21 Ways to Buff Up Your Browser - whitmorethisch
Whether you are at home, work, operating theater school, betting odds are you spend a lot of time staring at your Web browser. Soh why does it take care—and run—equal everyone else's? This collecting of our favorite browser secrets and extensions hindquarters make your browser safer and more efficient than e'er—and assistance you figure out out what's deplorable when things don't work A you gestate.
Unless stated otherwise, our tips are for all of the 4 major browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Campaign.
Editor's note: For an in-depth comparing of the a la mode versions of half a dozen browsers for PCs–Opera and RockMelt besides as the four covered by our tips here–see "Which Browser Should You Use?"; for our appraisals of pentad popular motile browsers for the Android operational system—Chrome for Mechanical man Beta, Dolphin Browser HD, Firefox for Android, Opera Mini, and Opera Mobile—see "The Best Browsers for Your Android Call up."
Use These Important Tips and Extensions
1. Automatically update your Web browser. The easiest way to keep it stabilised and sheltered is to set IT to update automatically thusly that you're ever using the latest version. Fortunately, each prima browser, by nonpayment, updates automatically. Safari receives updates from Apple Software Update (installed by default with Safari, or new Malus pumila software), Net Explorer gets updates from Windows' built-in Windows Update feature, and Firefox and Chromium-plate both check for new updates whenever you launch the web browser.
If you think auto-updating has been disabled, here's how to reenable it:
For Internet Explorer, go to Control board, Windows Update, Change settings, and set the drop-down menu to Install updates automatically. This setting will micturate just about Windows updates install automatically, too.
In Safari, notic the Apple Software Update tool on your Microcomputer, either by pressing the Windows key and typewriting in Apple Computer software Update or by going to C:/Program Files (x86)/Apple Software Update and first step SoftwareUpdate. Inwardly the tool, click the Edit computer menu, take Preferences, and set the update absolute frequency to either Daily or Weekly. Apple Package Update doesn't download updates without you approving to each one one, so you father't take over to vexation just about accidentally updating something that you Don River't want to.
In Firefox, get through the Firefox menu; choose Options, click the Advertizementvanced tab at the top, pawl the Update tab, and make sure the boxes under 'Mechanically check for updates to:' are checked.
With Chrome, you tail end't invalid auto-update without monkeying around with compel-line options or your Windows Registry. However, if Chrome finds a new update during a browsing session, it will show a little arrow succeeding to the wrench icon at the top-suited of the window. Hardly chatter the wring and choose Update Google Chromium-plate to put in.
2. Handicap tracking cookies. Cookies are bully, especially if you don't desire to case in a password every 30 seconds. Few the great unwashe, however, like the kind of cooky that follows you from same website to some other to report to advertisers on what you'Ra looking at. But you stool block those "tertiary-party" cookies without getting rid of the useful kind.
For Internet Adventurer, go to Master Panel, Internet Options, click the Privacy tab, and either choose a preset on the slipper that blocks third-party cookies, or click Advanced, check Override automatic cookie handling, and check Block low-level 'Third-party cookies'.
In Safari, go to Edit, Preferences, Privacy, and set 'Block cookies' to From third parties and advertisers.
In Firefox, attend Firefox, Options, Concealment, and select Use custom settings for history from the deteriorate-down menu. Uncheck Take up third-party cookies.
With Chrome, go to Options, Under the Hood, Content Settings, and correspond Block fractional-party cookies from being solidifying.
3. Save your form information with Lazarus. (Browsers: Safari, Chrome, Firefox) Did your browser crash just when you were near to send a lengthy, fastidiously composed message? Never again. Grab Lazarus, and it will automatically preserve whatever you had been typing before the crash.
4. Stay safe and sound with Web of Trust. Non sure whether a connection is harmless? Web of Combine tail help. Just install the WOT extension into your browser of choice, and you'll reckon a trifle forget me drug pop up next to every link on the page you're viewing. The circle's color—a traffic-digestible ruddy, orange, or green—represents an collective safety rating from millions of other Web of Trust users for trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety.
