Make your browser more secure
1 ADD EXTENSIONS TO EDGE
If you’re using Microsoft Edge, head to www.microsoft.com/ en-au/store/collections/edgeextensions/pc to see a range of extensions. To install one, click on the icon of the extension you want. Then click ‘Get the app’. The extension will then be added to Edge. You may need to restart Edge for the extension to load. You can also use the Microsoft Store app in Windows 10 to do this.
2 INSTALL GHOSTERY
Ghostery is a very useful extension for Edge. It blocks ads, and while this makes websites load faster, it is also a good security measure, since some online ads contain malware. This extension also blocks trackers on websites that collect data on you, and it can anonymise your data to further protect your privacy. Ghostery is also available for Firefox and Chrome.
3 CREATE STRONGER PASSWORDS
LastPass is a password manager that can securely store all your passwords for various websites, and enables you to log in via Edge on a number of different devices. This extension helps protect your security since you can use it to create unique, difficult-to-guess passwords for each site you visit without having to remember them. It’s available for Firefox and Chrome, too.
4 ADDING EXTENSIONS TO CHROME
Chrome is the world’s most popular web browser, and for good reason — it’s fast, reliable and supports extensions, which you can download from the Google Webstore ( chrome.google. com/webstore). From there, you can search for the extension you want. Click the icon and it will give you more information about it. Next, click ‘Add to Chrome’.
5 WINDOWS DEFENDER BROWSER PROTECTION
This extension from Microsoft helps improve the security of Google Chrome. According to Microsoft, the Windows Defender extension for Chrome (available from the Google Webstore) catches 99% of phishing attacks, while Chrome, without the extension, only catches 87%. If you’re impressed with how Windows Defender works in Windows 10, this is worth installing.
6 AVAST ONLINE SECURITY
Avast is another well-known name in online security, which has provided a free extension for Chrome and Firefox. It identifies and blocks phishing sites, and uses its community of 400 million users to help identify threats. This makes the Avast add-on a very useful tool for protecting your PC. It will warn you if you attempt to visit to a site with a bad reputation, and you can rate sites, too.
7 INSTALL ADD-ONS IN FIREFOX
Firefox is another popular web browser, and like Edge and Chrome, you can install extensions to help boost your security when browsing the web. Head to addons.mozilla.org to find the range of add-ons for Firefox. Click on the icon of the add-on you want while running Firefox, then click ‘Add to Firefox’. You will then be able to access the newly-installed add-on.
8 FACEBOOK CONTAINER
Facebook has been in the news lately, with many people concerned about how much info it collects from you — even if you’re not on the site. Mozilla has created an add-on ( addons. mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/facebook-container) that isolates your Facebook identity in a separate, window, so the social network can’t track you when you visit other websites.
An add-on that does exactly what it says on the tin. Web Security ( addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/web-security) uses an extensive database to block websites that are known to contain malware or try to obtain your data. This add-on is only available for Firefox, so be wary of other extensions for Chrome that have the same name.
10 MANAGING YOUR ADD-ONS
Installing add-ons and extensions is easy, but what happens if you want to remove them, or change their settings? The process differs depending on which browser you are using. If you’re using Edge, click the ellipsis (...) and select Extensions. In Chrome, click the three vertical dots, then click ‘More Tools > Extensions’. In Firefox, press ‘Ctrl-Shift-A’ on your keyboard.