Browser upgrades are all the rage this month: Google Chrome is now at version 10, Internet Explorer 9 was released last week, and this week Firefox 4 joins the upgrade parade.

Anyone who uses one or all of the three most popular browsers is almost certain to upgrade to the new releases. While there are plenty of good reasons why IE, Firefox, and Chrome are the browser leaders, they may not be the best choice for your needs. The three lesser-known browsers described below show that our surfing options have never been richer.

The browser that invites you to go … Read more

European advertisers fear they will face a huge new obstacle this May when the European Union's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive takes effect. The so-called Cookie Directive will require that users explicitly allow Web sites to leave cookies and other data on their machines, according to Raul Mendez on ChiefPrivacyOfficers.com.

It's unclear whether the opt-in requirement will be satisfied by the browser's setting that allows first- and third-party cookies. This uncertainty hasn't prevented some pundits from predicting the end of the world for the European advertising industry, as reported by TechCrunch Europe's Mike Butcher.… Read more

About a year ago Google Chrome became the first browser I open each day to check the daily news, e-mail, and social networks. It's just faster, plain and simple. But Firefox remains the browser I use for work because of the many productivity-boosting add-ons that have been released for the program.

Recently I've been using three Firefox extensions to help me get more work done in less time: one removes all the extraneous material from Web pages to show only the main content, another monitors the amount of time I spend on work-related and non-work-related sites, and the … Read more

Imagine someone who is brand-spanking new to the Internet. Setting them loose in a browser with no guidance would be like directing a horse and buggy onto an L.A. freeway at rush hour. You could look over their shoulder as they discover the joys and pitfalls of the top Web sites, or you could simply send them a link to the free Internet-training videos at Grovo.

The company has created dozens of short videos covering just about every activity a person is likely to do on the Web. The videos last from less than a minute to more than … Read more

Safety issues aside, only three things are required to be happy in your job: do interesting work, get paid fairly, and get along with your boss. I can't help you with the last one, but if you're not happy with the work you're doing or your salary, one possible solution is to learn new skills that will translate into more challenging and financially rewarding work.

Tongue-in-cheek suggestions for avoiding the ax Any employment-related advice on the Web or elsewhere has to be taken with a grain of salt, especially when it comes to generic recommendations about successful … Read more

The last time you used a public Wi-Fi hot spot, did you get the feeling you were being watched? Good. You very well may have been.

Just last week the U.S. Federal Trade Commission published the Wise Up About Wi-Fi page that offers tips for safe use of public Wi-Fi. Among the tips is the familiar advice to use encryption at all times (look for "https:" in the address header and the lock icon in the address bar or it the bottom status bar, depending on your browser).

The FTC's public-Wi-Fi safety page recommends that you … Read more

The rollout of Facebook's new Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure encryption is about complete. (Elinor Mills described the feature in a post on her InSecurity Complex blog last week.) While encryption is a welcome addition to the social network, it is far from a Facebook security panacea.

To enable encryption in Facebook, click Account in the top-right corner and choose Account Settings. Select Change next to Account Security to view your current settings. Check the option under Security Browsing (https). You may also want to check "Send me an email" under "When a new computer or mobile … Read more

If a Web directory lists your telephone number, address, and other personal information, you can often ask that the data be removed, but the public databases the directory scanned to find your private data are probably still offering the information to anyone who wants it.

Likewise, when someone makes a negative comment about you on a site, you may be allowed to request that the comment be removed only to have the remark reappear there or elsewhere. Several services offer to monitor your online reputation and remove inaccurate, unflattering, or other private information.

I tried out one of the leading … Read more

Much of the recent concern about the Web's lack of privacy protections has focused on Facebook--rightly or wrongly. Just a few days ago, Chris Matyszczyk described in his Technically Incorrect blog how a man blackmailed women into providing him with revealing photos by breaking into their e-mail accounts using data he collected from their public Facebook profiles and searching for racy image attachments, which he threatened to make public.

(In August 2009 I described how to keep your Facebook profile private, and while some of the settings have changed since that time, the steps are about the same.)

The … Read more