5. Sync your bookmarks. Information technology's 2012—and you shouldn't have to manually wrangle your collection of bookmarks on each PC you figure out on. Fortunately, respective different bookmarker-syncing tools are available, depending on which browsers you use. For Chrome, you can just log up in with your Google account in Options, Grammatical category Stuff and sync your bookmarks, history, extensions, and more from PC to PC. Safari can likewise sync through iCloud to Hunting expedition for Mack or PC, too as whatever iOS devices you use with your iCloud account.
If you're non 100 percent betrothed to your Apple/Google/Microsoft services, however, you'll be better served by Xmarks, a free hybridization-platform web browser add-on that will sync your bookmarks with a simple browser extension. If you're willing to parcel out $12 a year, you can sign prepared for the Premium religious service to sync to iOS, Android, and Blackberry bush browsers too. Xmarks has versions for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.
6. Stay incognito and perspicuous your history. Web browsers generally make note of pretty very much every page you visit, which ordinarily is really useful. Simply all major browser has a private browsing mode that won't lumber any you're doing. Net Internet Explorer 9 calls its mode InPrivate Browsing (Ctrl-Careen-P), piece Chrome's name is Incognito Mode (Ctrl-Shift-N). Firefox has a Private Browse mode (Ctrl-Lurch-P), and Safari does, too (attend the Edit menu and choose Buck private Browsing…).
If you forget to use the private browsing mode when you meant to, you will have to percipient your browser's account (and perchance your URL autocomplete or form autofill logs, likewise). You can do that with Ctrl-Shift-Delete in Net Explorer and Firefox, but for Chrome you must go to Options, Under the Hood, Privacy, Clear browsing data; and for Hunting expedition, click the History menu and choose Clear history.
7. Easily zoom in and out. Web pages aren't ever as prosperous to read every bit they should make up. But you can surg in or knocked out of whatsoever Web varlet past holding down Ctrl and rolling the scrollwheel upward or down to zoom in and out as you like. Instead, keyboard warriors fundament expend the Ctrl+ and Ctrl– keys to zoom in and out incrementally.
Lock Down Your Browser
8. Quarantine your at-risk apps with Sandboxie. You prat add an unneeded bed of defense to your PC by scene up a sandboxing application, which lets programs and processes hunt down in an unconnected virtual environment. Programs running within the sandbox have limited access to your files and organisation, and they can make no permanent changes, thus protecting you from malware that your antivirus utilities miss when you'ray shopping online or browsing unsecured websites. Sandboxie ($40 shareware) is a secondary that allows you to open ai your Network browser, email customer, and any other program at bottom customizable sandboxes. Detailed setup instructions are at the connection.
9. Get a password-direction app. Adding "1" to the end of a password that happens to be your partner's first name isn't fooling anyone. Even if you'Re victimization really complex (and hard-to-remember) passwords for important sites, betting odds are good that you have them written down in an unencrypted textual matter document somewhere on your PC, or saved in your browser—which anyone who gets access to your Microcomputer can sentiment in plain textual matter just by going to your browser's secrecy settings. You need a password management app like LastPass; Basic is free, Premium is $12 per year) operating theater 1Password.
Various password managers offer different features, simply the basic function is the same: Remember one secure password for your password manager, and the tool buns generate sundry jade-resistant passwords for all your oft-used websites and services. That way, you don't adventure using the same password for all your e-mail, social networking, and online banking accounts, but you don't have to call back 2 dozen different passwords that are each 20 characters long. What's more, most password managers include take-away apps that you can keep on a USB drive, and airborne apps to ensure that you can access all your probative sites from your tablet or smartphone (although this may cost extra). Read "Password Direction: Idiot-Validation Tips" for the specifics.
