There's a relatively new technology built in to most browsers that could
revolutionize the way you talk with your friends and family. Called webRTC,
the HTML 5-based tech could one day replace the need for third-party
plugins from services like Google Hangouts or Skype, offering voice and
video chat capabilities natively in your browser.
Even better, most implementations of the technology don't require an
account of any kind. Chats take place on a web page that you set up on a
site that supports webRTC. To get chatting all you have to do is share a
link to the web page and you'll be up and running in no time. Talk
about hassle free!
If you'd like to give webRTC a try, here's how to get started.
Your browser
Many current browsers for the PC support webRTC, including Chrome,
Firefox, and Opera. Apple's Safari doesn't and neither does Microsoft's
Internet Explorer; however, Microsoft-owned Skype plans on supporting
webRTC in the future with its newly announced Skype for Web project.
If you want to go mobile Chrome, Firefox, and Opera support webRTC on Android. On iOS you can try Bowser.
Get chatting
Once you've got your browser picked out it's time to start using webRTC. Sites that support webRTC include appear.in, talky.io, and apprtc from webRTC.org.
Most of the sites that support webRTC are incredibly easy to use and
don't require a lot of technical prowess. For our purposes I'll just
show you one example and leave it to you to apply that knowledge to
another service.
Talky.io is one of several web sites that support webRTC chats.
Let's use Talky as an example. On the Talky landing page, you have to
enter a name for your conversation. It can be pretty much anything you
want so let's call it "no hassle example." Next, you press the pink Let's go!
button and you'll be taken to a conversation web page. A settings
warning should appear on your browser asking for permission to access
your webcam and microphone.
Now all you have to do is share the link to the web page you're on, wait for others to join, and you're ready to go.
Mozilla is testing a built-in webRTC chat button for Firefox.
If you're running the test version of Firefox there's a slightly easier
method to get chatting. The latest beta versions of Firefox come with a
new chat button with webRTC, supported by Telefonica--one of Mozilla's
partners for Firefox OS.
In the case of Firefox, after you click the chat button, click the Start a conversation
link. A pop-up window will appear in the bottom of Firefox asking you
to name the conversation and then giving you the opportunity to email or
copy the link to the chat's web page.
Just to be clear, it doesn't matter if you use Firefox and your chat
buddies use Chrome or Opera. As long as everyone is using a browser that
supports webRTC there shouldn't be any compatibility problems.
That's about all there is to webRTC. In my experience, the call quality
isn't quite as good as you'll experience on Hangouts or Skype, but it'll
get there eventually. In the meantime, happy chatting.
Aviator web browser, created by a WhiteHat
Security, is setup to maximize privacy and security safeguards by
default. Simply download OS X or Windows versions and then start surfing
in private, protected mode without being tracked. You are not a product
being sold in exchange for this free software.
Computerworld|Dec 24, 2014 5:00 AM
PT
It’s up to each of us to be proactive about security and privacy;
it’s risky to trust a company to manage your privacy in a manner that
benefits you the most and not them. If you could have a browser that
offered security, privacy and speed for free, then why not try it? WhiteHat Security originally developed Aviator as the company’s in-house browser, but eventually released Aviator web browser
in two flavors, OS X and Windows. It is billed as “the web’s most
secure and private browser.” Users simply install the browser and it’s
setup to maximize privacy and security safeguards by default. Unlike
Chrome or Firefox, you don’t need to get add-ons or extensions to
configure privacy and security. Those protections are built into
Aviator, but since the browser uses open-source Chromium code, it does
support “tens of thousands of extensions.” WhiteHat SecurityUnlike
Google with Chrome, Microsoft with Internet Explorer and even Mozilla
with Firefox, which profit from online advertising, WhiteHat has no
advertising partners and does not sell your data. You are not a product being sold in exchange for free software.
