Until a few years ago, most people didn't even think about browser they used. Windows came with Internet Explorer installed. So, that’s what people used. I still know people who think Internet Explorer is "the Internet."
It's only recently that Firefox managed to shake IE's grip. This free browser is faster and has more features than IE. More importantly, it is more secure. Suddenly, browsers became something to think about.
Now there are about a dozen browsers available. However, only five have a serious share of the market. And on PC, there are only three that are "big."
Those three are IE, Firefox and Chrome. You can click here to learn how they compare. However, I'll take this opportunity to get more in-depth with Chrome.
Chrome is the brain-child of Google. It was designed as a jumping off point for Google's Web services. So it was meant to be simple, light-weight and secure. And it is.
In most speed tests, Chrome has proven to be the fastest browser. It's also one of only two that accurately renders modern Web standards. This means it will work with all new Websites and Web technologies. The lesser-known Opera also ranks well. So does Firefox. But IE8 often fares poorly in tests.
Like Firefox and IE, Chrome uses tabbed browsing. This means that multiple Websites can be opened in the same window. It helps to keep things organized.
Unlike Firefox, Chrome runs each tab as a different system process. By contrast, the entire Firefox program runs only one process. Per-process tabs become important when you load an unstable Website. A single unstable Website can crash the entire Firefox program.
In Chrome, only the unstable Website tab will be forced to close. Your other tabs will be unaffected. That means you don't have to restart the program or reload all your tabs again.
The other benefit of this is a security method called sandboxing. Sandboxing isolates each tab from the rest of the system. Think of it as a schoolyard full of children. But each child is playing in their own, separate sandbox. Let's look at an example.
Say you are doing your banking in one tab. In another tab you accidentally load a malicious Website. The malicious Website contains code to read credit card information. Thanks to sandboxing, the malicious code only sees its own tab. It can't see your credit card information in another tab. And it can't see stored account information in the core Chrome program.
Plus, it can't see any personal information elsewhere on the computer. You would have to give it permission purposefully. That makes for a pretty secure system.
How secure? At a recent security conference, every major browser was hacked in minutes. The only exception was Chrome. No one even bothered trying. Upcoming versions of Firefox are going to implement per-process tabs and sandboxing. But Chrome has them now. So, it definitely has the edge.
One area Chrome was always lacking was extensions. These are little programs the browser installs to increase functionality. Extensions are huge in Firefox. Well, Chrome is now catching up. There still aren't as many extensions as Firefox. But the situation is improving every day.
Obviously, Google is working hard to make Chrome the best. Firefox has been out for more than five years. And it is almost on version 4. In comparison, Chrome has been out for two years. It's on version 5.
But there has to be a downside to Chrome, right? Well, not so much. At one point, Chrome was criticized for monitoring user Web surfing habits. It is a Google product, after all. But Google modified that policy. Now the tracking program is opt-in. So, you don't have to worry about it.
The only other drawback could be the control layout. Google wanted to make the Web content easily visible. So, Chrome's design is pretty minimal. For example, the Web address box and search box are combined. Google calls it the Omnibar. And there are no traditional menus in the program window.
It will take some time to adjust. But it is perfectly usable once you get the hang of it. Some people actually prefer it.
Chrome has no problem with Internet Explorer or Firefox. You can have all three installed on the same computer. I do. Chrome will even import bookmarks and settings from other browsers. That will save you time during setup. So, feel free to try it for yourself.