I'm generally against cluttering my web browser with lots of plug-ins. Many Windows users, particularly those who aren't very tech savvy, have their Internet Explorer bulging with several tiers of menus containing everything that Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have ever suggested and thrown at them. And, for the most part, they don't use any of it and haven't a clue why it's there.
So my Safari installation is a model of minimalism. Recently, though, I've been trying three excellent extensions that take up little space on the menu bar but perform vital tasks.
The first is Adblock (Michael Gundlach) which successfully removes advertisements from web pages. There are lots of settings, so you can choose exactly what you want to see or don't want to see.
Second comes a real winner, Click to Flash (Mark Hoyois), which blocks Flash on the fly. Although you can block flash from Safari Preferences, that's a global setting and you have to reboot Safari for any changes to take effect. This little add-in turns flash off by default but offers the opportunity to click on a "FLASH" button in the centre of any Flash pane.That way you open only the specific content you want to see; and afterwards Flash is again turned off. Brilliant.
Next is Auto Refresh (Andy Griffin) to allow you to auto refresh pages. This is effective if there's a particular site where you want constant updates throughout the day. You can set a refresh interval in seconds. Easy and invaluable.
These three extensions are shareware and donations are appreciated.