Aviator
comes configured with the Disconnect extension, meaning bye-bye
“privacy-destroying tracking.” Aviator’s search engine choices also come
with Disconnect, meaning you are using a “privacy-enhanced default
search engine.” It also comes with the User-Agent Switcher extension;
websites identify browsers by user agents, but this extension allows you
to appear as if you are browsing via Chrome, IE, iOS, Android, Windows
Phone, Firefox, Opera or Safari. WhiteHat SecurityWhen
you surf to a page that contains cookies, you will see cookies with a
red X on it, which indicates “This page was prevented from setting
cookies.” Plugin has a similar red X, blocked on the page by default,
but you have options to always allow the plug-in, run plug-in this time,
and manage plug-ins. WhiteHat SecurityThe
security and privacy benefits are why I like Aviator. The browser
launches in “protected” (private) mode, protecting your privacy by
default by not logging your history, cookies, or browser cache. Ads and
other hidden online trackers are blocked; this also protects you from
malvertising (malicious advertising). Third-party cookies are also not
allowed and Aviator automatically cleans locally stored data when you
exit the browser. In WhiteHat’s words, “There is no need to constantly make it your mission to keep from being invisibly tracked and spied on.” Why are Ghostery, Adblock Plus or Privacy Badger not also default extensions? Robert Hansen, aka @RSnake, Vice President of WhiteHat Security’s WhiteHat Labs was kind enough to answer my questions.
Robert Hansen: Ghostery
and Privacy Badger are mostly redundant, and Adblock Plus allows ads
from companies like Google, which totally defeats the purpose of the
software. But if you want a feature from one of those plugins or feel
that Disconnect is missing something, yes, of course you can install any
plugin you like. Are there any plans for Aviator to be offered as a mobile browser for iOS or Android?
Robert Hansen: It's
unlikely in the near term. Though, that is always an option. The major
hurdle is actually the manufacturers who don't like mobile browsers. Might you offer a security/privacy-minded suggestion for a mobile browser?
Robert Hansen: Disconnect
offers similar functionality to their browser extension on mobile -
that is probably the best option available, though not as feature rich
from a privacy/security standpoint as Aviator is which combines their
technology with a number of our own techniques.
You can find more about Disconnect here; the free mobile app for iOS can be downloaded from iTunes and from Google Play for Android where it is lovely to see “Disconnect Search does not require any special permissions.” (There is also a Disconnect Secure Wireless app.)
If you are curious how Aviator stacks up against other browsers in a simple HTML5 test,
then Aviator scored 492 out of 555 points, compared to 475 using
Firefox 34, 512 using Chrome 39, 376 using IE 11 and 429 using Safari 8. HTML5Do something good for yourself security-and-privacy-wise. If you haven’t tried Aviator yet, then I encourage you to “take flight” and start 2015 right.
A new report sheds some light on Microsoft's plans for a new browser in Windows 10.
The
Redmond giant will reportedly include the new browser, said to be an
overhauled version of the Internet Explorer (IE), in its latest build of
Windows and might even show it at the scheduled 'The Next Chapter'
event for Microsoft Windows 10 on January 21.
ZDNet in a report
citing sources claims that Microsoft has codenamed the new browser as
"Spartan", and suggests it is not an upgrade of the IE11. It adds that
the IE "Spartan" will pack several new features and will look more like
Chrome and Firefox, apart from also supporting extensions. It also notes
that the new browser will be a "lightweight browser."
The report cites Thomas Nigro, a Microsoft
Student Partner lead and developer of VLC, earlier this month to have
heard of a new Microsoft browser in development in an episode of the
LiveTile podcast.
"Spartan is still going to use Microsoft's
Chakra JavaScript engine and Microsoft's Trident rendering engine (not
WebKit)", sources noted to ZDNet.
The Windows 10 (desktop version)
is said to ship with both IE "Spartan" and IE11. Sources suggest that
IE "Spartan" will be available to download for both desktop and mobile/
tablet versions of Windows 10. The report adds that Microsoft is yet to
finalise the name of IE "Spartan".
It also speculates that the IE
"Spartan" might not be functional for inclusion in the 'Windows 10
January Technical Preview' and even in mobile preview build that is
likely to be available to testers early next year. "It may not show up
in the test builds until some point later," it adds.
Earlier this month, an early build of the Windows 10 was leaked showing numerous changes.
In
the leaked build, Microsoft was seen to have made some visible changes
such as new wallpaper showing upfront alongside Cortana integration. The
video showed Cortana would be present on the task bar with search
option. Interestingly, the voice-based virtual assistant app was seen to
also support voice-commands; though the leaked 9901 build showed that
the feature still required some updates to work.
