ADAPTIVE AND EVASIVE MALWARE, phishing domains, harmful links, and packet sniffing can all target a common point of weakness: your web browser.

In May, Google was forced to release an emergency security update for the Chrome browser, which exploited a bug in the V8 JavaScript engine to allow remote code execution attacks. In August, vulnerabilities were also discovered in Edge that targeted out-of-bounds memory access in the ANGLE graphics backend to divert users to malware domains.

2024 has also seen a spike in ‘malvertising’ whereby legitimate-looking web page ads lead to malware. Given that browser developers are constantly releasing patches, it’s obvious that regular updates are one of the best ways to surf safely.

Still, by default, most browsers display online ads without first checking their legitimacy. Sites are free to download tracking and session cookies to monitor your online activity. Many programs also send User-Agent request headers to sites to make it easy to ‘fingerprint’ your browser and device. Although connections to many sites are secured by TLS, bad actors can easily monitor which sites you’ve visited through your browser’s unencrypted DNS requests.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to choose a secure browser. You’ll also learn how to configure it to maximize your online security while web surfing.

–NATE DRAKE

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1 BEST OF BROWSERS

At just under 66 percent, Chrome dominates the browser market, but this doesn’t make it the safest browser [Image A]. In late 2023, Google settled a multi-billion dollar lawsuit over alleged user tracking, even when the browser was in Incognito mode. The Manifest V3 API will also make it harder for ad blockers to function on Chromium-based browsers.

» The most secure browsers are fully open source. In the words of Linus Torvalds, “Many eyes make bugs shallow.” In other words, security bugs are easier for the community to detect. If an open-source browser introduces an unpopular feature like Manifest V3, developers can create their own ‘fork’.

» The Chromium web browser, on which Chrome is based, is free and open-source. Many proprietary browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Opera use it as a code base. However, there are also open-source Chromium-based browsers that include more secure features.

» For example, both Iridium and Brave have removed any code that ‘dials home’ to Google. Both browsers also incorporate features to block ads and third-party trackers.

» While Mozilla Firefox doesn’t enjoy the popularity it used to, it also has some excellent features for safer web browsing, including enhanced tracking protection, DoH (DNS over HTTPS), and fingerprinting protection.