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10 Reasons to use Google Chrome for Security

Internet Explorer has been there for good long time now and each version has exposed security vulnerabilities.  What that mean to user is that any website that you visit can take control of your computer remotely and can do anything without you noticing it. Microsoft has recently (26th April 2014)  notified users about flaw in Internet Explorer https://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/security/2963983 . Here is why its time to switch to better options for free.

As internet has matured new web technologies have immersed. Modern browser has been developed to meet those needs and keep users safe. Google Chrome and Firefox has grabbed market share from IE with due its appealing functionality over IE . Today FireFox has released their new version 29 which has refreshing looks, boost privacy and provides new customization.  Try it! https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/



Why Google Chrome:
Google Chrome has became popular since it launched in 2008 and is the fastest growing browser.  Its based on open-source project called Chromium which is driven by Google and people around the world.

Here are some notable features from security point that strongly suggest using Google Chrome or Chromium -
  1. Secured Tabbed browsing - All new browsers supports browser tabs to visit different websites in different tabs. In Chrome each tab is separate process running on your system which makes it secure. Web-page from one page cannot infect or access data from other. Chrome has made best use of OS security functionality to extend to browser
  2. Auto-updates in Chrome ensures you get latest fixes and functionality. As a user you never need to force update or worry about it. It’s a patented technology from Google to update their products silently and automatically

  3. Plugins/add-ons to enhance secure browsing. My other blog details about security enhancing Chrome plugins that you should be using. Most of these are also available in Firefox also
  4. Chrome maintains blacklisted (Phishing & malware) websites for protecting users. Users are warned if they are visiting these websites which gives in-built protection without any other plugins
  5. Google promotes security research on their Chrome browser and offers bounty if people find security issues in their products. Good few issues has been reported and addressed quickly by Google. Open-source nature provides access to source code that people around world can use and can dig deep to find vulnerabilities. Both of these programs give higher confidence of security
  6. Chrome scans files that you download for viruses. A built in virus protection in browser just works
  7. Security warnings/alert when web-certificates of websites mismatch, an indication of doggy website. If a website claims like your bank website, however has red warning alert from Chrome, then that's likely fraudulent website
  8. Parental controls with in browser - An In-built parental controls to secure your kids online is available for parents to configure. Here is guide available for same - http://www.howtogeek.com/177958/use-supervised-users-to-set-up-parental-controls-on-a-chromebook-or-just-in-chrome/
  9. Private Browsing" mode or "Incognito" mode as in Google Chrome. No traces are left behind when you browse in private mode. No history, no temporary files, no web cookies to track users and no cache. Files you explicitly download do remain. Here is my other blog on it.
  10. Google Sync - A feature that allows you to login to browser using Google account and then sync your bookmarks, extensions/plugins, history and other configurations. This makes it easy for users to give consistent experience on different machines. All your bank/important website bookmarks are available to use on new machines if you switch between devices.

Oddly, there are some websites that need Internet Explorer only. You will have to stick with IE in those cases and user other for rest.

Other notable browsers include Opera & Safari from Apple. They too do great job in many aspects of security as listed above. However Google Chrome is its way ahead.

Note - Chromium is Open-source version of Google Chrome. Both share same code base. Google Chrome gives a touch of Google branding and more suited if you heavy use Google account, which most of us do.

Other blog reference - http://tiptopsecurity.com/safest-web-browser-chrome-firefox-ie-opera-safari-comparison-chart/

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