser everywhere. And in Firefox or Chrome, you can already add almost everything you need: to increase privacy, authorize via SSH, download videos, extract information from photos and much more. Just need to find and install the appropriate extension. I have listed my favorite extensions, but I highly recommend paying attention to NoScript and HTTPS Everywhere , which are also aimed at improving security while surfing the Internet.
I hope you enjoyed this guide on browsing browser extensions.

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