The Redmond giant first announced Windows 10 in late-September.
By Jay Garmon,
by NotebookReview Staff
The main reason most people switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox
is to improve their browser security, but that doesn’t mean Firefox is
bullet-proof. We offer up the 10 best add-ons to make everyone’s
favorite opensource web browser even more secure.
Those of you who’ve read our Internet Safety Guide or our list of the 10 best general Firefox add-ons
may find a few of these add-ons familiar, but you can never address
security or privacy too often. Some of these add-ons have overlapping
functionality — particularly as applies to cookie and password
management — but redundant functionality in this area is a feature, not a
bug.
1. Web of Trust (WOT)
– You pretty much can’t read a Firefox security article without
learning about the Web of Trust (WOT) add-on — and there’s good reason.
WOT rates every site on the Internet for its security risk: green equals
safe, amber equals worrisome and red means avoid like the plague. Simple, easy, and a must-have security measure. If you prefer a brand name, McAfee’s SiteAdvisor Firefox add-on offers similar functionality.
2. AdBlock Plus
– The AdBlock Plus Firefox add-on says what it does, does what. AdBlock
prevents most advertisements from loading — especially Flash ads and
those layered takeover ads that slow your page loads down — including
all the tracking cookies most ads slip into your system. Even if you
aren’t paranoid about data-snooping, AdBlock will noticeably speed up
your surfing.
3. LastPass
– The LastPass Firefox add-on is the granddaddy of password managers.
Create one master logon for LastPass itself and it will log you in to
every other online service you’ve got an account with. Moreover,
LastPass stops storing your passwords locally in the browser — where
they can be hacked — and encrypts them into an online account you (and
you alone) can access from anywhere. It also has some nice password
generation and form auto-completion features, which makes account
signups even safer and simpler.
4. BetterPrivacy
– The BetterPrivacy Firefox add-on is designed to scrape away the most
persistent tracking cookies that websites (and, especially, advertisers)
use to profile your online activity. In particular, BetterPrivacy blows
away Local Shared Objects (LSOs), the pernicious cookies left behind by
Flash applications, videos and websites that most other extensions
simply can’t erase.
5. NoScript
– JavaScript makes a lot of interesting functionality possible on the
Web — including nefarious clickjacking attacks. The NoScript Firefox
add-on permits only JavaScript from trusted domains to run in your
browser, preventing any unsavory functions from occurring behind the
scenes.
6. BugMeNot
– It seems every site on Earth wants you to create an account to view
their content these days — mostly so they can track your surfing (even
offsite) and sell your data to advertisers (as in spammers). The easiest
way to avoid this constraint is the BugMeNot add-on, which provides
anonymous credentials for most major sites, allowing you to login
without creating or using a “real” account.
7. SpamAvert.com
– Where BugMeNot stops, the SpamAvert Firefox add-on picks up.
SpamAvert creates quick, disposable e-mail addresses you can use to
enroll at sites you don’t intend to visit again. The fake e-mail
accounts allow you to complete registration, but they also take the hit
for follow-up spam, keeping your real accounts clear of the clutter.
8. Beef TACO
– The Beef Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-out (TACO) blocks almost
every type of tracking object from settling into your browser. If it’s
designed to report your web activity to dataminers or advertisers —
including the big dogs like Google, Facebook and Yahoo — the Beef TACO
swats it away. Combine this with BetterPrivacy and you’ll be an ad-free
phantom in no time.
9. Torbutton
– For those that don’t know, Tor is a proxy surfing service that
prevents even your ISP (or employer) from knowing exactly what web sites
you’re visiting. The Torbutton Firefox add-on makes using the Tor
service dead simple, which is a good thing given how easy it is to turn
proxy-configuration a tangle of confusing options. If you want
absolutely nobody to know where you’ve been online, the Torbutton is the
place to start.
10. hideBad
– Sometimes the biggest security or privacy threat is the one that’s
right over your shoulder — literally. The hideBad Firefox add-on offers a
browsing panic button that instantly closes every open tab in your
browser (while saving the data so you can restore the session later) and
replaces them with your homepage. It stops snooping eavesdroppers (and
dangerously curious bosses) from knowing which web pages you were just
surfing, which may be the most important security measure of them all.
