Articles about Browser

Speedtest is a free Chrome extension which allows testing your internet connection speeds and web page download time. It gives you access to the core of the Speedtest.net website in a click or two, wherever you are on the web.

Click Speedtest’s icon at any time and a panel appears. By default this displays the name of the currently displayed page, and the time it took to load.

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Malware isn’t just about native executables or rogue apps, not any more -- a malicious browser extension can cause almost as many problems on all your devices at once.

With the right permissions, for example, your new Chrome add-on could steal your user credentials, post as you on social media, read your emails, help launch a DDoS attack, and more.

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You’re building a website, presentation, maybe a CV listing your many coding skills, and would like some kind of graphic to illustrate that section. But what should it be?

Forget the usual clipart, install the Chrome app Marmoset instead, and it’ll help you create a stylish presentation-ready code snapshot in seconds.

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Flash is seen, quite rightly, as the scourge of the internet, and for some time there has been a vocal movement to eradicate all traces of it. Following the lead of Google Chrome and upcoming versions of Safari, Mozilla is taking the step of blocking Flash content from Firefox that is "not essential to the user experience".

It's part of the company's drive to reduce reliance on Flash, whilst recognizing that there is still a need to provide a degree of support for "legacy Flash content". Mozilla has taken the decision to ditch Flash in a bid to improve browser performance, boost security and improve battery life on mobile devices.

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Microsoft has been shouting about Edge a lot as of late. Not happy with claiming that it is the most battery-friendly of the main web browsers, the company has also made much of Edge's 1080p support for Netflix.

In the latest twist, Microsoft switches tack, instead using pop up messages in Windows 10 to badmouth Chrome and promote Edge. The pop up rams home the idea that Chrome is a battery hog and suggests switching to Microsoft Edge to increase longevity.

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In the world of web browsers, there are four or five big names to choose from but no end of smaller alternatives. One such browser is Maxthon, and security researchers have just discovered that this Chinese-produced browser is transmitting a wealth of data about users back to China.

Researchers at Fidelis Cybersecurity and Exatel found that Maxthon frequently sends zip files to Beijing over HTTP and this contains a terrifying amount of data about users' browsing habits. The ueipdata.zip file incudes, among other things, details of the sites visited by users, the applications they have installed, and what searches have been performed.

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Internet Explorer has been much-maligned over the years, and Microsoft Edge sees the Redmond company trying to shake off the shackles of the past. Its latest marketing push finds Microsoft claiming that Edge is the best desktop web browser for Netflix viewing.

The reason? In addition to claims about greater battery efficiency, Microsoft's killer blow is that Edge is the only of the main desktop browsers to support 1080p viewing. It might seem like a surprising and audacious claim, but the test bears it out. Microsoft Edge has a serious unique selling point.

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Vector graphics editors are often bulky desktop applications, aimed very much at design experts, but Inker is very different. The package is a simple Chrome app, easy enough for almost anyone to use, and ideal for creating quick vector designs on a tablet which you can then reuse elsewhere.

The drawing tools cover the basics only, with a freehand pen, rectangles, ellipses, and text.

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Mozilla has announced the creation of a new content recommendation system, which hopes will help people find better and more relevant content, easier.

The new product is called Context Graph, and the company’s VP of Products, Nick Nguyen, describes it as a "better forward button".

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If you've been using a browser extension to add a casting option to Chrome, you could think about uninstalling it. Google is currently rolling out an update to the desktop version of its web browser.

The feature is making its way to Chrome 51 and can be accessed by right clicking either an open tab or the browser's hamburger menu. Should you ditch the extension, though? It really depends on your needs...

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Facebook is all about sharing and consuming, and today the social network launches two new extensions for the Chrome browser that make it easy to do both. The Share to Facebook and Save to Facebook extensions do very much what you would expect, encouraging not only sharing, but also the use of Facebook as a bookmarking tool for articles you want to read later.

As well as these two extensions, Facebook is also rolling out redesigned Social Plugin buttons. The Like button that you see adorning so many websites is getting a modern makeover, losing the iconic Facebook 'f' logo, and gaining an emoji-lover-friendly thumbs up icon instead.

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Security researchers from Ben-Gurion University Cyber Security Research Center (CSRC) have unearthed a vulnerability in Google Chrome that can be exploited to make copies of DRM-protected video streams. The problem affects all Chromium-based browsers, and makes it possible to circumvent Widevine encryption technology Google uses to secure streams.

Widevine has been used in Chrome for a while, after Google acquired it back in 2010. It has been used to prevent piracy of premium YouTube channels, and is also used to protect Amazon Prime and Netflix streams. Google was informed about the problem back in May, but is yet to issue a patch.

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The other day, Microsoft made some bold claims about the power consumption of Edge. The company claimed that its latest web browser is the most battery-friendly when compared to Chrome, Opera and Firefox. Having been beaten into third place behind Chrome, but ahead of Firefox, Opera has hit back.

The company says that its own tests show -- surprise, surprise -- that it is Opera which is the most efficient battery sipper. Opera says that its own battery saving feature boosts battery life by up to 50 percent when compared to Chrome. The company criticizes Microsoft for failing to reveal its methodology, accusing it of a lack of transparency. But Opera is guilty of being disingenuous, as it fails to compare like with like.

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Windows 10 is a great operating system, offering a solid user interface and advanced security. The default browser, however, is not so great. Don't get me wrong, Microsoft Edge has a lot of potential, but Chrome is arguably the superior browser for now.

Google's browser is not perfect on Windows 10, apparently, as according to Microsoft, it is a battery vampire. In other words, Chrome -- as well as Firefox and Opera -- will drain your battery faster than the default browser. Using Microsoft Edge is like garlic to these vampires, as it can help you reclaim precious battery life.

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Opera Software made a bold move earlier this year when it introduced a native ad-blocker in its desktop Opera browser. While controversial, this feature is not enabled by default though promises to offer some major benefits, like a 40 percent boost in performance compared to an extension like AdBlock Plus.

However, folks are not only saying "No" to advertisements on their PCs but also on their smartphones and tablets. In fact, mobile ad-blocking usage has seen a 90 percent rise year-over-year, with more than 400 million devices said to run an ad-blocker. The latest versions of Opera Mini for iOS and Windows 10 Mobile and Opera for Android now cater to that growing audience too, as they too feature a built-in ad-blocker.

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