! Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! The Easy Guide to Google Chrome Written by Mihir Patkar Published November 2017. Read the original article here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/browsing-at-warp-speed- your-guide-to-chrome/ This ebook is the intellectual property of MakeUseOf. It must only be published in its original form. Using parts or republishing altered parts of this ebook is prohibited without permission from MakeUseOf.com. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! Table of contents What Is Google Chrome? 4 What’s the Difference Between Chrome and Chromium? 5 What are the Advantages of Chrome? 5 The Problems with Chrome 8 How to Install Google Chrome 8 Get the Full Chrome Installer for Windows 10 How to Setup Google Chrome 10 Start Using the Browser 11 Tabs 11 Omnibox 11 Menu 11 New Window 12 Startup or New Tab Page 12 Incognito Mode 13 Bookmarks and Bookmarks Bar 13 History 15 Downloads 16 People and Guest Mode 16 Optimize the Settings 17 Psst, Check Out Hidden Settings 18 The Universe of Chrome Extensions 19 How to Install a Chrome Extension 19 How to Manage Extensions 20 Best Chrome Features to Use and Master 21 Pin Tab 21 Reopen Closed Tab 22 Mute Tab 23 Task Manager 23 Chrome Has a Built-in Chromecast 25 Master Keyboard Shortcuts for Speed 26 What Did We Miss? 26 Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! Google’s Chrome is now the biggest browser in the world, with half the world using it as their default browser. But that doesn’t mean everyone is using it right. There is a lot more to Chrome than meets the eye. This guide looks at the fundamentals of Google Chrome and the advantages you get when you use its features well. It is meant for the beginner who wants to explore what the world’s most popular web browser is all about. So, let’s answer this first… What Is Google Chrome? Let’s get down to brass tacks. Google Chrome is a browser made by Google and offered as a free download for desktop and mobile devices. In this article, we will be talking about the desktop version, but it’s important to know about mobile to sync devices and access data. Chrome is also the name of Google’s desktop operating system. It’s what you’ll find on Chromebooks, or you can even install it yourself. But Chrome OS is completely different from the Chrome browser. Contrary to popular opinion, Google Chrome is not open source. It’s simply freeware. That said, Google released the source code it made Chrome from as a different open-source project called Chromium. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! What’s the Diference Between Chrome and Chromium? Chrome is Google’s end-product browser, complete with Google tools and services. Chromium is the open-source code that Chrome is based on. Chromium is also the name of the browser made with that open-source code. In a nutshell, Google took Chromium and added more features to make Chrome. For example, Google loaded proprietary codecs like MP3 and H.264, added Flash, and has Google features like Translate and PDF viewer. With Chromium, you’ll need to manually add all those plug-ins. But all things considered, the difference is minor. You can easily use Chromium instead of Chrome without ever realizing the difference. What are the Advantages of Chrome? So what has got so many people using Chrome instead of other browsers? There are a few advantages that set Chrome apart from the rest. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! Watch the Youtube video here: Google Chrome Speed Tests • Speed and Performance: In our mega comparison of popular browsers, Chrome was objectively the fastest. True to form, Chrome is also primed for new web technologies like HTML5. • Fast Startup: When you click the browser icon, the Chrome browser starts almost instantly. With other browsers, you’ll likely have to wait a few seconds. • Security: Chrome treats each tab as a separate process so that a crash in one tab doesn’t bring down the whole browser. Plus, the whole browser is sandboxed, so malware can’t affect your computer unless you actively click on it. • Extensions: Since it’s the biggest browser, developers like to make extensions for Chrome. And that has led to a massive extension library, which can add almost any feature you want. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! The Google Advantage Since it’s made by Google, Chrome offers a few Google features that make it amazing. Having access to these Google services as part of the built-in browser experience is a convenience that’s hard to explain. Watch the Youtube video here: Automatic Translation in Google Chrome • Chromecast: If you have a Chromecast, then know that Google Chrome is the only browser to support it. You can cast a video you’re watching, the entire browser window, or your whole computer screen. This feature alone is enough to trap you in Chrome forever. • Translate: Google Translate is amazing, but having it as a part of the browser makes it even better. When you visit a page that has a foreign language, Chrome will automatically translate it for you. It’s like magic. • Chrome Remote Desktop: Google has made a free Remote Desktop application that works inside Chrome. With this, you can access your PC from anywhere, as long as you have Chrome running on it. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! The Problems with Chrome Not everything is hunky-dory though. Even though Chrome has so much to offer, it is also guilty of some missteps. • RAM and CPU Hog: It’s the one problem that Chrome’s developers haven’t been able to fix. The browser uses too much RAM and CPU resources, bringing your computer down to a crawl. You’ll need to manage Chrome’s RAM usage to free up memory. • Battery Drainer: Out of all the browsers, Chrome consumes the most amount of battery. Your laptop will be out of power sooner if you use Chrome than Edge, Safari, or Firefox. • Privacy Nightmare: Chrome publicly says it sends your usage data to Google servers. And there might be some other personal data going with it too. You should already be concerned about what Google knows about you, and Chrome only adds to that. Still, don’t let those problems bring you down. There are ways to bypass them. Chrome is a customizable browser, and its arsenal of extensions will let you make Chrome behave the way you want. How to Install Google Chrome The first step, of course, is to install the latest version of Google Chrome on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. Google updates Chrome often, so to get the latest… Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! 1. Go to www.google.com/chrome 2. Click the Download Chrome button 3. In the pop-up dialog that follows, click Accept and Install Watch the Youtube video here: Setting up Chrome on Windows 10 This will start a file download. Once the file is downloaded, run it and follow the instructions to install it. For any queries, refer to the installer’s Chrome help page. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! Get the Full Chrome Installer for Windows On Windows, the above method will download a small, partial installation file. Run it to begin installation, during which it downloads the full version of Chrome. However, you can also download the full version from the start. This full, offline installer is easier if you don’t want to download Chrome every time, or on every computer you want to install it on. To get this, go to Chrome’s offline installer mini-site and follow the same method as above. This time, you’ll get the full installer, not the partial one. How to Setup Google Chrome Before you launch Google Chrome, make sure you already have a Google account. If not, create one at gmail.com. Watch the Youtube video here: Signing in to Chrome: Tab Sync When you run Chrome, this is the first screen you will see. Sign in with your Google account. As Chrome says, your bookmarks, history, passwords, and settings will be synced to your Google account. So, Chrome will have the same data on your personal computer, office computer, and your phone or tablet. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! Start Using the Browser You are now ready to start using Chrome. Let’s figure out the different elements of the web browser. Tabs Tabs are the most important part of a browser. Each tab displays a link. Chrome’s tabs appear at the top of the browser, like so: You can create a new tab by clicking the small icon next to the last tab. You can also go to Menu > New Tab or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T or Command+T. Omnibox Under the tabs is a single bar, for both your searches as well as to go to sites. It’s called the Omnibox. By default, it uses Google Search, but you can change this in settings. You can also type in a website address and press Enter to visit the site directly. Menu Next to the Omnibox, you’ll see the Menu icon. It looks like three vertical dots. Click it to see the full Chrome Menu. