I’ve always preferred Google Chrome, but nowadays, there’s a lot of secure browsers to choose from. Most browsers are now Chromium-based, meaning they’re running the same engine and code as Google Chrome. So broadly, you’re going to be just fine using Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, Brave or Opera.
Mozilla Firefox is one browser that stands apart from the Chromium bunch. And it also has a good security track record, so when a customer is looking to avoid Google tech, I steer them to Firefox. When I think of my customer base, I can generalize that 2/3 are running Chrome, 1/6 are running Firefox and 1/6 are using Edge.
I’m not yet convinced that Safari is on par with these browsers, but Apple does continue to improve and tighten things up with their browser. For now, though, I do encourage Mac users to try either Chrome or Firefox as their primary browser, to keep safer.
Opera appears to be a great browser, but people keep reminding me that it got bought up by a Chinese search/security firm. Does that impact its privacy or safety? I can’t tell, I have to leave it up to the users to ponder.
And I urge everyone to stop using Internet Explorer. Microsoft has not updated that thing in years, and it is the least safe browser to use. I realize that some of you are forced to use it, as certain (out-of-date) government websites won’t work with modern browsers. In those rare cases, use Internet Explorer *only* for those websites, and immediately return to Chrome or Firefox for all other browsing.
Once you’re on a modern browser, security updates for your browser should come in automatically. An up-to-date browser is critical to keeping you safe on the internet. If ever your browser alerts you that it is out-of-date, treat that as a serious problem and address it ASAP!
The next component to safe web-browsing is using add-ons or extensions to improve your browser. More on that in a future post!
Google Chrome: www.google.com/chrome
Mozilla Firefox: www.getfirefox.com
the new Microsoft Edge browser (for Windows 7-10 only): www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge
Brave: www.brave.com
Opera: www.opera.com
Vivaldi: www.vivaldi.com
Thank you very much, Jesse, for sharing your knowledge…very helpful and also very professional.