Data privacy and cyber security are among the hot topics of the day. Since a sizable portion of our lives is now online, it’s paramount to take steps to protect ourselves. About 63% of the world’s population is online today. It means that the internet has become one busy, noisy, and dangerous street with all sorts of users.
Luckily, you don’t need to be a cyber security specialist to stay away from the turmoil. Indeed, your online protection depends on picking the right browser for your navigation. In this article, we’ll talk about a few very trustworthy ones.
Always On-Guard
Cyber security is more important than ever, as hackers don’t only target companies but also average users. Many scammers online are eager to steal their ID, banking details, or other useful information. Apart from picking a solid browser, antiviruses and anti-malware software, you can also check whether a page is safe by checking if there’s an HTTP or HTTPS before the address.
Most websites that deal with sensitive information use this kind of protection. It means that an SSL system encrypts the page. SSL stands for Security Socket Layer, the highest standard of encryption. It’s used by financial institutions and also the best online casinos. If you visit 10CRIC online casino slots games, you’ll see that the entire platform is encrypted.
Still, picking the right browser can add greatly to your safety. Here are the best options at present.
Web Browser that provides Cyber Security Protection
Brave
This Chromium-based browser comes on top when it comes to safety. It blocks cookies, ads, and third-party trackers by default. Brave is a pretty popular browser, and it’s used by nearly 50 million people worldwide. If it still doesn’t cast a shadow on Google Chrome (3.3 billion users), it has some features that the giant hasn’t.
Brave is all about users’ privacy and prevents invasive practices by ad publishers. Its BAT (Basic Attention Token) rewards users and publishers when users pay attention to an ad. Brave has also acquired the search engine Tailcat. The main goal is to launch Brave Search, a search engine more focused on users’ privacy than Google Search or Google Chrome.
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla is one of the biggest web browsers, with over 220 million users. Mozilla offers tracking protection and also protection against fingerprinting. Though the number of active users has dropped, Mozilla’s team is constantly updating and improving its browser. Its tracking prevention system stands out.
The privacy settings are also very customisable and come with an ad-blocker already; no need for extensions. Mozilla doesn’t profit from ads, which is why it’s stricter about it than Google, for instance. Indeed, Mozilla’s spokesperson said that the company wouldn’t implement any policies that preserve advertising proposals.
Epic Browser
Epic Browser comes with pretty much every privacy setting activated by default. It also uses DuckDuckGo as the main search engine. Epic is strict about its approach to privacy: it doesn’t even allow options like auto-fill, spell-check, or auto-syncing. Those options either come disabled by default or don’t exist.
Epic’s search engine prioritises websites that use SSL encryption on its results. It also keeps track of blocked cookies so that you can follow its performance. Even though this is a Chromium-based browser, it isn’t an open-source one: Google signs the source code.
Chromium (ungoogled)
Google isn’t famous as a privacy champion. So, this open-source browser based on Chromium removes most of Google’s components from it. The ungoogled Chromium isn’t as dependent on Google as the original Chromium. This option is also quite efficient against browser fingerprinting. It can use pretty much any extension available in the Chrome Web Store.
This browser was first created for Linux but runs on Windows and Mac. Many users see Chromium like Google Chrome, but without privacy issues. Unlike Google Chromium, this browser doesn’t send back reports about users’ activities to Google.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo isn’t a web browser but can make your navigation much safer. It’s a search engine and an extension compatible with Chrome and Firefox. It processes over 100 million searches daily, and here’s the best part: it doesn’t collect any data from users. Still, it doesn’t reach Google’s popularity, with about 5 billion daily searches.
DuckDuckGo also has an extension called “Privacy Essentials”. It can overrun some of Google’s basic settings, such as data collection and fingerprinting detection. It also has a mobile version available for Android and iOS devices. Although it doesn’t collect data from users, it has a reputation for being a quite efficient engine.
Bonus: NoScript Extension
Here’s another extension that can make your navigation much safer. NoScript is compatible with Chrome and Chromium-based browsers, as well as Firefox. NoScript focuses on protecting users against malware and malicious scripts. While Google’s default system doesn’t allow you to disable JavaScript, NoScript extensions can work around it.
It might take some time to get NoScript up and running, though. It requires users to allow websites and actions on them manually. Yet, it’s a worthwhile bother since your computer will no longer be vulnerable to JavaScript-based attacks.
Other Cyber Security Tips
Online navigation isn’t as safe as it used to be. Even smartphones are liable to cyber attacks these days. So, taking your cyber security seriously is vital, even if you don’t deal with sensitive information online, such as banking details. Some browsers come with built-in VPNs. Although they’re free, they aren’t as effective as premium options and may not offer the same level of protection.
It’s also paramount to have updated antivirus and regularly scan your computer or mobile device. Not every cyber threat will damage your computer or steal your data. Still, they can make your navigation much slower and clunkier, as it’s the case with adware.
Anyway, you should always check if the website has an HTTP or HTTPS before its address, so you’ll know whether it’s encrypted. These simple cyber security tips will be enough to keep you safe from most of the threats you’re likely to come across online.
