web browsers

3 “New” Web Browsers That Could Replace Your Default

October 15, 2012 by noemi

Web browsers are the lifeblood of anyone who spends a fair amount of time online. Without a decent web browser, you’d be stuck in a hellish world rife with slow loading times, and probably crashing windows.

There are, of course, the usual suspects, but in this age where there’s a specialized something for everything, alternative web browsers are not lacking as well.

If you are on the lookout for different web browsers to suit your needs and preferences, take a look at 3 “new” web browsers that might just become your default browser in the near future.

Maxthon

Happy 2nd Birthday, Google Chrome!

September 3, 2010 by noemi

Time does fly, doesn’t it? Not that we spend our days counting just how “old” web browsers are, but one cannot help but notice the hoopla surrounding Google’s celebration of the second anniversary of Google Chrome. I cannot remember the exact date that I heard about Chrome, but I clearly remember my excitement. Two years later, I have to say that Chrome has lived up to my expectations. (Although I have to admit that I still use Firefox more. Chrome is always ready, though, in case Firefox crashes.)

So anyway, if you happened to check the Google Chrome Blog yesterday, you’d know all about the new stuff they’ve done to Google Chrome – manifested in the latest version. The new version is much faster and even more streamlined. You thought that Chrome was the simplest of all browsers out there? Think again! The guys at Google worked extra hard to make this new Chrome simpler than ever!

Some of the changes are:

Two menus have been combined into one.
Buttons have been moved.
The URL box and Omnibox have been cleaned up.
JavaScript performance is three times faster than it was two years ago.

Well, I’ll stop rattling on about it – why don’t you download the newest Google Chrome (2nd birthday edition, if you will) yourself?

By the way, that image up there is by Mike Lemanski and was used in the official announcement in the Google Chrome Blog. Isn’t it awesome?

A Note of Caution to Safari Users

July 23, 2010 by noemi

Everyone knows that Apple’s computers outperform Windows-based computer practically in all levels. However, don’t just sit back and think that, since you’re using a Mac, you shouldn’t be concerned about security issues.

Recently, a flaw in Apple’s web browser Safari was discovered by a security researcher. The flaw involves Safari’s auto-fill feature. Because of a bug, malicious web sites can harvest information that the user inputs on the browser. This information can be anything from name, e-mail, phone numbers, address, and more.

Jeremiah Grossman is the guy who discovered the flaw. He is the chief technology officer of WhiteHat Security, a computer security company. He says that he had contacted Apple prior to publishing his findings in his blog. This was back in June. However, he merely got an auto-reply from the company, and no follow up communication ensued.

If you’re thinking that this might just be part of a smear campaign against Apple, think again. The technology giant has acknowledged that the flaw does exist. They gave a statement saying that they are taking the issue seriously and are working towards fixing it at the soonest possible time. Other than that, however, they did not give any information.

What should you do in the meantime? I suggest switching to another web browser till Apple gets things together. Alternatively, if you feel disloyal doing that (I don’t see why, though), disable the auto-fill feature of your Safari. Seth Weintraub provides more information on this.

Browsers Leave “Fingerprints” as You Surf the Web

May 17, 2010 by Arnold Zafra

Common now folks. Is it really possible that as web browse and leave a website, that we might be leaving “fingerprints” behind, enough for hackers to track us as we surf the web? Well, according to the latest research conducted by Electronic Frontiers Foundation, web browsers have digital signatures that create fingerprints that can be used your web browsing habit.

EFF conducted an experiment whereby volunteers were asked to visit the site http://panopticlick.eff.org. This site apparently logged users’ browser configurations and version information anonymously. Information were gathered by the site from user’s OS, browser and browser plug-ins. EFF’s study revealed that 84% of the configuration combinations were unique and identifiable that leads to the creation of idenfiable browser “fingerprints.”

EFF also found out that there are some browsers which we less likely to contain unique configurations, especially those which blocks JavaScript. Likewise, some browser plug-ins can also be configured to limit the information that your browser shares to the websites you visit. Unfortunately thought, in general it’s very hard to reconfigure your browser to make your identify less identifiable. EFF suggest that new privacy protections should be built into the browsers themselves.

EFF Senior Staff Technologist Peter Eckersley tells us:

“Browser fingerprinting is a powerful technique, and fingerprints must be considered alongside cookies and IP addresses when we discuss web privacy and user trackability,” said Eckersley. “We hope that browser developers will work to reduce these privacy risks in future versions of their code.”

So, there. Let this serves as a warning for us to be cautious of what browsers we are using and make sure that these offers really offer privacy protection, like what they claim they do.