Disabling Add-ons and Plugins in Web Browsers

Applies to LoadComplete 4.97, last modified on May 20, 2019

Web browser plugins and add-ons are programs integrated into your web browser and extending its capabilities. For example, you can use them to view media content on a web page, receive news and mail, download files, block undesired pop-up windows, and so on.

Plugins and add-ons that your web browser uses may generate unwanted traffic during the test recording. LoadComplete will add that traffic to your recorded scenarios and simulate it every time you run tests. Filtering and deleting this unwanted traffic from your load tests can be difficult and time-consuming. You can configure LoadComplete to ignore requests that the add-ons and plugins send to third-party servers, but we recommend that you disable all unnecessary add-ons and plugins in your web browser before you start recording the traffic.

Follow the instructions below to disable add-ons and plugins integrated into the Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers. If you are using another web browser, see its documentation to learn how to disable add-ons and plugins.

To disable add-ons in Internet Explorer 10 and later:
  1. Launch the Internet Explorer web browser.

  2. Open the Manage Add-ons window:

    • Click the Tools button and choose Manage Add-ons from the subsequent menu.

    -- or --

    • Choose Tools | Manage Add-ons from the Internet Explorer main menu.

  3. In the Manage Add-ons window, select Toolbars and Extensions in the Add-on Types list.

  4. Select the add-on you want to disable.

  5. Click Disable.

  6. Repeat steps 4-5 until you disable all the add-ons you do not want to be running during the traffic recording.

  7. Click Close to apply the changes and close the Manage add-ons window.

To disable plugins and extensions in Firefox:
  1. Launch the Firefox web browser.

  2. Open the Add-ons Manager tab:

    • Click the Firefox button at the top of the browser and then click Add-Ons.

    -- or --

    • Select Tools | Add-Ons on the Firefox menu bar.

  3. In the Add-ons window, switch to the Extensions tabbed page.

  4. Select the extension you want to disable and click Disable.

  5. Repeat step 4 until you disable all the extensions you want to be disabled during the traffic recording.

  6. Switch to the plugins tabbed page.

  7. Select the plugin you want to disable and and choose Never Activate from the drop-down menu.

  8. Repeat step 7 until you disable all the plugins you want to be disabled during the traffic recording.

  9. Close the Add-ons window.

To disable extensions in Google Chrome:
  1. Launch the Google Chrome web browser.

  2. Open the Extensions page:

    • Click the Chrome menu button and select Tools | Extensions from the subsequent menu.

    -- or --

    • Navigate to the chrome://extensions/ page.

  3. Select the extension you want to disable and clear its Enabled check box.

  4. Repeat step 3 until you disable all the extensions you want to be disabled during traffic recording.

  5. Close the Extensions page.

Notes:
  • You may need to restart your web browser for the changes to take effect.

  • To find out which add-ons may generate unnecessary traffic during the load test recording, see the add-ons documentation provided by their vendors.

See Also

Excluding Undesirable Traffic
Preparing Web Browsers and Web Applications
Managing Cookies

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