The Internet has become a very unsafe place where a user can fall victim to any cyber crime he may end up unlucky having to deal with. Internet theft, scams, viruses, malware and all other Internet threats are making surfing a dangerous activity to a certain extent. While the advantages of the Internet far outweigh the disadvantages, the risks can still get very serious. Because of this, more and more people are becoming conscious about their online activities and would jump at any opportunity to be safe online. Anti-virus software, anti-spyware, Internet filters and other such safety measures are being implemented to ensure privacy and protection of their data.
Even Google has come out with a new browser called Google Chrome and it's becoming more and more popular as its unique features are explored, one of which is safe surfing. With this browser, information on the the certificate provided when a user attempts to connect to a server is compared with that of the actual certificate of the site being connected to. When the information jives, the connection to the destination host is allowed. But when there's a discrepancy, the user is alerted and asked if he would like to connect anyway. Malicious sites sometimes do provide a certificate which eventually turns out to be fake once compared with the intended site.
So far, this browser has been doing well in providing such safety during surfing. Another unique feature is a functionality that preserves processes with tabs that are not necessarily running into trouble. With other browsers, just one problematic tab can cause all open tabs to crash when the problem gets out of hand. With Chrome, only the affected tab closes which means all the others continue to work. In other words, Chrome runs each process or transaction independently of the others. Whatever causes problems with one tab will not affect the others and the browser itself cannot change anything in the user's operating system in any way. This is, of course, another useful Internet security feature provided by the new program.
For those who don't want to leave traces of their browsing on their computer, Chrome also has a feature that allows this. There could be many things that can make a legitimate user want to remain anonymous as far as the sites he visits are concerned. But for whatever reason, this new browser does have a feature that allows surfers to keep their surfing activity to themselves without leaving other users a clue. This means no history data will be stored, hence, the surfer can enjoy anonymity.
Google Chrome is currently in Beta testing and some flaws have also been spotted such as buffer overflow and its vulnerability to carpet-bombing, both of which could be exploited by black hats to advance their malicious activities. In the end, what's important is that a new browser has been created with features that protect the user from the Internet itself. The flaws could easily be corrected but the good points about the browser could also remain for everyone to take advantage of.
For added online security, one may also install an IP hiding software which allows him to surf with his IP address hidden. With this program, a user may actually bump into a hacker, yet the user will be unidentified since his IP is unexposed. And because he's unidentified, he can't possibly be a hacking target. This is how an IP changing software works. For everyday use of the Internet, this program can significantly spare a computer from attacks.