Avoiding Annoying Website Registration

As the internet ages, more and more companies are trying to work harder at turning a profit from their online operations. This in turn has led to an increase in web sites that force you to register before reading their content.

I don't believe in that type of restriction and consider it an annoyance. Fortunately, there are a few nice tools available if you happen to agree with me. My favorite two are Firefox extensions:

• BugMeNot: This extension taps into the extremely useful password aggregator web site BugMeNot.com, allowing you to simply right-click in a site's login box and automatically get user login information. It works with most non-discussion sites.
• Web Developer: A very handy Firefox add-on with a host of useful features, including the ability to shut off "referrers," the information that your browser sends to web servers about how you found their pages. This ability allows you to freely surf sites like the Washington Post without ever even seeing the login box.