If one of these add-ons doesn’t meet a specific security or privacy need, there are literally hundreds more Firefox security add-ons.
If you’ve got a favorite, plug it in the comments section. With enough
eyes, all bugs — and browser security holes — are shallow.
You will find the best Google Chrome extensions -- sometimes also called add-ons or plugins -- on this page.
Browser extensions can enhance your web browsing experience in many
ways, from improving your online security to changing how websites that
you visit look and feel.
They can also improve your productivity, help you save money while
you are shopping, or resolve annoyances of Chrome itself or websites
that you visit regularly using the browser.
The list of best Google Chrome extensions has been separated on
multiple pages as it is quite long and would take too long on average to
load.
The extensions have been grouped, and links are provided so that you
can jump directly to the category that you are interested in. Recent Extension Additions
The most recent additions to the list of great Google Chrome extensions. Note that we remove updates regularly.
08.02.2014 - Added Privacy Guard, Social Color Changer, Text Mode, YouTube Couch Mode
15.02.2014 - Added Video Downloader professional
23.04.2014 - Added Data Compression Proxy, Do Not Disturb, Project Naptha
Extensions that fix annoyances either of the browser Chrome, or of websites that you visit in it. AdBlock
One of the most popular ad-blocking extensions for Google Chrome. It
takes care of the majority of advertisement that is displayed on
websites, including video ads on YouTube.
This extension appends the next page to the current one. If you
search for example, you will find the next page of the search results
appended to the bottom of the page you are on, so that you do not have
to switch pages manually anymore.
The Do Not Disturb extension for Google Chrome blocks several
annoyances such as pop ups or pop unders, content widgets or content
overlays that may be displayed or spawned on Internet sites. It blocks
those elements and lets you whitelist sites to allow them on those
websites.
Readability Redux modifies web pages you run it on so that only the
main text body remains. The font and other elements are optimized as
well, so that the overall readability of the content is improved by the
extension.
TabCloud adds custom session management to Chrome. Chrome can
restore only the last browsing session. If you want more control over
the process, or the means to backup sessions manually, for instance if
Chrome's session restore feature fails sometimes, then you can use
TabCloud for that.
You can use the extension to rduce the impact of media and colors on
web pages that you visit. It can blend out all images for you, remove
ads and other unwanted elements such as videos or animation, and change
the color scheme of the website as well.
This not only improves readability, but may also improve page loading times.
If you happen to have lots of tabs open at all times, you may
benefit from The Great Suspender extension. It enables you to unload
tabs in Chrome to free up memory. Comes with auto-suspend option for
that extra bit of convenience, and a whitelist to prevent that important
sites get suspended.
The extension listed on this page improve your downloading experience
when you are using Google Chrome. Some may help you download files in
bulk, while others may integrate with download managers or provide you
with other features that the default Chrome browser does not offer. Download Master
Download Master scans the active web page for download links,
displays them all, so that you can download multiple files at once.
Downloaders integrates dozens of external download programs directly
in the Chrome browser. It supports programs such as Flashget, Internet
Download Manager, LeechGet and GetRight among others.
You do not find many video downloaders listed on the official Chrome
Web Store. Video Downloader Professional is one of the most popular
ones that is still listed.It adds an icon to the browser's toolbar that
you can click to display download links for any video that the extension
found on the page.
Interface Modifications change how Google Chrome looks and feels, and
how websites are displayed in the browser. They may change the font for
example, or colors. Font Changer
The extension lets you change font settings, including type, style,
size and weight, on websites individually, or as a global setting for
all websites. Use it to increase or decrease the font size and
appearance on websites as you see fit.
Stylish improves the handling of so called userstyles in Chrome.
They can be easily added to the browser after the installation of the
extension. Userstyles change how certain websites look and behave in the
browser.
The Google browser supports userscripts out of the box, but its
support for those handy little scripts that modify web pages on the fly
is limited. Tampermonkey adds support for additional features.
