Google Chrome

Google Chrome is the lightweight, fast, secure, free web browser from Google with a whole host of features such as the incognito browsing feature so that when you finish surfing the internet and close the browser all history and cookies are immediately deleted; the browser comes with a clean and simple UI as well a range of themes to customize the interface.

Publicly released as a beta in September 2008 for Windows XP it came in 43 languages and was initially intended for public feedback rather than general use. Google Chrome 5.0 released in December 2009 was the first stable cross-platform release supporting Mac OS X, Linux as well as Windows operating systems. Up until the official stable release Chrome went through many bug fixing stages and updates due to the feedback received while under beta; Google Chrome 6.0 updated the UI and improved the Omnibox feature which allows users to type both web addresses and searches in the address bar. Version 8.0 came with an update to the synchronization feature expanded to include web applications as well improved plug-in handling.

Leading up to the latest stable release of Google Chrome 17.0, features include a task manager for all open websites within Chrome which shows you how much physical memory is used by each website, visual browser history which shows a list of thumbnails of the web pages visited in the history results; more importantly security and privacy updates which make browsing the internet safer with alert pages for malicious websites and sandboxing which prevents malicious software from installing itself on your PC.

Google Chrome is compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X and Linux. The current latest version of Google Chrome 17.0.963 has been confirmed as the most stable version; there are no reports of security vulnerabilities or major bugs. Older versions of Google Chrome are still functional but are not supported with technical updates from Google anymore.

There is a whole range of plugins and apps which you can add to your Google Chrome browser such as the Evernote plugin which allows you to save and organize all your notes and tag interesting webpages while browsing without leaving the website. The Prezi plugin is a great app for creating presentations or slideshows similar to PowerPoint but Prezi is web-based and easier to use.

Pros: Light on PC resources, fast browsing, secure, simple UI, search through the address bar, support for extensions.

Cons: UI not as easily customizable as Firefox, web developers prefer Firefox