Maxthon 4.2 review: Browser integrates cloud functionality and multiple session logins

Maxthon Cloud Browser puts tight integration with multiple devices at the heart of its feature list. It also offers a number of utility and convenience features to enhance normal day-to-day Web use.

Maxthon allows you to open up a new session, permitting multiple logins to the same site.

The free Maxthon Passport account is how syncing and integration is handled. Setting it up is trivial—put in a name and a password, and reply to a configuration email. Once I did this, I was able to install the Maxthon browser on my iPad and import my bookmarks and open tabs.

However, this review is primarily about the PC version of the browser. Maxthon Cloud browser uses two rendering engines, Trident and Webkit, to handle both newer and older pages optimally. Speed is good, even on image-heavy pages.

Maxthon Cloud Browser has several built-in features that provide helpful utilities or enhancements. One such is “Reader Mode”, which can (on some pages—the option does not appear on every page) figure out what the main article you’re trying to read is, and then display it without ads, pop-ups, and other distractions. Another is the screen capture feature, which will take a shot of either the whole page (including that scrolled offscreen), or a selected region.

Maxthon in normal mode shows all the usual ads, buttons, and other decorations.

A new feature in Maxthon Cloud Browser is multiple sessions. This allows a user to log in to the same site with different IDs, which is helpful if you maintain multiple accounts for various purposes. As with most modern browsers, Maxthon also has a private mode.

On the negative side, I spent some time trying to get Flash to load and run properly. Even after searching the forums and trying multiple suggested solutions, it was not working. Eventually, I did get it to work, but only by uninstalling the browser and reinstalling it in the suggested default directory. Even though the installer program offers a choice of target directory, the altered path was not propagated through the configuration. The company stated that a fix is in the works and will be addressed in a stable release by mid-February.

In general, documentation is sparse; the forums provide the main venue through which information about features and functionality can be gained.

Maxthon's Reader mode clears away Web clutter to focus just on the main article.

Maxthon has a built-in ad blocker, but it works very sporadically as compared to the AdBlock plugin and similar tools. There is a fairly large selection of plugins and extensions available for Maxthon Cloud Browser, but many are not available in English language versions (so I couldn’t evaluate them), or are of limited functionality.

As is often the case with browsers beyond the top three or four, while Maxthon Cloud Browser has no glaring flaws and does a perfectly functional job of doing “browser things,” it’s hard to find something significantly unique/superior to the existing major browsers to make me switch to it for my day-to-day use on a PC. As with Opera 18, those who regularly move across platforms and need their environment preserved as they move from machine to machine may find it much more appealing.

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Review: BrowserTexting works fine for SMS in a browser, but so do free options

Texting from a desktop browser is a sight easier than from a phone. Android phone owners have several options, such as MobiTexter and MightyText. BrowserTexting ($10, 30-day free trial) is a two-part solution that includes an app that you install on your phone and a Web app that you use on your computer.

You first need to install the app on your Android phone, which is a quick and simple process. You then fire up your computer's browser and head to BrowserTexting.com. The setup process here was also simple and streamlined: The website displays QR code that you scan to connect your phone to your browser.

BrowserTexting's bland interface isn't the worst of its sins. That would be charging $10 for what free services do just as well.

Then you're good to go. BrowserTexting automatically displays a list of your contacts. You can select one from the list or enter a number on the screen to begin texting. Once you start the message, BrowserTexting brings up past conversations with that person right on the screen, so you can view your texting history as a conversation, just as you would on your phone. You can send MMS messages and group texts, too. New messages pop up on your computer screen, and all of your correspondence is synced back to your phone.

The interface is bland, featuring little more than a big blank space for messages, but easy enough to understand. I like that BrowserTexting offers extensions for Firefox and Google Chrome, which allow you to read and compose messages without opening a dedicated browser window or tab. And I like that it opens new text message conversations in tabs, making it easy to switch between them.

I did notice a slight delay when clicking around the interface, whether I was entering a contact name or number or trying to compose a message. That's a minor annoyance, though. More troublesome is BrowserTexting's price: at $10 (after a 30-day free trial), this application is expensive. When most of the competitors are free, an application that costs $10 has to offer far more features. And this one doesn't. BrowserTexting is just as good as some of its rivals, but it costs far more.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the Android app and use the latest version of this Web-based software.

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Make Money Searching and Shopping Online With Perk Browser

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Review: WeVideo is a cloud-based video editor that makes editing in your browser fun and simple

The cloud is all the rage these days. We've got email in the cloud, backup in the cloud, not to mention project management, image editing, and pretty much everything else that you use your PC for in the cloud. WeVideo wants to add one more type to the mix: A cloud-based video editor.

What makes it potentially hard to get off the ground with a cloud-based video editor is that all of your raw footage must find its way into the editor. A decent five-minute video could require hours of raw footage to create. Since most users have connections with slower upload than download speeds, you could be uploading footage for hours on end before you can even begin editing. Fortunately, WeVideo's seamless connection with Dropbox and others cloud-based file storage services makes this less of an issue.

Erez ZukermanWeVideo makes it easy to export to connected cloud services, but its free option is watermarked.

When I use my Galaxy S III to shoot footage, it is automatically uploaded to Dropbox. The upload takes time, but I don't need to think about it or do anything to make it happen. Once the files are in Dropbox, I only need to point WeVideo at them, and it pulls them into the editor very quickly. Feeding WeVideo with a gigabyte of footage took less than ten minutes, once it was all on Dropbox.

