Browser Extensions: Are They Really Slowing Down Your Browser Speed?

Browser Extensions: Are They Really Slowing Down Your Browser Speed?

Browser extension is a computer program that extends the functionality of a web browser and also improves the user interface, which can be achieved through a variety of add-ons such as toolbars and plug-ins. 

So, browser extensions are useful and not like other software that remains running on your computer; but you should have to use limited browser extensions, which required for work, otherwise your browser will be slow down. Using fewer lightweight extensions should not be resulted in a noticeable difference on modern computers, but keep adding more and more then they can increase browser's memory consumption, take longer time to open the browser and finally your browser will be slowing down. And if you use 2 or more browsers then each browser offers its own way to pin down memory consumption, CPU usage and start-up delay. You can identify the exact information of impact that the browser's extensions has on your system. 

Google Chrome is a multi-process browser, which supporting plenty of extensions and running their own way. 

Through Chrome's integrated Task Manager, you can view the memory consumptions, current CPU usage for the running browser extensions and this process will give an idea that how each extensions took memory consumption. To open Task Manager, click Chrome's Menu button, choose Tools then select Task Manager. Task Manager also displays the resources of installed Web Apps including other background processes. 

Internet Explorer does not exposing the memory consumption for browser's Add-on. However, it gives the information about how long each browser's Add-on took to load. If the browser's Add-on takes longer to load then assume that it consuming more memory as well as slowing things down. 

To get this info click the Gear icon and select Manage Add-ons. Now a window will open and you'll see each browser's extension load time that were listed under Load Time column. 

To prevent an add-on from loading, just choose it from the list and click Disable button. There's also Navigation Time column, where you can find the delays of time to the related Add-on that you Navigate/Load a new web page. 

Mozilla Firefox is also doesn't offer an easy way to get memory usage for browser's extension. However, you should have to install an extension, about:addons-memory extension, which will display the memory usage. After installing the extension, just type about:addons-memory in the address bar and enter to open addons-memory page.

The installed extension(s) will be displayed and sorted by how much memory they're consuming. Through this, you may concluded the memory usage for each add-on. You may also get memory benefits from Tools > Add-ons by disable/remove the unwanted add-ons.  

Above said process of system resources to a particular browser's extension wouldn't give a clear picture. But open the browser in Safe Mode will load the web pages without any extensions and the browser itself speedier in this mode.

To launch Chrome in Safe Mode, right click Chrome Icon from Task Bar and right click Google Chrome in the list then choose Properties. 

Now Chrome's Property window will open. From Shortcut tab, add -disable-extensions at the end of the script of Target box {i.e., C:\Users\DELL\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe-disable-extensions} and click OK.

Close all the running Chrome, including the Icon that may running on system tray. Use the shortcut and relaunch Chrome. To disable safe mode, just remove the words that you've entered and click OK then restart Chrome.

For Internet Explorer If you use Windows 7, click Start button and launch All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Internet Explorer (No Add-ons) shortcut. If you use Windows 8, you’ve to launch this program manually by pressing Windows Key + R to open the run dialog box and type iexplore.exe -extoff  into it, then press Enter.

     
Mozilla Firefox: Click Help, and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

So, Safe Mode browsing, without extensions, will determine system resources with loading the web pages speedier and you may noticed that how the performances are improving when pin-down the Add-ons.