Chrome is a free web browser from Google and, at the time of writing, available only for the Windows operating system; Mac and Linux versions will probably be released though we don’t know when. It is a great program and an excellent replacement for Internet Explorer.
In fact, I strongly recommend Chrome to all Windows users because it is much more secure and, as per many speed tests, the fastest web browser on the planet. Chrome can be downloaded and installed in a few minutes and presents you with a minimalistic interface with no top menu bar and unnecessary buttons.
Sponsored Links
It was probably the “Anti Google” lobby that raked up the privacy concerns regarding Chrome usage. Most of these controversies have now been put to rest by regular press realises and blog posts from Google spokesman Matt Cutts. However, there are still those conspiracy theorists who think Google is taking over our lives – Gawd! Anyway, the great feature in this browser is the ability to manage the web browsing data. It is quite like the one in Firefox but with a little more spice as we shall see.
How to clean up the browsing data including cache and saved information in Chrome
The absence of the top menu in Google Chrome is apparent which is good because this provides a larger area for web page display. All settings and options of the web browser are accessed via the small “wrench” icon. Click on it and choose “Clear browsing data” as shown in the image on the left. A small window pops up and shows all the browsing data saved by Google Chrome and segregated into different categories – refer image below.
- Browser history: List of web sites that you’ve visited
- Download history: Files that you have downloaded including documents (PDF), images saved from web pages etc.
- Cache: The cache contains files from web sites that are automatically saved by Chrome – HTML pages, CSS files, images from the web page layout etc. The cache helps in loading the web site faster the next time you visit it because the files are now called from your local computer’s hard disk instead of being fetched from the web server.
- Cookies: Really small files created by some web sites and stored on your computer.
- Passwords: Your login information at various online services such as Hotmail, Gmail, eBay etc.
- Form data: Name, email address, address etc. which you would have entered in online forms on various web sites.
To get rid of the browsing data all you need to do is select (put a checkmark before) the item you want to delete and click on the “Clear Browsing Data” button. You can also choose the period for which you would like to clear this data – pick up the option you want from the drop down at the end. [The Firefox browser doesn’t have this “time drop down” in the delete cookies and cache option.]
A note on the saved password feature
I don’t recommend having the web browser save the password… and it’s not a security concern. The thing is, every day I get emails from desperate people asking for help because they have forgotten the email password – Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail. I suppose the cause of this common problem lies in the fact that these users have had the “Save password” feature turned on which doesn’t require them to enter it ever! So the login details once fed into the browser are quickly forgotten – and people seldom keep track of where they wrote down the important information. I strongly advise that you always enter the login details to important online services because it keeps the information fresh in your mind.
To deactivate the “save password” feature in Google Chrome, click on the “wrench” icon and choose “Options“. Under the “Minor Tweaks” tab, make sure you have “Never save passwords” selected.
