The ultimate anonymous browser!?!

Have you heard of this one yet?

Browzar is a new browser tool that claims total protection of privacy...what a claim. I'm sure there are hackers out there just drooling at the chance to make them eat those words. None-the-less, what this new browser tool says it will do is allow users to surf the web without storing any of the web addresses that they visit or terms that they might enter into search fields while browsing. Sounds like a great idea. Only problem - it isn't a full-fledged browser on its own. It runs almost like a "skin" for Internet Explorer.

Yes, Internet Explorer, the browser that came with your PC, and will likely stay on your PC forever. You have no choice but to keep this albatross installed, and web designers can enjoy the element of surprise as it screws up every layout that they try to design for CSS compatible browsers like Firefox.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I do NOT like Microsoft's Internet EXPLODER. Thanks to the popups, hijackings and unlimited security holes, I quit using Exploder a few years ago. Unfortunately, because I design for the web and there are still so many users out there surfing with Exploder, I can't help but keep it on the PC to "test" my perfectly designed layouts and "hack" them so that they display correctly in Exploder.

I have since turned many of my family and friends to Mozilla's Firefox browser. It offers web surfers much more protection, simply due the fact that many of the vulnerable exploits that plague Exploder so much aren't part of the Firefox package. It also blocks popups, viruses, and spyware and has a number of very useful third party extensions (plugins).

There is one extension in particular that I use often - it is called "Nuke Anything". This extension allows you to right click on almost any object on a page and remove it temporarily. VERY useful for pages with annoying advertisements, or when you want to print out something (like a map from mapquest) without wasting your ink on flashy advertisments. Only thing I can't get it to work on is Flash...maybe an update will add that function, as well.

Anyways, back to Browzar. It's free. Sounds like a great idea, and at a filesize of only 264k, it sounds like a nice add-on for Internet Exploder. Keep in mind, though, that you'll still have to stay on top of Microsoft's security updates, since Exploder will still be running in the background. Now I'm just wondering if its going to mess with my CSS in any way (in addition to the funk that Exploder already displays).

My advice - get Mozilla Firefox instead and clear your private data often (Ctrl+Shft+Del). While you are at it, check out Mozilla's email program called Thunderbird, too.