Forum Discussion

GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV
9 years ago

Is Google Chrome secure enough?

An off topic question, but do you think Google Chrome is secure enough?  I have been using IE for years, and I, like others, am starting to see more articles and such of how IE is basically falling behind...considerably.  I have Chrome on here, and it's up to date, but I am somewhat apprehensive in using it to do things like online shopping.  What do you think?  I don't have Firefox.  I tried it a few years back and did not like it at all.  But, with regard to that, how is Firefox with security?  What would YOU choose to do sensitive things like shopping and paying bills and such?  

Thanks for the help.   

Off-Topic Discussion
  • C0RR0SIVE's avatar
    C0RR0SIVE
    Associate Professor
    9 years ago
    Yeah, I used FF almost exclusively till ~2009ish.  Then they started that rapid update crap at some point and it turned me off a good bit as it kept breaking things.
  • BirdDog's avatar
    BirdDog
    Assistant Professor
    9 years ago
    I have to agree, browsing history is being collected no matter which one you are using. I switched to Chrome several years back when FF began crashing my computer for some reason. Still use it and Opera sometimes though when needed.
  • C0RR0SIVE's avatar
    C0RR0SIVE
    Associate Professor
    9 years ago
    I kinda have to use firefox for some things...

    #1 it's all that supports java decently well
    #2 my new network switch uses a java web-management interface if I want to avoid SSH and PUTTY...
    #3 pretty much all my network equipment has a web-gui, and Firefox strangely works really nice with all those different web-interfaces...

    Aside from that, I do everything on Chrome... And it's more than Google that likes to collect information, every website likes to look at all your cookies and history.  To be fairly blunt, I would trust Chrome before I would trust any other browser when it comes to overall security.

    But I would trust no browser that has unfamiliar add-ons/extensions in their directory... A lot of malware attaches via extensions these days, and is a royal pita to remove.
  • donsjgm's avatar
    donsjgm
    Junior
    9 years ago
    Gabe, Unless you're using an outdated browser, one is as good as the other.
    I strongly dislike Chrome. Firefox is a great browser. I primarily use Safari but on my Windows box I use Edge. On my Linux boxes that have GUI i use Firefox.
    I occasionally use Tor.
    For banking and purchases, Safari is my personal choice.
  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    Distinguished Professor IV
    9 years ago

    Maybe I should download Firefox and just give it a try.  It couldn't hurt, and it might very well be different than it was when I tried it back in the day. 

    Netscape was a great browser.  I used it quite often.  It was also sort of like Netscape was one of the first, very widely used, freeware programs. 

  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    Distinguished Professor IV
    9 years ago
    I used Opera many, MANY moons ago because it was so much faster than all of the others.  We're talking early 2000s. 
  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    Distinguished Professor IV
    9 years ago

    When I do anything sensitive I always make sure that my computer is scanned and everything is up to date.  I also have my IE set to "Enhanced Protection Mode" and the 64-bit processes mode that goes along with that.  I also make sure to check the security certificate of any site I go to in which I do anything sensitive. 

    This may sound sort of goofy, but after I do any transactions and whatnot, I shut everything down, including my Hughesnet modem, then restart everything.  Then, once back up, I scan again. 

  • CharlesMcCool's avatar
    CharlesMcCool
    New Poster
    9 years ago
    Personally I use Firefox for all my needs which include testing (Because it supports Java) banking and online shopping, I used Chrome for years until it dropped Java support, But I do have a few tasks that have to be done with IE
  • Gwalk900's avatar
    Gwalk900
    Honorary Alumnus
    9 years ago
    I use a mixture of (believe it or not) IE11, Firefox and Opera.
    As to Google Chrome .... it IS Google and the lifeblood of Google is information.

    I use duckduckgo for a search engine and I only have Chrome installed on a test bed drive.
    But, that's just me.
  • Pawnee County's avatar
    Pawnee County
    New Member
    9 years ago
    I had problems with script errors using Chrome so I changed to the  open source Cromium version and the errors stopped.  I also use Firefox a lot but the latest version has a few glitches in it.  As far as security there probably isn't a nickles worth of difference just be careful that is the key to security.