Media is all about improving media consumption in Chrome. They may
improve how videos, audio or images are displayed in Chrome, help you
download files more easily, or perform other operations on those files. Image Downloader
The extension improves how you download images in Chrome. You click
on the icon that it adds to the browser, which will parse the current
page and display all images that it finds in checkboxes. All that is
left to do is select some or all, and hit the download button to save
them to the local system.
If you browse image-heavy pages regularly, you sometimes may want
better options to browse all images published on a page, for instance
for downloading purposes. LinkClump takes all images on a page to
display them in a single tab in the browser.
The extension adds dozens of features to the YouTube video site. Use
it to set a preferred video resolution and size, enable cinema mode, to
control the volume using an OSD, to stop autoplay of videos, or to hide
comments and other features displayed besides the video.
Use this extension to tune into Internet radio stations. It offers
links to popular directories such as Shoutcast, and also options to add
custom radio stations to it.
Turn Off the Lights has been initially created for video sites to
highlight the video area by rendering all other contents in black with a
little bit of transparency. The latest version supports a whole array
of new features, some for specific video sites like YouTube, others for
all Internet sites.
If you watch YouTube while sitting on the couch, or in bed, you may
want better controls of what is going on. The free YouTube Couch Mode
extension and the linked Android or iOS applications provide you with
the means to control YouTube using the app that is running on your
mobile device.
The extension adds dozens of customization options to YouTube. You
can hide interface elements, change video quality settings, or modify
other elements on the popular video hosting site.
Chrome extensions in the productivity group improve your work flow on the Internet. Any.do Extension
Any.do Extension adds to-do list synching and managing to Chrome.
Use it to create new to-do lists, check what has been done, and sync the
data between all devices running the service.
Google Dictionary allows you to double-click any word or phrase that
is displayed in Chrome to display its definition in an overlay on the
same page. It not only defines the word or phrase, it also enables you
to listen to how it is pronounced.
The extension saves everything you type automatically, so that you
can restore it at a later point in time, for instance after a browser
crash or when the site you submitted the text to did not accept it for
whatever reason.
The browser extension converts articles and contents on websites
into a format that is better for printing. It does so by removing
elements from the page that are not usually required. In addition to
that, it can also turn the page into a pdf document.
Use the extension to save session information in Chrome, so that you
can open them at a later point in time without having to rely on
Chrome's native session restore feature.
Security and privacy extensions improve the security or privacy while
on the Internet. They may add new security options to Chrome, delete
certain privacy-related data bits automatically, or provide you with
additional information about sites you visit. Collusion
Collusion highlights which servers a website connects when you load
it in the Chrome browser. It also links servers together in a connection
chart so that you can see which sites are using the same service or in
association.
Disconnect highlights the servers a website connects to when you are
loading it in Chrome. It can block third party sites and may speed up
the loading of the page because of that.
Ghostery displays the servers that a website is connecting to when
it is loaded in the browser. It focuses on tracking related connections,
for instance through social media icons or advertisement. The extension
offers controls to block those connections, and by doing so, to
increase your privacy on the Internet.
Some websites spawn popups on every page you visit, which can become
a very frustrating browsing experience. One of the best popup blockers
for that is the JavaScript Popup Blocker extension for Google Chrome. It
blocks popups that Chrome does not by default.
Provides you with full control over scripts, cookies, images,
plugins and other elements that get loaded on websites that you visit in
the browser. Use a whitelist or blacklist to permanently allow or block
elements from being loaded or used.
LastPass is an online password manager that provides you with
options to manage your password list, sync it across devices, autofill
and auto-login on sites, and more. Other features that it supports are
form filling, backing up important information, and even sharing
accounts with friends or family you trust.
Gives you access to disposable email addresses that you can create
on the fly in Chrome. Use those for sign ups on Internet sites where you
do not want to share your "real" email address.
The extension scans all installed applications and extensions, and
assigns a risk rating to each of them. All programs are divided into
high, medium and low risk applications.For each item, information about
the access that it requires, and the number of users it has, are
displayed.
Script Defender provides you with full control over scripts,
plugins, images and iframes that get loaded on websites you visit. You
can whitelist them on websites you trust, and have them blocked
automatically on others.