Once your footage is in the editor, the editing experience is simple and pleasant. WeVideo offers a timeline you can drag clips onto. It is easy to trim clips as needed and add transitions, and there's a rich library of soundtracks you can use. Fading audio in and out takes just a couple of clicks, and the whole system felt responsive and would be familiar to anyone with experience with desktop video applications.

One advantage of WeVideo's cloud-based nature is collaboration: You can invite friends to upload footage to your project, and even create different edits based on the same footage. This collaborative workflow is one of the service's main selling points.

Once you're done editing, it's time to export your work. Free accounts can only export very low resolution (480p) watermarked video. I understand the limitation, but I wish WeVideo was more upfront about it and made it clear as part of the registration process, rather than reveal it at the last possible moment when the editing work has been done. It is easy to connect WeVideo to YouTube and other Web video services, so you don't have to download a file and upload it to YouTube yourself–WeVideo does the whole thing on its own.
If you need to collaborate on a video project with a distributed team, WeVideo offers important benefits and can let you share footage and edits in ways that aren't possible otherwise. It can also come in handy for the occasional solo project, as long as you don't mind uploading your footage to the cloud prior to editing.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can use the latest version of this Web-based software.

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
More by Erez Zukerman

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Opera for Android Browser Beta Hands-on: Worth the Download?

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EU Fines Microsoft $731 Million for Removing Browser Choice Option

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Review: Tor Browser Bundle lets you browse in anonymity

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
More by Erez Zukerman

If you want to beef up and anonymize your Internet browsing experience as well, Tor Browser Bundle (free) is the way to go. The Tor network provides a way to browse anonymously.

Tor's Vidalia Control Panel handles all connections automatically, launching Firefox as soon as you can browse.

The Tor Browser Bundle is a portable, self-extracting package which contains a special version of Firefox, along with an application for connecting to Tor. You extract the bundle, and double-click "Start Tor Browser." A connection window comes up and steps through an initialization sequence. You don't have to do anything; just wait a moment while the progress bar fills up. As soon as a secure connection with Tor is established, Firefox loads and you can start browsing.

When you connect to Tor, all of your Internet traffic is encrypted and routed through a complex network of anonymous nodes until it reaches its final destination. It's not 100% secure, but then again, no security solution is. Tor has been around since 2002, and has been field-tested in rough situations in Egypt and other oppressive regimes that restrict Internet access. It works.

Since Tor routes your data through so many layers and random endpoints, it's not exactly blazing fast. Then again, most of us don't require Tor as a necessary part of our daily browsing routines. For occasional use, it's an elegant solution that simplifies a complex security system down to a double-click.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software. This file is donationware; it is free to use, but the developer welcomes donations toward future development.

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Chrome 21 is a browser built more for speed than style

The designers of high-end sports cars often strip their cars of every inessential component, just to coax the greatest power and speed from their creations. Google’s Chrome reminds me of those speed demons: It lacks the fit and finish of Apple’s Safari (), but man, does it ever burn (virtual) rubber.

Built for speed

I’m not sure which is faster: Chrome itself, or the browser’s development cycle. To watch the version numbers blur by, you’d expect big changes in the browser’s look and feel. But on startup, Chrome 21 looks a lot like last year’s Chrome 8, right down to the annoyingly persistent rough edges on its interface.

You still can’t open all the bookmarks in a given folder without awkwardly right-clicking, selecting a command from a contextual menu, and clicking OK in a nagging dialogue box. You can’t switch into privacy-protecting Incognito mode on the fly, but instead must open an entire new window. When you navigate back and forth, pages don’t so much slide as simply appear. These are minor details, for certain, but their absence suggests that Google’s coders care more about the technical side of their browser than the way it interacts with humans.

Unpolished UI: Chrome’s interface hasn’t changed much from earlier versions, and often lacks the small, thoughtful touches you’ll find in Safari.

Chrome 21 contains one definite and laudable exception to that theory, though: its support for Apple’s VoiceOver, which makes browsing easier for the visually impaired. Last year, Google promised to improve its then-lackluster integration in future versions, and it’s since delivered. VoiceOver support still isn’t perfect; I could only get it to recognize the first link in any of the folders on the Bookmarks Bar, but I could accurately and easily navigate pages in Chrome via keyboard or mouse, with my Mac speaking each section aloud. Kudos to Google for this considerate, useful improvement.

Indeed, most of Chrome’s notable additions have been made under the hood. The browser fully supports Lion’s Full Screen mode—which coexists somewhat awkwardly with Chrome’s own, functionally identical Presentation Mode. Also, despite Google’s stated intention last year to ditch H.264 video support in favor of its own WebM codec, Chrome still appears to play both types of HTML5 video.

Rather than worry too much about their browser’s chassis, Google’s team seems to have focused almost entirely on its engine, with impressive results.

Top Tier: Chrome posts the highest score for HTML5 standards compliance of any Mac browser.

Hot rod browser

For HTML5 standards compliance and raw JavaScript performance, no Mac browser beats Chrome. In tests on a 2GHz aluminum MacBook with 2GB of RAM, Chrome smoked the latest versions of Safari, Firefox, Opera (), and Maxthon () (essentially a Chrome clone) in both categories.

In Google’s own V8 JavaScript benchmark suite, Chrome’s score beat that of every other browser by at least 25 percent. Even in the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, Chrome edged out Firefox for the fastest time, trouncing the others by even wider margins.