10. Just say no to Web scripting. (Browsers: Firefox, Chrome) JavaScript, Wink, Silverlight, ActiveX—these WWW scripting languages can make your Internet see a joy (streaming video) or a pain (malware and ads). To make your browser as assured every bit possible, grab NoScript for Firefox or NotScripts for Chrome, and your browser will default to disabling all "active" elements of any Web page you visit before they load. Then, you can selectively cargo the scripts that do things you require (stream picture, say) and ignore the ones that do what you don't want (report back to Internet advertisers). That will help prevent "clickjacking" scripts (when you think you'Ra clicking happening an image, you'rhenium actually activating a hand that will post spam to your Facebook operating theatre Twitter account), equally well A "cross-site scripting" attacks where hackers can hide data-stealing code in your deary WWW app's security holes without setting off some malware alarms.
Next: Stay on Summit of Your Social Networks, Troubleshoot Browser Issues, and more.
11. Employ Yoono to work your social networks collectively. (Browsers: Firefox, Chromium-plate) Yoono is a elite group network atomic number 47gregator that lets you well reckon your feeds and post to Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitter, and a few else chat and interpersonal networking services, thus you can limit all your distractions to one tab. While you can use the Yoono website from any modern browser, you can besides habituate a Yoono extension for Firefox and for Chrome that provides the same functionality from a unskilled clit in your browser window. Now you can procrastinate even more efficiently!
12. Close u all unselfish buttons. (Browsers: Firefox, Chrome) On the other hand, if you extend the ingroup in considering multi-ethnic networking a pain, you might care Antisocial (Chrome) and ShareMeNot (Firefox). (For download locations, see the next token.) Both extensions interfere with the sharing buttons that saturate the Web these days—Facebook's "Like" or Google's "+1", for example. Antisocial keeps these buttons from loading, while ShareMeNot prevents them from automatically coverage back to their parent service with tracking information on the sites you're visiting.
13. Search for your social networks of choice. All browser has site-specific extensions for hoi polloi who on a regular basis role popular ethnic networking operating room news aggregation sites. Search the Chromium-plate Extensions listings for Facebook, and you'll discover extensions that trench the Tidings Feed, allow you download intact photo albums, and even notify you when people unsupporter you. Find listings of vetted extensions for Internet Adventurer at the Internet Explorer Gallery, for Firefox at Mozilla's Tot-ons for Firefox page, and for Safari at Apple's Safari Extensions Gallery.
Troubleshoot Browser Issues
14. Pluck (or toss) your PDF plug-in. PDFs buttocks throw a wrench into your web browser's works. Not only is keeping Acrobat Reader updated a pain, but slower PCs leave often choke for 30 seconds or so when you click a link to a PDF. Assay victimization Foxit Reader instead of Adobe Acrobat Reader; it's a second leaner and meaner than Acrobat (just be careful non to put in any of the toolbars IT tries to foist on you). Once Foxit is installed, attend Tools, Preferences, Data file Associations and uncheck Display PDF in Browser. The next time you click a connectedness to a PDF, your browser should download it and receptive information technology in Foxit, which should keep your browser's other tabs accessible.
15. Keep multiple browsers handy, especially for News bulletin. Flash ass be finicky, especially when dealing with processor-pounding applications similar moving video. If your Instant applications consistently crash with certain websites operating theatre services, try out accessing the same site in a different browser and see if that helps. On my home PC, for example, Hulu crashes my nontextual matter add-in driver repeatedly in Chromium-plate, but works rock-solid in Firefox.
16. Know your diagnostic modes. All but web browser extensions and add-ons are clean lightweight, simply if you binge on them, they might not every play nicely together. Luckily, most browsers have a couple of diagnostic tricks up their sleeves.
First, have sex how to put your web browser in its prophylactic mode, where it won't load any outside extensions: Pioneer the Footrace prompt from the Start menu (Start, Totally Programs, Accessories, Run); and then, for Chrome, character chrome.exe –concealed; for Internet IE, type iexplore -extoff; in Firefox, click the Help menu, and choose Restart with Add-Ons Disabled. Once in its safe mode, see whether your browser still crashes. If it's stable, selectively reenable extensions until you've isolated the perpetrator.
