Comments on: Browzar – Private Web Browser That Doesn’t Leave Traces [Win]

By: SueM

SueM — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:09:30 +0000

I'm a little leery--what's browza's catch? After all, everyone's motivated by money.

By: SueM

SueM — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:09:00 +0000

I’m a little leery–what’s browza’s catch? After all, everyone’s motivated by money.

By: Travis

Travis — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:39:01 +0000

If you go to the Website Storage and Settings Panel for Flash

(go here: htp://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html)

It still shows traces of the video sites you’ve been on. Even with Browzar.

By: Travis

Travis — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:39:01 +0000

If you go to the Website Storage and Settings Panel for Flash

(go here: htp://www.macromedia.com/suppo...

It still shows traces of the video sites you've been on. Even with Browzar.

By: Aaron Spuler

Aaron Spuler — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:08:46 +0000

Dr Phil Good,

While using something like this or UltraSurf does clean up all traces on your local machine, it does nothing to the server logs, so those can still track you back to your video activity while at work.

Just FYI.

By: Dr Phil Good

Dr Phil Good — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:36:51 +0000

UltraSurf is the only way to watch porn at work (safely).

For simple private browsing just use “private browsing” Ctrl+Shift+P.

By: Rodber

Rodber — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:34:40 +0000

basically, all anyone wants to know is if we can use this to watch porn at work?

By: Aaron Spuler

Aaron Spuler — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:12:14 +0000

You could always create a new Firefox profile and dedicate it to just the ‘without a trace’ browsing. Set it up to delete everything on exit, or use the close n forget extension. That way you just have the 1 extension in that profile, AND you’re not using the IE engine — so you’re protected from nasty viruses and malware as well.

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:43:10 +0000

Just use Internet Explorer or Firefox “privacy mode”, you don’t need browzar for anything.

By: Pax

Pax — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:37:12 +0000

When Browzar first came out in 2006, it received a lot of negative press because security experts accused it of being adware. They also stated that not everything during a browser session was deleted. (google just the word “browzar” for more info)

I’ve been to the site a few times since 2006 and I don’t think it’s been updated since these reports came out. On their list of known issues page, it seems nothing has been updated since 2006.
http://www.browzar.com/help/kn…

If I’m wrong about Browzar, someone please correct me. Thanks.

Alternatively, there is Portable Opera at:
http://www.kejut.com/operaport…

They have a ‘One-Time-Use’ portable version that behaves similarly to Browzar – when the browser closes, it deletes everything. It’s a one file portable executable and works very well.

By: squishy

squishy — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:37:47 +0000

I prefer TOR’s browser bundle. It is a no-install Firefox browser that you can unpack to a folder or to a USB drive that also does not leave traces on your PC, but it goes a little farther.

TOR’s browser bundle also uses the TOR network to hide your IP address (something you need if you are in China, North Korea or a even whistle-blower in the US).

From TOR’s site “Using Tor protects you against a common form of Internet surveillance known as “traffic analysis.” Traffic analysis can be used to infer who is talking to whom over a public network. Knowing the source and destination of your Internet traffic allows others to track your behavior and interests. This can impact your checkbook if, for example, an e-commerce site uses price discrimination based on your country or institution of origin. It can even threaten your job and physical safety by revealing who and where you are. For example, if you’re travelling abroad and you connect to your employer’s computers to check or send mail, you can inadvertently reveal your national origin and professional affiliation to anyone observing the network, even if the connection is encrypted. ”

I just never would be comfortable with anything that used IE as a base and promoted itself as an anonymous browser.

You do give up a lot of speed for your privacy using TOR’s browser bundle, but it’s all about hiding you from those that would hurt you – so giving up a little speed to keep your freedom (or life in some cases) is not a bad trade off.

By: Pax

Pax — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:37:12 +0000

If I’m wrong about Browzar, someone please correct me. Thanks.

Alternatively, there is Portable Opera at:
http://www.kejut.com/operaportable

They have a ‘One-Time-Use’ portable version that behaves similarly to Browzar – when the browser closes, it deletes everything. It’s a one file portable executable and works very well.