And Chrome downright embarrassed the competition in HTML5Test.com’s check of standards compliance. Its score of 431 (plus 13 bonus points) out of 500 exceeded its nearest rival, Opera 12, by 41 points, with the rest of the pack trailing considerably farther behind.

However, when it came to actual HTML horsepower, Chrome fell surprisingly short. Its score in an HTML5 vector graphics test beat Firefox’s handily, but still totaled less than half Safari’s mark. It ran about 19 percent slower than the leading scores in HTML5 bitmap graphics, and placed fourth after Safari, Opera, and Firefox in HTML5 text handling—albeit by a narrower gap.

In regular use, Chrome felt generally fast, responsive, and fun to use, on par with its latest competitors.

BrowserHTML5 VectorHTML5 BitmapHTML5 TextV8SunSpiderAcid3HTML5 ComplianceBest results in bold. Reference browsers are in italics. HTML5 Vector, Bitmap, and Text test results are in frames per second; higher is better. The V8 Benchmark Suite test results are scores; higher is better. The SunSpider JavaScript results are in milliseconds; shorter times are better. The Acid3 result is a score out of 100. HTML5 Compliance is a score out of 500.

Bottom line

If you like to browse without frivolous bells and whistles, or need first-rate JavaScript performance, Chrome is the browser for you. What it lacks in surface refinements, it more than makes up for in raw power.

[Nathan Alderman is a writer, editor, and occasional Top Gear viewer in Alexandria, Va.]

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Can You Trust Your Browser With Your Passwords?

Having your Web browser remember your passwords and/or credit card details can be convenient, but it poses some security risks. How much of a risk depends on which browser you’re using, whether you sync with other devices, and whether you’re using any of the browser's extra security features. Here are the main vulnerabilities in some of the most popular browsers—Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox—and ways you can protect against those weak spots.

Common Security Risks

The biggest problem with having your browser save your passwords involves prying eyes. Not only can other users who have access to your computer log in to your accounts and see your actual passwords or credit card details, but so can a thief if your computer, smartphone, or tablet gets lost or stolen. And the same risk applies if you haven’t properly erased your data from your PC when you get rid of it; whoever ends up with it next might be able to recover your information. Also, some viruses and malware can steal your saved passwords or credit card details.

As you’ve may have noticed, banking sites—and many others that deal with highly sensitive information—don’t let your browser save your password. However, if you use the same or a similar password on sensitive sites that you do on less-secure sites, someone else may be able to easily guess your banking password, for example.

Some browsers let you (or, potentially, thieves) view a list of your saved login credentials, including the site, username, and password. And for those that don’t, utilities like WebBrowserPassView can easily let you compile a list of them. This is handy if you forget a password or you want to evaluate all your passwords, but it's problematic if an intruder uses such software on your computer. Another way you (or thieves) can recover saved passwords is by using a utility like BulletsPassView to reveal the password behind a masked password field on a webpage or window.

In the next sections, we’ll take a look at three popular browsers—Internet Explorer 9, Chrome, and Firefox— to evaluate their credential-saving features, and discuss some tips for better securing them.

Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 offers the most basic password-saving functionality of the three browsers we’re covering. Its AutoComplete feature can also remember your name, address, and other data you type into Web forms or search fields. It doesn’t provide a way for you to view saved passwords from within the browser settings: It only allows you to change the main settings and delete all AutoComplete history.

Not being able to view a list of the passwords can help prevent casual snooping. And even though you can still log in to sites the browser saved the password for, you can’t by default view the password itself. As mentioned before, however, a determined hacker can use a utility to see a list of all your saved passwords or to reveal the actual characters behind the password field on a login page.

Unfortunately, Internet Explorer 9 doesn’t offer a native synchronization feature to keep your settings and saved data synced across multiple computers or devices, but, from a security standpoint, at least that’s one less security risk you have to worry about.

Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8 will provide new password saving and syncing features, but it’s not yet clear if they will be available when you use Windows 7. When I tested the Release Previews of Internet Explorer 10 and Windows 8, I found that you can view and manage saved browser passwords using the improved Credential Manager in the Control Panel. And for security, before you can view the actual saved passwords you must reenter your Windows account password, which can help prevent casual snooping by others.

Windows 8 will also offer a new synchronization feature that lets you sync passwords for apps, websites, and networks—in addition to Windows settings and preferences—across your other Windows 8 computers and tablets. For security reasons, before you sync your passwords with a new computer or tablet, you must log in to a Microsoft site and approve the new device. And if you’ve specified a mobile number on your Microsoft account beforehand, you'll get a confirmation code texted to your mobile phone that you must enter on the Microsoft site before the trust is granted and passwords are synced.

Google Chrome 21

Google Chrome provides a more feature-rich password-saving feature than Internet Explorer does, as well as an autofill feature that can also keep track of your credit card details. But while these can be great time-saving features, they also pose more security risks.

Chrome lets you—or a thief for that matter—browse through the list of saved usernames and passwords (alphabetized by site name) or enter the site name into the search field to filter the list.

For privacy, Chrome masks each saved password with asterisks, but you can click the entry and press the Show button to reveal the actual password. You can also change the password, but unfortunately Chrome doesn’t sense password changes, so it won't prompt you when you log in to a site with a new password. You must go to the saved password entry and update it manually.

You can view a list of all saved addresses and credit card details, including the name on card, the account number, and the expiration date. Chrome partially masks your credit card numbers with asterisks, but you can click the entry and then click Edit to reveal the full number. The only card detail not saved is the card's security code, which is often—but not always—required to make purchases.