Besides the safe-mode approach, Chrome also offers a inherent diagnostic check. To access IT, just open the Pass cue and type chrome.exe –diagnostics.
Finally, Hunting expedition doesn't ingest whatsoever baroque tricks for loading into a safe mode; simply go to Edit, Preferences, Extensions, and arranged the replacement that appears at the top to Off.
17. Accelerate your Net connectedness past dynamical your land name server. Your Internet service provider's Domain Name Arrangement server translates the URLs you type (World Wide Web.pcworld.com, for example) into numeric IP addresses so you can undergo from point A to point B without a catch. Only your ISP's DNS waiter may not be the speediest in your area. Download DNS Benchmark (aka DNSBench) to see which server is fastest for you; then follow the detailed instructions in "Speed Heavenward Your Net Connection by Changing Your Orbit Name System Server."
18. Keep your toolkit handy. (Browsers: Chrome) Troubleshooting browser problems can be tricky because of the many elements to keep back track of. Depending on the issues you'rhenium having, you must diagnose the browser itself, the PC running the web browser, the local net, the Internet connective, and even the web site you'rhenium attempting to access. Snap up Informatics Savoir-faire and Domain Entropy for Chrome, and you'll take in one-detent access to individual different reports on any given IP or domain name, including its location, hosting information, whether it's on junk e-mail lists, and more.
Add the Network and Internet Tools extensions, and you'll have another carte that lets you easily use Whois, Traceroute, Ping, DNS Lookup, and other common network troubleshooting tools. Finally, apprehend Drug user-Agent Whipper for Chrome, and you can mask your web browser to appear to the websites that you're visiting as whatsoever web browser you like—perfect for sites that insist along specific browsers or versions.
Promote Browser Productivity
19. Start reading on your PC's browser, finish on your smartphone's. Want an gentle way to showtime reading a Webpage on your PC and finish recital it happening your smartphone? Depending on your preferred web browser, Osmium, and Web services, you have a a couple of ways to do this. Read It Later is a good browser-agnostic Web service that can save sites for later perusing. If you use Google Chrome and an Android browser, you might prefer the Chromium-plate to Phone extension, which lets you push maps, Web pages, phone numbers, and raw text from Chrome to the appropriate Android app. Evernote fans wish opt for Evernote Web Limiter, an extension for Chrome, Net Explorer, and Firefox that saves a Web Sri Frederick Handley Page to your Evernote notebooks for easy future reference.
20. Make your Gmail to the next level. Plenty of folks still shy away from Gmail's Entanglement port. But tread into the features offered aside Gmail Labs (in the Gmail client, click connected the gear icon in the upper letter-perfect, then along Settings surgery Themes, and then Labs), and you mightiness find the tweaks you pauperization to switch.
My individual favorites are Multiple Inboxes, which allows you to horizon your Drafts, Inbox, Starred, and whatever other labels you like from the intense Gmail Thomas Nelson Page; Undo Send, which lets you abjure a message within a few seconds after sending it; and Preview Pane, which adds an Outlook-esque email preview window so you don't have to click a substance to study information technology. You can too turn along keyboard shortcuts in Gmail by clicking the gear icon, choosing Settings, and then checking the Keyboard shortcuts on radio button. Master the list of shortcuts, and you'll be whizzing through menus creep-free in no clock time.
21. Use TinEye to uncovering an image's origin. Nobelium affair how strong your Google-fu is, it's hard to find out where an image on the World Wide Web originally came from—and that much harder to give proper credit. Dump your image into TinEye.com, however, and the site wish tell you where it came from, whether it's been Photoshopped, and where high-resolution versions can be launch. The first 50 searches a day are free, and an telephone extension for each prima browser is available if you find yourself using TinEye a lot.
Remember these tips and grab these extensions, and you'll never want to leave your Browser again!
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Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/468509/21_ways_to_buff_up_your_browser.html
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