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Browzar browser offers privacy protection

Freeserve founder tilts at cookie monster

Freeserve founder Ajaz Ahmed has launched an internet browser that protects against leaving details of sites surfers visit on the computers they use to access the net.

Browzar, which can be either downloaded or run directly from the web, doesn't save information on visited websites or searches made when surfing the web. Cache, history, and cookies are all automatically deleted when you close the software, which doesn't feature auto-complete forms.

The software, available without charge or registration, only works on Windows (for now). Mac OS X and Linux flavours of Browzar are promised in future releases.

The developers of the technology, a firm also called Browzar, concede there may be times when it can be useful to remember visited sites. Browzar is designed to be run at those times users want privacy.

Suggested uses for Browzar include protecting privacy on a shared family computer, checking email in a cyber-cafe (providing the venue does not impose restrictions on downloading software, that is), and checking online bank accounts from workplace PCs.

Ahmed said: "We divulge masses of information about our habits, hobbies and financial dealings while online, often unknowingly, and there are times when all of us would rather this was kept private. Using Browzar, anyone worldwide can surf the web privately in the knowledge that no one will stumble across the sites they have visited when using the same computer."

More established browsers make it possible to delete history folders and empty cache files, but Browzar argues that most people don't bother to do this. It argues that its lightweight browser (which weighs in at just 265KB) takes away this chore and brings privacy to the masses.

Applications such as Anonmyizer provide a higher degree of privacy to power users via the use of proxy servers, which isn't a feature of Browzar.

Browzar's software, still in beta, has a number of other shortcomings, including glitches in composing Gmail messages using the software. Users can find out more about the technology from Browzar's FAQ here. ®

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