Unfortunately, Chrome doesn’t offer a master password feature like Firefox does in order to protect all your passwords and credit card details. Thus, anyone who’s logged on to your Windows account can view all the saved passwords and credit card details.

Chrome offers a syncing feature to keep most of your settings and saved data (including passwords, but not credit card details) synced across multiple computers and devices, but this creates another security vulnerability. By default, Chrome only requires you to enter your Google account password to set up a new computer or device to sync your browsing data. This is a great convenience; but if your Google account password is hacked, the intruder can potentially access a list of all your passwords unless you set a syncing passphrase, as we’ll discuss.

Chrome's sync settings.To keep your saved passwords secured during syncing, Chrome encrypts them when they travel from your computers or devices to Google's servers (and vice-versa). You can also set the browser to encrypt all other synced data.

By default, Chrome uses your Google account password to encrypt and decrypt the synced data, but you can enter another passphrase if you want to add an extra layer of protection to your synced data. When you set up Chrome to sync on a new computer or device, you'll need to sign in with your Google account password and then also enter your encryption passphrase.

Firefox 14

Firefox offers advanced password-saving features that are even better than Chrome's. But while Firefox doesn’t natively support saving credit card details, at least that's one less security issue you need to worry about. As with Chrome, you can browse, search, and remove saved passwords via the Firefox settings.

Saved passwords in Firefox.

Though you can’t change the passwords in the settings, Firefox automatically senses password changes you've made elsewhere and asks if you want to update your password when you log on to a site with a password that’s different than what’s saved on your PC.

Unlike Chrome, Firefox lets you set a master password to encrypt and password-protect the saved password list.

Firefox lets you set a "master password" to add an extra layer of security.

You must enter the master password the first time you use a saved password, once per browser session. Additionally, even though you enter the master password the first time, you must always enter it before you can view saved passwords via the list in the Firefox settings. This is a great feature to help prevent casual snooping of your passwords, and it even prevents most third-party utilities from recovering them.

Firefox can also sync your passwords, settings, and other saved data among multiple computers and devices.

This is similar to what Chrome provides, but by default Firefox encrypts all synced data instead of just your saved passwords. Additionally, there’s more security when you add a new computer or device to your Firefox Sync account. You can either enter a passcode from the new device into one that you've already set up, or take the recovery key from a device you've already set up and input it into the new device after logging in to your Firefox Sync account.

Summary

Internet Explorer 9 helps prevent casual snooping—there’s no list of saved passwords in the settings—but it doesn’t provide any advanced security features to prevent someone on your Windows account from using third-party utilities to recover your passwords.

Google Chrome 21 allows anyone on your Windows account to view your list of saved passwords and credit card details, so be careful who you let on. And if you sync your browsing data across multiple computers and devices, consider turning on encryption of all data and setting a custom passphrase for double-protection.

Firefox 14 also by default allows anyone on your Windows account to view your list of saved passwords, but you can create a master password to encrypt and protect them. And if you use the browser syncing feature, Firefox offers great security.

Of the three browsers we reviewed, I’d choose Firefox for the best password security thanks to its master-password feature, but I’m also eager to see the final version of Internet Explorer 10 for both Windows 7 and 8.

I’ll leave you with some additional tips to help you boost the security of your passwords:

Never save passwords or sync browser data on other people’s computers.Try to use different passwords for each site—at least for banking and other sensitive accounts.Password-protect your Windows account.Create separate Windows accounts for each user, or at least for those you don’t fully trust.For extended family or friends, utilize the Guest Windows account.Use a good antivirus program and keep it updated.Think about fully encrypting laptops, netbooks, and mobile devices.Look into third-party password-management services like LastPass or KeePass.

Eric Geier is a freelance tech writer. He’s also the founder of NoWiresSecurity, which provides a cloud-based Wi-Fi security service for businesses, and On Spot Techs, which provides on-site computer services.

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Can You Trust Your Browser With Your Passwords?

Having your Web browser remember your passwords and/or credit card details can be convenient, but it poses some security risks. How much of a risk depends on which browser you’re using, whether you sync with other devices, and whether you’re using any of the browser's extra security features. Here are the main vulnerabilities in some of the most popular browsers—Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox—and ways you can protect against those weak spots.

Common Security Risks

The biggest problem with having your browser save your passwords involves prying eyes. Not only can other users who have access to your computer log in to your accounts and see your actual passwords or credit card details, but so can a thief if your computer, smartphone, or tablet gets lost or stolen. And the same risk applies if you haven’t properly erased your data from your PC when you get rid of it; whoever ends up with it next might be able to recover your information. Also, some viruses and malware can steal your saved passwords or credit card details.

As you’ve may have noticed, banking sites—and many others that deal with highly sensitive information—don’t let your browser save your password. However, if you use the same or a similar password on sensitive sites that you do on less-secure sites, someone else may be able to easily guess your banking password, for example.

Some browsers let you (or, potentially, thieves) view a list of your saved login credentials, including the site, username, and password. And for those that don’t, utilities like WebBrowserPassView can easily let you compile a list of them. This is handy if you forget a password or you want to evaluate all your passwords, but it's problematic if an intruder uses such software on your computer. Another way you (or thieves) can recover saved passwords is by using a utility like BulletsPassView to reveal the password behind a masked password field on a webpage or window.