Tab Cookies gives you more control over cookies in Chrome. The
extension will automatically delete cookies when you close tabs. You can
whitelist some domains to protect them from the procedure.
Chrome Currency Converter converts price information on pages to a
select currency. You can also use the extension to convert a currency
into another directly.
The official eBay extension for Google Chrome displays information
about buying and selling activities in Chrome. All you need to do is
click on the icon to access the information.In addition to that, it also
displays deals and a summary page which some users may find useful.
Enhanced Steam improves the functionality of the official Steam
website. It visualizes games you already own, informs you about digital
rights management, and also how much money you have spent on Steam in
total.
Honey looks up coupon information while you are on shopping
websites. It will display coupon codes and promo codes to you that you
can use to save money while checking out.
InvisibleHand displays a small toolbar on shopping sites that
highlights if a product is available for a better price on a competing
shopping site. It is a price comparison service of sorts, that works
automatically on more than 600 different shopping websites.
The Camelizer tracks prices on Amazon, Best Buy and Newegg. It can
display price history charts to you, keep track of items for you, and
inform you when a price drops to a desired level.
Use Buffer to post to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn from any
location. In addition, it allows you to schedule the postings, and
provides you with report functionality.
The extension adds options to secure emails using OpenPGP. It
supports various popular mail services such as Gmail, Outlook.com or
Yahoo Mail out of the box, and comes with options to add other providers
as well.
MyPermissions Cleaner has been designed to review and clean app
permissions. It can scan accounts on sites such as Facebook, Google,
Twitter or Instagram for app permissions, so that you get an overview of
which apps have permission to access account data.
Designed to improve your Reddit experience. The extension adds lots
of features to Reddit, including an account switcher, an inline image
viewer, more control over your account as well as upvotes and downvotes,
and keyboard navigation.
Social Fixer improves your Facebook experience in numerous ways.
Features that it adds are among others tabbed news feeds, the hiding of
read posts, tracking of new comments or custom skins for the site.
The extension enables you to modify cookies set in the browser.
Among its advanced features are options to add new cookies, make cookies
read-only, and to export and import cookies.
Extensity adds a single icon to Chrome's address bar which you can
use to quickly disable or enable installed extensions or apps. This is
excellent for web developers who want to test extensions or use web
developer tools at times.
Run Internet Explorer from within Google Chrome. This is ideal for
web testing, but also to access websites that have been specifically
designed for Microsoft's web browser.
The extension adds a PageSpeed module to Chrome's Web Developer
Tools. You can use it to analyze web pages you load in the browser and
get optimization suggestions for them to improve their overall page
loading time.
SEOquake displays a variety of ranking information in the Chrome
browser. It displays those information in the search results, but also
in a small toolbar overlay on top of the screen (which you can disable).
Web Developer adds a fast-access toolbar to the top of the browser
screen. Use it to quickly control what is being displayed or used on the
active page. You can for instance resize the browser window, disable
features such as JavaScript, disable all styles, or hide or display
images.
All extensions that do not fit in any other category are filled in here. 365Scores
A sports news, live scores and notification extension for Chrome.
Follow your favorite sports teams or leagues using the extension, and
stay up to date in regards to news and matches.
If your Internet connection is not the fastest, every byte
transferred counts. The compression proxy uses Google's official proxy
server to redirect all traffic through it. Some elements are compressed
during that operation so that you download less data without any
significant side-effects.
FooTab blocks all but the active tab from being loaded by Google
Chrome during startup. This can greatly improve the startup performance
of the web browser, especially if you restore sessions regularly with
dozens of open tabs.
Project Naptha enables text selection on all images that you come
across. It automatically enables that functionality, so that you can
highlight text on pictures immediately just as if you would highlight
plain text.
If you have troubles staying focused while you are working on the
computer, for instance because you check Facebook or other services
regularly, then you may find StayFocusd helpful as it can restrict
access to sites that distract you.
If you use bookmarks regularly in Chrome, you may have noticed that
the manageability is not the best. SuperSorter comes to the rescue, by
introducing options to automatically sort bookmarks, remove empty
folders, scan for duplicates or to merge folders that have the same
name.
WhiteHat Security 
WhiteHat Security 
WhiteHat Security 
HTML5 
