Google Chrome has grown to become one of the most popular web browsers.
It has a straightforward, clean, and responsive design that ensures a secure and safe browsing experience. It is now the primary browser for more than 2.65 billion internet users, a significant increase from 1.29 billion in 2014.
However, due to its popularity among users, malware, spyware, and browser-based trackers attempt to compromise user privacy and security while surfing the internet.
Google Chrome has a plethora of Google chrome extensions available to provide a secure and safe browsing experience. These extensions can enhance your browser in a variety of ways.
You can do a lot with the help of these chrome web store extensions, such as blocking ads, disabling IP leakage, managing cookies, hiding your IP address, and ensuring your site URLs are safe.
What is a chrome extension?
A chrome extension is a small piece of software that adds capacity or functionality to your web browser.
Are chrome extensions secure?
One of the major disadvantages of installing extensions is that it frequently requires you to grant access to your information, which begs the question: Are chrome extensions secure?
Simply put, extensions cannot steal your information by default. However, when downloading an extension, you may be required to accept terms in which you grant the extension access to sensitive information. Developers with malicious intent may take advantage of this information.
Regardless of the ever-changing technology that has opened the door to new and emerging online threats, there are many security extensions for chrome available on the chrome web store that add an extra layer of security protection.
Although the majority of security chrome extensions assert to protect your online privacy, not all suit your requirements.
12 best security chrome extensions
Here is a list of chrome extensions that have a proven user case of successful security and customer satisfaction at its best, to help you choose the right extensions.
#1. Avast online security
The first chrome security extension we recommend installing is Avast online security. It’s an Avast standalone security extension that doesn’t require an Avast license, so you can use it for free in chrome.
Avast online security is designed to enhance users’ browsing experiences while making the internet a safer place for everyone.
This extension scans your search results and websites for malware and alerts you if something is unsafe. If you visit a website that Avast believes is unsafe, it will block your access. However, you can override this and still visit the website.
When searching for a website, it automatically corrects spelling mistakes and scans web pages to determine whether they are official or fake.
#2. Ghostery
When it comes to privacy, Ghostery is one of the most dependable chrome extensions. It is a browser extension that combines an ad blocker and an anti-tracking extension.
It helps you get rid of annoying ads and pop-ups, as well as social network trackers, third-party trackers, and google analytics.
You can use Ghostery’s default settings to block ads, and trackers or you can customize what Ghostery blocks.
#3. AdBlock Plus
AdBlock Plus, a GPLv3 licensed open-source project, is one of the most well-known and reputable extensions on the Google market. It enables users to browse websites without interruption.
Many websites rely on display advertising to generate revenue, but those that appear out of nowhere in your browser can be annoying and intrusive.
AdBlock Plus is a chrome extension that allows you to block advertisements that obstruct your web browsing, such as flashing banner ads and popups.
#4. Click & Clean
The Click & Clean web browser extension is a private data cleaner for Google chrome that assists you in cleaning up your private browsing data, thereby, protecting your data security, privacy, and online safety.
Your web browser and operating system keep track of your computer and internet usage. Cookies and other sensitive personal data about you may be collected by websites.
This means that anyone who has access to your sensitive personal data may use it for selfish purposes, such as sharing your personal information with advertisers.
You can protect your data privacy, data security, and online privacy by using the Click & Clean web browser extension.
#5. HTTPS Everywhere
HTTPS Everywhere is an open-source browser extension that encrypts your communications with many major websites, making your browsing more secure.
This extension makes certain that you always connect to websites using secure HTTPS encryption rather than HTTP. It forces sites that offer HTTPS to use it and can block access to sites that do not. This safeguards information such as logins and personal data as it travels between your computer and the website you’re visiting.
#6. Disconnect
The disconnect is one of the best anti-tracking and anti-cookie chrome extensions.
It safeguards users against any attempt at data tracking, malware installation, or even malicious advertising. It prevents third-party cookies from tracking our data and gives users control over various website scripts.
The disconnect protects your privacy by preventing social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter from accessing your browsing data even when you’re not connected to the internet.
#7. Netcraft
Netcraft is a free chrome extension that scans websites and alerts users to potential phishing threats.
When you visit a suspicious website, the extension will display a warning message in the browser toolbar. This makes protecting your identity, data, and devices from cybercriminals easier.
#8. Privacy Badger
This is a browser extension that secures the blocking of trackers. In other words, the code that websites use to track your online activity, identity, and behavior is rendered inoperable.
It does, however, function differently than other tracker blockers. It, for instance, does not check against filter lists. Instead, it actively seeks out specifics associated with typical trackers.
That way, even if the tracker isn’t widely known, it can still be identified and kept at bay. Furthermore, privacy badger provides a separate list of sites to block, allowing you to tailor it to your specific browsing habits.
#9. Site Jabber
Site Jabber is the most popular community-based security extension for chrome.
It relies on user-reviewed websites for safety and authenticity. Users will be able to see other people’s opinions about the site they are considering visiting while browsing or surfing a web page.
While using this chrome extension, you will see green, red and yellow icons to quickly analyze people’s thinking for that page.
Moreover, it provides a feature that allows users to ask Site Jabber community members questions and make specific inquiries about any website.
#10. Blur
This is a must-have chrome security extension for anyone who wants to protect their online accounts and payments.
Almost every subscription website nowadays requires a password. Upper and lowercase letters, special characters, and numbers are required in passwords. This makes the passwords difficult to remember.
Blur comes in handy here. It aids in saving and encrypting passwords to keep them secure.
#11. uBlock Origin
The free privacy extension, uBlock Origin is excellent for blocking advertisements and preventing trackers from accessing your data.
The user interface is straightforward, showing you how many ads and trackers it has blocked on the current page as well as how many it has blocked since you installed the extension.
Users who want the most privacy protection can get it with a lot of customization. It does, however, offer any ease made for less technical users, which provides the majority of features with little effort on the users’ part.
#12. DuckDuckGo
The DuckDuckGo is a Google Chrome extension that assists you in protecting your browsing privacy. It safeguards your online privacy with private search, tracker blocking, and secure browsing.
This extension is ideal if you’re concerned about your data and privacy while browsing and want to know how trustworthy sites are so that you can make better decisions.
What are the advantages of chrome security extensions?
The following are the benefits of installing chrome security extensions. # They…
- Conceal your IP address and location, allowing you to surf the internet without being constrained by your physical location.
- Use cutting-edge encryption to keep your sensitive data safe and private.
- Reduce the time it takes for a page to load when you visit the web
- Can improve your browsing experience by blocking annoying ads
- Increases bandwidth efficiency by blocking unnecessary network traffic generated by ads and trackers.
- Allows you to view and block trackers on websites you visit, giving you, more control over who collects your personal information.
Choosing the right Google chrome security extension
There are several chrome security extensions available, but not all of them are secure. Keep the following in mind when you decide to install one
- Before installing an extension, it is critical to read reviews about it. Check the web store comments to see if anyone has reported strange behavior from the application, such as crashes or bugs.
- You should not install extensions that ask for permission to access and update data from all websites you visit.
- Check that the extension’s developer is reliable. This implies that you conduct extensive research before downloading one.
Final thoughts
Staying safe online is becoming increasingly difficult as malware and viruses become more sophisticated.
As a result, we should keep an eye out for potential security issues in the coming days because secure browsing is not a one-time event.
For better performance and a high level of security, we recommend using any of the above chrome security extensions.