In the next sections, we’ll take a look at three popular browsers—Internet Explorer 9, Chrome, and Firefox— to evaluate their credential-saving features, and discuss some tips for better securing them.

Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 offers the most basic password-saving functionality of the three browsers we’re covering. Its AutoComplete feature can also remember your name, address, and other data you type into Web forms or search fields. It doesn’t provide a way for you to view saved passwords from within the browser settings: It only allows you to change the main settings and delete all AutoComplete history.

Not being able to view a list of the passwords can help prevent casual snooping. And even though you can still log in to sites the browser saved the password for, you can’t by default view the password itself. As mentioned before, however, a determined hacker can use a utility to see a list of all your saved passwords or to reveal the actual characters behind the password field on a login page.

Unfortunately, Internet Explorer 9 doesn’t offer a native synchronization feature to keep your settings and saved data synced across multiple computers or devices, but, from a security standpoint, at least that’s one less security risk you have to worry about.

Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8 will provide new password saving and syncing features, but it’s not yet clear if they will be available when you use Windows 7. When I tested the Release Previews of Internet Explorer 10 and Windows 8, I found that you can view and manage saved browser passwords using the improved Credential Manager in the Control Panel. And for security, before you can view the actual saved passwords you must reenter your Windows account password, which can help prevent casual snooping by others.

Windows 8 will also offer a new synchronization feature that lets you sync passwords for apps, websites, and networks—in addition to Windows settings and preferences—across your other Windows 8 computers and tablets. For security reasons, before you sync your passwords with a new computer or tablet, you must log in to a Microsoft site and approve the new device. And if you’ve specified a mobile number on your Microsoft account beforehand, you'll get a confirmation code texted to your mobile phone that you must enter on the Microsoft site before the trust is granted and passwords are synced.

Google Chrome 21

Google Chrome provides a more feature-rich password-saving feature than Internet Explorer does, as well as an autofill feature that can also keep track of your credit card details. But while these can be great time-saving features, they also pose more security risks.

Chrome lets you—or a thief for that matter—browse through the list of saved usernames and passwords (alphabetized by site name) or enter the site name into the search field to filter the list.

For privacy, Chrome masks each saved password with asterisks, but you can click the entry and press the Show button to reveal the actual password. You can also change the password, but unfortunately Chrome doesn’t sense password changes, so it won't prompt you when you log in to a site with a new password. You must go to the saved password entry and update it manually.

You can view a list of all saved addresses and credit card details, including the name on card, the account number, and the expiration date. Chrome partially masks your credit card numbers with asterisks, but you can click the entry and then click Edit to reveal the full number. The only card detail not saved is the card's security code, which is often—but not always—required to make purchases.

Unfortunately, Chrome doesn’t offer a master password feature like Firefox does in order to protect all your passwords and credit card details. Thus, anyone who’s logged on to your Windows account can view all the saved passwords and credit card details.

Chrome offers a syncing feature to keep most of your settings and saved data (including passwords, but not credit card details) synced across multiple computers and devices, but this creates another security vulnerability. By default, Chrome only requires you to enter your Google account password to set up a new computer or device to sync your browsing data. This is a great convenience; but if your Google account password is hacked, the intruder can potentially access a list of all your passwords unless you set a syncing passphrase, as we’ll discuss.

Chrome's sync settings.To keep your saved passwords secured during syncing, Chrome encrypts them when they travel from your computers or devices to Google's servers (and vice-versa). You can also set the browser to encrypt all other synced data.

By default, Chrome uses your Google account password to encrypt and decrypt the synced data, but you can enter another passphrase if you want to add an extra layer of protection to your synced data. When you set up Chrome to sync on a new computer or device, you'll need to sign in with your Google account password and then also enter your encryption passphrase.

Firefox 14

Firefox offers advanced password-saving features that are even better than Chrome's. But while Firefox doesn’t natively support saving credit card details, at least that's one less security issue you need to worry about. As with Chrome, you can browse, search, and remove saved passwords via the Firefox settings.

Saved passwords in Firefox.

Though you can’t change the passwords in the settings, Firefox automatically senses password changes you've made elsewhere and asks if you want to update your password when you log on to a site with a password that’s different than what’s saved on your PC.

Unlike Chrome, Firefox lets you set a master password to encrypt and password-protect the saved password list.

Firefox lets you set a "master password" to add an extra layer of security.

You must enter the master password the first time you use a saved password, once per browser session. Additionally, even though you enter the master password the first time, you must always enter it before you can view saved passwords via the list in the Firefox settings. This is a great feature to help prevent casual snooping of your passwords, and it even prevents most third-party utilities from recovering them.

Firefox can also sync your passwords, settings, and other saved data among multiple computers and devices.

This is similar to what Chrome provides, but by default Firefox encrypts all synced data instead of just your saved passwords. Additionally, there’s more security when you add a new computer or device to your Firefox Sync account. You can either enter a passcode from the new device into one that you've already set up, or take the recovery key from a device you've already set up and input it into the new device after logging in to your Firefox Sync account.

Summary

Internet Explorer 9 helps prevent casual snooping—there’s no list of saved passwords in the settings—but it doesn’t provide any advanced security features to prevent someone on your Windows account from using third-party utilities to recover your passwords.

Google Chrome 21 allows anyone on your Windows account to view your list of saved passwords and credit card details, so be careful who you let on. And if you sync your browsing data across multiple computers and devices, consider turning on encryption of all data and setting a custom passphrase for double-protection.

