If you have not done so already, go to this page (http://toolbar.google.com/) and click on the "Download Google Toolbar" button.

It's primary purpose is to let you do a search without first going to the Google.com web page. If I had to guess, I probably do about 20 - 30 Google searches each day, so it saves me quite a bit of time not having to type www.google.com each time I want to do a quick search. (Is "having" a word? I don't think so, but I am going to use it anyway.)

There are a ton of other features on the Google Toolbar that I love just as much, if not more. One of them is a pop-up ad blocker. Have you ever been to a site where they keep opening up new windows trying to sell you something? (Rhetorical question. I know you have.) The pop-up blocker stops those from appearing. It will also keep track of how many pop-ups it has stopped too. My count is currently 1,242! There are a number of pop-up stopper programs. The good ones cost between $10 and $30. This one is great, and it is free.

The other two features that I use on an everyday basis are:

"Search site" button
"Highlight search results" button

I don't have time to explain them right now, but if you are interested, let me know and I will talk about them in another post.

Go install it now! It is a very small download (440 kB), so it will only take you a few seconds with a broadband connection, and a couple of minutes with a dial-up connection.

Oh, another cool feature is that the toolbar will automatically update itself as new features are added or bugs fixed. Cool!