Enjoy safer browsing with these five handy apps

By Brien Posey September 8, 2014, 8:47 AM PDT

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Enjoy safer browsing with these five handy apps

Introduction

It’s no secret that the internet can be a dangerous place. Evenrnsavvy users can accidentally mistype a URL for a common website and land on arnmalicious site instead. Of course, internet malware isn’t the only concern. Manyrnperfectly legitimate sites go to great lengths to track your behavior.

This gallery looks at five apps that are designed to helprnimprove browser security. I’ve focused primarily on Internet Explorer (with onernexception), but similar apps are available for other browsers.

Note: This gallery is also available as an article.

Adblock Plus for Internet Explorer

Adblock Plus for Internet Explorer might not be what you would think ofrnas a browser security app. After all, its job is to block annoying ads on websites.rnSo what does this have to do with security? It has become increasingly commonrnfor dubious websites to run ads that if clicked, take you to malicious sites.

History Sweeper

The program has separate tabs for Windows, internet, andrnapplications, and can remove a variety of history items from each. In the casernof the browser, History Sweeper goes above and beyond clearing cookies and thernbrowser cache. It has built-in support for removing history from everythingrnfrom the Google Bar to MSN and AOL. Firefox and Chrome are also supported.

History Sweeper sells for $29.95, but a free trial isrnavailable for download.

Sandboxie

Sandboxie is simple torninstall and there are no intrusive interfaces to worry about. Just launch thernbrowser through the Sandboxed Web Browser icon and you’re in business.

DoNotTrackMe for IE

DoNotTrackMe is simple to deploy, and you don’t have to dornanything special to use it once it’s been installed. It alertsrnyou when it has blocked trackers, so it’s easy to tell that the software isrnworking.

DoNotTrackMe is also available for other popular browsers,rnincluding Safari, Firefox, and Chrome.

By Brien Posey

* 1988 - Started teaching myself about computers \ * 1992 - Mainframe programmer for an insurance company \ * 1993 - Network Administrator for a different insurance company \ * 1996 - Author for The Cobb Group \ * 1998 - Network Administrator

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