Firefox 14 also by default allows anyone on your Windows account to view your list of saved passwords, but you can create a master password to encrypt and protect them. And if you use the browser syncing feature, Firefox offers great security.

Of the three browsers we reviewed, I’d choose Firefox for the best password security thanks to its master-password feature, but I’m also eager to see the final version of Internet Explorer 10 for both Windows 7 and 8.

I’ll leave you with some additional tips to help you boost the security of your passwords:

Never save passwords or sync browser data on other people’s computers.Try to use different passwords for each site—at least for banking and other sensitive accounts.Password-protect your Windows account.Create separate Windows accounts for each user, or at least for those you don’t fully trust.For extended family or friends, utilize the Guest Windows account.Use a good antivirus program and keep it updated.Think about fully encrypting laptops, netbooks, and mobile devices.Look into third-party password-management services like LastPass or KeePass.

Eric Geier is a freelance tech writer. He’s also the founder of NoWiresSecurity, which provides a cloud-based Wi-Fi security service for businesses, and On Spot Techs, which provides on-site computer services.

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Which Browser Should You Use?

Illustration by Papercut.frEveryone needs a Web browser, but with so many different ones available, deciding which one is best for you can be hard. Are you looking for something blazing fast? Or is strong security your top priority? Or do you need lots and lots of add-ons?

We examined the latest versions of six widely used desktop and laptop browsers--Chrome 17, Firefox 10, Internet Explorer 9, Opera 11.61, RockMelt 0.9, and Safari 5.1.2--paying special attention to such variables as speed, safety, extra features, and extensions. (For our appraisals of five popular mobile browsers for the Android operating system--Chrome for Android Beta, Dolphin Browser HD, Firefox for Android, Opera Mini, and Opera Mobile--see "The Best Browsers for Your Android Phone.") Among the PC browser contenders, Google's Chrome version 17 narrowly captured the crown as the top performer overall in our tests, thanks to speedy Java­Script rendering and page load times, excellent security tools, and a respectable array of add-ons and features. Mozilla's Firefox 10 finished a close second, processing HTML 5 graphics faster than any other browser and sporting a huge library of add-ons to make browsing easier and more fun.

RockMelt 0.9, the browser built on Google's Chromium framework that comes integrated with Facebook, was the surprise third-place finisher. We had expected the browser's Facebook integration and social-reading sidebar to slow its performance; but in our hands-on testing, RockMelt worked faster than most of its rivals, and it permits you to share links and chat with friends on Facebook without having to go directly to the social network.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 earned a rather low score for its features: It doesn't offer themes for your browser, and you can't sync favorites unless you use Windows Live Mesh. Nevertheless, it offers more security options than most competing browsers, and it processed HTML 5 code quickly.

Opera 11.61 distinguished itself from its rivals with blazing page-load speeds and a great mobile browser, but it came up short in HTML 5 processing.

Safari 5.1.2 didn't perform especially well on any of our benchmarks; its only noteworthy redeeming quality, particularly for Windows users, is the solid security it provides.
While reading our assessments, bear in mind that every browser behaves differently depending on the hardware setup, the Internet connection, and the modifications you make to your browser (with add-ons, the amount of space allotted for cache, and the like).

Overall Best

Pros:
• Lets you close slow or frozen pages without restarting the browser
• Sandboxed design helps prevent malware infections
Cons:
• No integrated RSS reader
• Plain design

Add-ons for Chrome 17 include popular mobile games.Chrome wins our top spot thanks to its ease of use, numerous extensions and add-ons, and superb performance. It may not be perfect for everyone, but Chrome is a well-rounded browser that should meet most people's needs.

Chrome's minimalist design isn't eye-catching, but its lean toolbar leaves more room for viewing Web pages. And what Chrome lacks in flashiness, it certainly makes up for in performance. Google's browser really shone in our JavaScript test, far outdistancing its competitors. Many popular websites--including Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube--use JavaScript because it makes those sites more immediately responsive, and JavaScript-heavy pages behave better in Chrome. The browser also performed admirably in our speed test, fully loading an image-heavy page in just under 4 seconds. This lighting-fast speed comes from a feature new to Chrome 17 (released in early February) that lets the browser start loading the URL you type in the address bar be­­fore you press.

To complement its im­­pressive performance, Goo­gle's browser has some worthy features that others lack. For starters, Chrome runs tabs as separate processes--so if one of them crashes, the entire browser doesn't go down with it. If your online wanderings take you to a foreign-language website, Chrome will recognize the language and offer to translate it for you in a matter of seconds. The translations, powered by Google Translate, aren't exceptionally accurate, but they can at least give you a basic idea of what the page is about. Chrome is also one of the most secure browsers on this list, because it is sandboxed: The plug-ins that Chrome uses access information only within the browser itself and can't read information from other areas on your computer. Sandboxing prevents malware that uses plug-in exploits from spreading via Chrome through your PC.

Owners of smartphones or tablets running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will appreciate the ability to sync their Chrome bookmarks and Web history to those mobile devices.

You can customize Chrome with Web apps, themes, and extensions to suit your preferences. Chrome's built-in Web store simplifies searching for and installing browser add-ons. The add-ons range from simple (an Evernote plug-in, for example), to complex (such as full versions of Angry Birds and Bastion). And unlike with Firefox, you don't need to restart your browser every time you install a new extension or app.

On the downside, Chrome lacks an integrated RSS reader, which means that you'll have to come up with your own approach to handling multiple RSS feeds if you subscribe to more than one.

