There's usually more to your bog standard internet browser than it may first appear, and unless you spend some time looking through the preferences, you may miss out on some useful setting that can help you get more out of your online experience. This is especially true when it comes to security. Recently, we looked at Internet Explorer and found a whole heap of security features that many users may miss if they simply use the browser 'out of the box'. With Firefox, we uncovered a mass of hidden options, some of which we took a closer look at. These options can be used to tweak all aspects of the browser, freeing the software's shackles for those who want to really push its limits.
This week we'll round up our trinity of browsers with Google's Chrome. Google browser has quickly become a major fixture in the browser wars, and with a company that boasts as much internet know-how as the world's biggest search engine creator, it's no surprise really. Chrome is a great application, and many use it as their default internet browser of choice.
Like both Firefox and IE, however, there are plenty of settings to play around with in Chrome, which let you take more control over your internet use. Unlike IE, which is a lot more restricted and locked down, Chrome, like Firefox, also has a hidden section packed with options and settings, which we're going to look at.
As with Firefox, these settings are largely experimental and/or sensitive, so as always, you play with these at your own risk, and you should be aware that some changes may cause Chrome to become unstable or worse. So be sure to back up your bookmarks and other Chrome data before you decide to take the plunge.
Careful, These Experiments May Bite
Like Firefox, Google Chrome's secret settings are accessed via the address bar. To open them up, type 'chrome://flags' or 'about:flags' into the bar and press Return. You'll open up the list of tweaks, and you'll also be greeted by the warning. Take heed of this (at least the serious part), and take any precautions before you begin to play around with the options below.
Also take note of the 'Reset all to default' button. This could be a lifesaver if anything you change causes Chrome to become unstable. Simply press this, and all the settings you've changed will revert to the default, restoring Chrome to normal
Unlike Firefox, where the settings and tweaks are largely unexplained, with only vague names for users to go on. Chrome's list of options is far more readable, with full setting titles and even descriptions. So even if you're not that computer literate, you'll have some idea of what these options can do. Still, even with this information, it's not always clear, so you still need to use caution. Of course, we're going to look at some of these options in more detail here.
There are two types of option here, including settings that are either enabled or disabled and those that have various settings found in drop-down menus. To alter on or off settings, simply click the hyperlink to enable or disable, and to alter those with options, pick one from the list - easy. On or off settings will be easily visible as they change from blue when disabled to white when enabled, so you can see at a glance what's going on. When you change any setting, you'll need to click the Relaunch Now button that appears at the bottom of the Window to apply your changes.
Also note the operating system specified next to each option. This clarifies which platform the setting will work on, so be sure to consult this depending on your current device.
Now, let's start off with a simple tweak that could speed up Chrome's performance quite substantially.
Flag Waving
Name: Maximum tiles for interest area
Effect: Performance
To begin, let's have a look at the setting 'Maximum tiles for interest area'. This can be used to specify the amount of system RAM Chrome uses, with more RAM meaning better performance. To change it, simply select an amount of RAM from the drop-down. The more RAM your PC has, the higher the amount you can specify, up to 512MB. Most PCs these days can handle this, but be aware that this will prioritise Chrome over other programs, which may run more slowly.
Name: Override software rendering list
Effect: Performance
This option lets you override, amazingly enough, the software Tenderer used by the browser. Usually it's limited to tested graphics drivers, but by enabling this option, you can force Chrome to use your GPU hardware, regardless, to accelerate the performance. This could shorten loading times for some content, including videos.
Name: GPU compositing on all pages
Effect: Not all pages support GPU compositing, but those that do often perform better than those without, and this setting will attempt to force the feature, even on pages that don't support it. This could grant you a boost in speed in many respects. Of course, forcing this could cause some sites to become unstable.
Name: Threaded compositing
Effect: This is related to the above option and enables a second thread if you have a multi-core CPU. This could improve performance in areas like scrolling and page rendering, as well as other, less visual aspects.
Name: Disable accelerated 2D canvas
Effect: This setting will prevent your GPU from rendering standard, 2D canvases, freeing it up for more important duties. The task will fall to the CPU instead. This is another tweak that can speed up browsing, especially if you're looking through websites that use a lot of plug-ins, like Flash and Java.
Name: Disable accelerated CSS animations
Effect: If you're using the above option for threaded compositing, CSS animations will use this secondary thread, and this will grant you some performance increases. It's also been reported that this setting can still speed up Chrome, even if you don't use it with the compositing setting.
Name: GPU accelerated SVG filters
Effect: This tweak ropes in your GPU to help out with rendering vector graphic filters of websites. This will help when browsing websites that use a lot of vector filters and effects.
Name: Disable GPU Vsync
Effect: Vsync (vertical synchronisation) is a setting used in many areas of computing, including gaming, which syncs the system graphics card with the monitor. This means that the graphics card will only output as fast as the monitor's highest refresh rate. When Vsync is disabled, it unshackles your GPU, which can output as fast as it likes.
This setting has the same effects, only for Chrome, and it can be useful for video playback and other multimedia concerns while browsing the internet.
Name: FPS counter
Effect: This setting displays an FPS counter that shows the performance of a web page, as well as GPU memory used. This is useful for visual-heavy sites and is a good tool for web developers.
Name: Enable password generation
Effect: Coming up with new passwords can be a chore for some, and it's easy to lapse into the habit of using the same password for everything. This is obviously not all that secure, and Chrome can help. Using this flag, you can enable a feature that can automatically generate a new password for you when the browser detects a sign-up page. As this won't be anything to do with you personally, it'll be very secure and not easy to guess.
Name: Enable touch events
Effect: With more people using touchscreen systems. Chrome has a selection of hidden flags for this tech. This one, for example, can be selected to always force touchscreen support when such a device is detected. You may also want to use the options 'Show HUD for touch points’ to display that information and 'Enable pinch scale', which allows you to use the common pinch gesture.
Extra Settings
As well as the hidden flags we've looked at, there are other settings you can find and use too. For one, you can enter 'chrome://settings/content' into the address bar to see a collection of content-related options.
The section under Plug-ins, for example, allows you to disable such content on websites, both for security and to speed up browsing. You can also select the option that asks you to click to play such content. Be careful if you use this, however, as it can cause some sites heavy on plug-ins to malfunction. If this is the case, use the 'Manage exceptions' button to add sites to the white list. You can also opt to disable website images and JavaScript.
This same content menu can also be used to manage other security features, such as the pop-up blocker and cookies, both also possessing exception lists. You can disable the location option to prevent tracking and deny sites access to your computer for plug-ins. It's a very useful list of items and one that you should certainly check out.
You can use Chrome as a simple file browser, which may be useful if Explorer has crashed. Simply type 'C:Y or any other drive into the address bar, and press Enter. You'll see an FTP-style layout of your drive.
Did you know that you can use Chrome with your printer and connect it directly to Google's Cloud Print? To do this, open Google's settings by typing 'chrome://settings' into the address bar and then click 'Advanced Setting' at the bottom. Scroll down and you'll find the option for Google Cloud Print. Click 'Manage' to set it up.
If you're one of those PC users who's known as the person in the family who's 'up on all that computer stuff', then you'll no doubt spend a lot of time on the phone trying to fix problems. Well, Chrome can help a little here, as it has its own remote desktop tool. You can grab this from tinyurl.com/dy8ufz8. Once installed (on both machines), the software lets you access another computer via the browser and is very useful for helping to fix problems.
These are just a few of the tweaks and tricks you can employ to speed up Google's browser and get the most out of it. There are even more to be found too, so have a little rummage and see what you find.