How to Secure your Google Chrome Browser

The internet has been a revolutionary discovery. A few decades ago, we were all using dial-ups that had us working slow and steadily. Now, we can barely go a second without using the internet.

But as technology has developed and advanced, so have the threats around it. With apps, advertising companies, and different agencies having access to our data, most internet users are prime targets for hacking and other cybercriminal activities.

Chrome is one of the most popular browsers, and luckily, it comes with a whole range of actions you can take to ensure that your online activities are safe and secure. If you were looking for some of those methods, you’re at the right place.

In this blog, we’ll discuss some of our favorite ways to secure your Google Chrome browser to reduce the chances of your data and browsing activities getting hacked into.

Before getting started, though, let’s briefly introduce Chrome and why it’s one of the browsers that are most susceptible to cyberattacks. Let’s get into the details.

What is Google Chrome and Why it’s Prone to Cyberattacks?

Remember when Microsoft was all the rage with its ‘Edge’ browser? And how was the world taken over once again when Mozilla came out with the ‘Firefox’ browser?

It is safe to say that Google ‘Chrome’ came with a bigger bang than both these combined and has become the most popular browser globally with a user base of well over 2.6 billion worldwide users.

But here’s the burning question; is Google Chrome secure?

Even with some incredible built-in security features, no, not entirely. The fact that it is the most used browser also contributes to its likelihood of falling victim to cyberattacks.

Having said that, you don’t have to be out in the cold when it comes to cybersecurity when using Chrome, and in this blog, we’ll tell you how. Let’s dive in.

How To Make Chrome More Secure?

Here’s the list of some of our favorite ways to secure the Google Chrome browser.

Make Sure Your Chrome is Up to Date

Google releases regular security patches for Chrome in which developers and experts constantly find and fix new security vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

The browser is designed to update itself as soon as a security patch is released, but if you’re one of those people who like keeping all your tabs open on your browser for days, you’ll have to update manually from the update icon on your screen.

There are even different colors to tell how old the update is. Green signals that the update is still new and probably came out somewhere in the last two days. Yellow means at least four days old, and red means that the update is more than a week old.

These updates work the same on both mobile and web. All it takes is a single tap. If it has been long and you haven’t received any updates, check the app stores and see when one is coming out.

Safe browsing in Chrome

Chrome comes with a setting called ‘safe browsing.’ With the standard protection enabled, this setting will give you a warning every time you’re about to venture onto a website that isn’t secure.

The same applies to downloading files and extensions. Some people find this feature annoying and turn it off when they are about to download files they trust, for example, video game cheats. However, all the other times, when you’re not aware of the integrity of the website or a file, this is super useful to have switched on.

Even though the Enhanced protection option appears to be far more superior and proactive, its comparison to standard protection is still debatable. This is because the option requires you to send your browser data to Google, which itself is a privacy concern.

Limit Your Cookie Usage

We’ve all seen banners and notices from websites asking our permission to use ‘cookies,’ but not many of us know what cookies really are and what they do. A cookie is a small piece of code that is embedded into your device by websites as you visit them.

This code tracks you online and lets the website remember you and know what you’re doing. For example, did you check out, add items to your cart, exit without checking out, and even what items did you check out.

This information is later used to send you prompts and remarket the products to social media. Even though cookies usually aren’t dangerous, they can be. And even when they aren’t, they are still an invasion of privacy.

You can block third-party cookies right inside your Chrome browser to evade this. You can also choose to block all cookies if you wish. Another way of effectively managing cookies is to use Chrome’s safelists and denylists.

Turn Off Your Location Data

If you don’t want to get robbed, you wouldn’t have your home address publicly displayed everywhere, would you? If privacy is one of your priorities, you wouldn’t want your location details easily accessible.

Even though Google offers navigation services, with added features like letting users locate their devices when they are lost or get live traffic updates and data maps, third-party companies and apps can still access your data.

Thankfully, you can manage this by going to myactivity.google.com and turning off your history. You can even delete individual entries.

Use a VPN

If you’re looking for a one-stop security solution, a VPN is the best option. These let you access the internet indirectly, via proxy, hiding your original IP address.

Ivacy VPN offers additional security in the form of 256-bit AES military-grade encryption, along with a dedicated kill switch, P2P support, malware, and DDoS protection. Additionally, our product also offers split-tunneling to ensure that the VPN usage doesn’t affect your internet speeds.

Ivacy VPN also offers up to 10 multi-log ins and support for multiple devices and browsers. You can download our VPN extension for Chrome to protect your Chrome browsing.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to secure your Google Chrome browser try these tips out and let us know how they worked out for you. If there’s anything else about securing your online presence that you’d like to read about, let us know.