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Google Chrome: Still a Strong All-Around Browser

Chrome's minimalist design isn't eye-catching, but its lean toolbar leaves more room for viewing Web pages. And what Chrome lacks in flashiness, it more than makes up for in performance. Google's browser really shone in our JavaScript test, leaving its competitors in the dust. JavaScript is used in many popular websites--Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, etc.--because it makes those sites more immediately responsive and those JavaScript heavy pages will perform better in Chrome. The browser also performed admirably in our speed test, fully loading an image-heavy page in just over five seconds.

Along with impressive performance, Google's browser has some other useful tricks up its sleeve. For starters, tabs are run as separate processes so that if one crashes, it doesn't take the entire browser down with it. If your wanderings take you to a foreign language Web site, Chrome will recognize the language and offer to translate it for you in a matter of seconds. The translations, which are powered by Google Translate, are not always completely accurate--but they can be helpful in giving you a basic idea on what the page is about. Chrome is one of the most secure browsers on this list because it is sandboxed: The plug-ins Chrome uses are limited to accessing information only within the browser itself and cannot read information from other areas on your computer. Sandboxing allows Chrome to prevent malware that uses plug-in exploits from spreading through your PC.

Mobile users will be glad to know that if you own an Android phone or tablet running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), you can sync your Chrome bookmarks and web history to your mobile devices.

You can customize Chrome with web apps, themes, and extensions to fit your preferences. Chrome has a built-in web store that makes it easy to search for and install add-ons to the browser. Add-ons range from simple things, like an Evernote plug-in, all the way up to full games like Angry Birds or Bastion. And, unlike in Firefox, you don’t need to restart your browser every time you install a new extension or app.

Still, Chrome lacks an integrated RSS reader, so you'll need to come up with your own solution if you subscribe to multiple RSS feeds.

Note: The Downloads button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

--Megan Geuss

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RockMelt Browser a Swift Choice for Social Media Junkies

Rockmelt was built on Google's Chromium browser framework (so the browser looks and acts a lot like Chrome), but it's designed to appeal to social media fanatics. You have to sign in through Facebook to use most of its features. But fear not-- while RockMelt collects data on your browsing habits, developers say they won't share that data with any third parties -including Google and Facebook. And there are benefits to the Facebook sign-in too: RockMelt also uses your Facebook account to automatically sync settings and bookmarks among computers and any devices running the RockMelt iOS app (there's no RockMelt app for Android yet).

What fans love about RockMelt will undoubtedly drive some people crazy. On the right side of the browser window, you'll see a thin strip with your Facebook friends' icons and notifications about whether they're available to chat. By clicking your friend's icon, you can chat in the browser window without having to switch back and forth between Facebook and your other tabs. On the left side of the browser window, you can choose "apps" for different Web sites that show notifications when new content has been posted. Sometimes, though, the information at the edges of the browser window can get distracting. When that happens, you can hide the information by clicking on the bell icon in the top right corner to silence the visual noise.

There are some other drawbacks to RockMelt as well. Any link you click on in the left hand bar (such as a link from RockMelt's CNN app) will be added to your Facebook timeline unless you turn the behavior off in the browser preferences. Also, many of the extensions that work in Google's Chrome don't work in RockMelt. RockMelt CEO Eric Vishria says the company is continuously working with developers of good Google Chrome apps to make versions of the apps that are compatible in RockMelt as well. He says today there are about 200 extensions for RockMelt.

Overall, the fledgling browser works really quickly. It did an even better job than Chrome at processing HTML5, coming in third after Firefox and IE9, and RockMelt took second in our JavaScript benchmark--scoring slightly lower than the winning Chrome. And it loaded our static, image-heavy page in a lightning-fast 4.15 seconds, second only to Opera.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

--Megan Geuss

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23160/description.html

RockMelt does more than just navigate Web pages. It makes it easy for you to do the things you do every single day on the Web: share and keep up with your friends, stay up-to-date on news and information, and search. And of course, RockMelt is fast, secure, and stable because it’s built on Chromium, the open source project behind Google’s Chrome browser. It’s your browser--re-imagined and built for how you use the Web.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

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OnLive Desktop Plus Brings Blazing IE Browser, Flash to iPad for $5 Per Month

Priced at just $4.99 a month, OnLive Desktop Plus includes all the (already commendable) features of OnLive Desktop–quick refresher, that’s MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, 2GB of cloud storage space, a few other touch game apps and Windows Media Player for HD videos–and now, they’re tossing Adobe Reader and Internet Explorer into the mix. Since the lack of a browser was one of our previous quibbles with the original app, it’s nice to know that the company listened to feedback.

The Browsing Experience

It gets even better: OnLive Desktop Plus offers the browsing experience at stunningly fast gigabit speeds, since the actual processing is done on the company’s powerful remote servers hosted thousands of miles away. And this is no dinky mobile browser, either. Internet Explorer behaves exactly as you would expect the browser on your desktop back home to behave, so you can load full Flash websites in all their glory–and have these sites completely remade to respond to your touch. That’s a first for any app on iOS, as far as we know. You can also download Web mail attachments from Gmail, Yahoo, and cloud storage files like Dropbox directly onto your cloud desktop.

We loaded the animation-heavy Mercedes Benz website, and were thoroughly impressed by how quickly it loaded. The picture of the desktop blurred periodically before coming into focus, but that was an issue with streaming the desktop to our tablet (rather, an issue with our sluggish Wi-Fi network at the office), and not a connection problem that has to do with OnLive’s servers.

