A plugin is a specific software installed on a program and is enhancing its capabilities. For instance, to play a video on a website, your browser needs to use a plugin to understand how to do so. The other name of plugins, commonly used nowadays is “extensions”, also you can meet its different spelling (with the hyphen in it), like “plug-in” or “add-on”.
As a rule, most plugins can be downloaded from an official website of any browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and others). After the extensions are downloaded, they are installed to the browser automatically within a few clicks. The most popular plugins that are usually installed in a browser to extend its capabilities are:
- Adobe Flash / Adobe Acrobat
- Java
- QuickTime
- RealPlayer
- Silverlight
The functions any of the plugins provide vary and refer to any kind of responsibilities, including security, media playing, specialist apps, social media networking, foreign language alphabet extensions, etc.
As a rule, computers inform users if any of the plugins is needed via notifications, and can be easily installed by following the simple instructions on the screen. However, just like any additional software, it takes some space, so you should certainly consider whether it will be useful for you or not. Additionally, check the plugin’s legitimacy before its employing, as it can be harmful to your computer.