Browser Speeds

In order to test browser speeds objectively, we visited speedtest.net and check what sort of upload and download speeds we got. The results didn’t disappoint. We found that we notched a download speed of 92.77 Mbps and an upload speed of 72.32 Mbps.

Bottom Line

OnLive has managed to make an already-impressive app even better with this latest iteration. “Experiencing a full Flash-enabled Web experience at gigabit speeds on iPad is nothing short of breathtaking, and OnLive Desktop Plus is your ticket to ride,” said Steve Perlman, OnLive Founder and CEO. “Combine that with OnLive Desktop’s full-featured Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader PC applications and not only do you have the world’s fastest mobile browser, but the world’s most powerful productivity tools literally at your fingertips.”

The app is available for the iPad now in the US. Android users can look forward to their own dedicated version coming soon, and native variants for the PC and Mac are slated to follow as well. If you need the added functionality of OnLive Desktop Plus, you can sign up for an account at www.desktop.onlive.com.

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Play Pulsus in Your Browser

Pulsus is a low-key, minimalistic game of particles. It is marketed for iOS these days (both for the iPad and the iPhone/iPod Touch), but its original Flash version is still online, available for free play.

Pulsus has a very lean aesthetic, and shuns the flashy graphics many modern games strive for.In many ways, Pulsus reminds me of Auditorium, another Flash game. Like in Auditorium, there is a particle emitter, goals which the particles must hit, and forces that you need to manipulate to make this happen.

The emitter, forces and goals all look like round discs. The particles are tiny color-coded dots shooting in all directions from the emitter. Initially, all forces are tucked away in a small bar at the top of the screen. To put a force on the field, simply drag it out of the bar and drop it wherever you want to place it. If it is grey, it will repel all particles, so you can use it to push them where you want them to go. If a force is colored, it will attract all particles of its color and repel all others.

Goals, too, are color coded. Much like in Auditorium, many particles of the correct color must hit the goal very fast for it to fill up. However, once the goal fills up, it will remain full and you can shift the forces around so the particles are diverted to other goals.

Before starting to code, developer Anthony Mattox first tested a paper-based prototype of Pulsus.You can play the game in either normal or casual mode. In normal mode, the emitter has a finite supply of particles. You must act fast to divert the flow to where it should go, before the emitter runs dry. Once you complete a level, your score is the number of particles still left in the emitter (the higher it is, the faster you were). Casual mode gives you an unlimited supply of particles (the emitter is never exhausted), but it is enabled only for levels you've completed in normal mode.

Pulsus author Anthony Mattox included a PDF on the game website, showing how the game was developed from an early paper-based mock-up all the way to the version you see on the Web. The document also credits a number of precedents, including Soda Constructor, Laser Logic, and Spaced Penguin. Interestingly, Auditorium is not credited because Mattox found it the day after he finished the first version of Pulsus. Credits and precedents aside, Pulsus is a fun game with a lean, minimalistic aesthetic.

--Erez Zukerman

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Browser Looking Bored? Take It Out on an Elephant Quest

Remember how in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Dr. Evil wanted sharks with laser beams on their heads but got mutated sea bass for all his trouble? Well, what if those were elephants, instead? Think about it: Elephants with laser beams! Mutated elephants who can run, jump, and pick up balloons. Okay, this may not make it into the next Austin Powers, but it does make for one awesome free Flash game: Elephant Quest.

: Elephants, balloons, lasers, and quests--oh my! Elephant Quest is a platformer, played on a large map. You move using the arrow keys (or WASD), and shoot using the mouse. This two-handed control scheme is a bit involved compared to most flash games, but it is common on other types of games such as first person shooters.

Your goal in the game is to get your bowler hat back from Wooly the bully, an ill-tempered mammoth who stole it and ran away with it "cackling menacingly." To get your hat, you must navigate the game's expansive world. That world is made up of several areas, each consisting of several interconnected rooms. Doors let you move between the different rooms, and each room can have more than one door. There is an overview map of the world in the top left corner, showing where you are now, and which doors go to which rooms. This is essential for covering the whole map. Initially, some of the doors are locked. You can unlock them using keys you find throughout the other areas.

As you go through the game, you will meet other elephants and talk to them. They will send you out on quests, such as "find three balloons." Once you find said balloons (or complete any other quest), you can make your way back to the elephant who gave you the quest and talk to them again. You will then be handsomely rewarded with new weapons and experience points (XP). More commonly, though, you will gain XP by killing enemies.

These experience points are a key part of the game: There is a complex upgrade system built into Elephant Quest, where you use your XP to buy "Ability Points" in one of four areas (agility, intelligence, charisma, and dexterity). You then go to the Ability Points menu and spend your points on skills in each specific area, to upgrade your elephant. For example, when you have enough charisma, you can get a "Miniphant Swarm," a bunch of tiny elephants that hover around you and shoot at enemies. Upgrades are incremental: You don't get the full strength of each upgrade instantly, but must work towards it over time.

Elephant Quest is a large game, but it saves your progress automatically, so you don't have to finish it all in one sitting. The control system makes tandem gameplay possible: one person can steer the elephant with the keyboard, while the other person aims and shoots the laser with the mouse. I played it like this with my girlfriend, and it took us around two hours to complete. There's a serious Boss fight at the end (you meet Wooly!) so be sure to buy all the upgrades you can before tackling it. Good hunting!

--Erez Zukerman

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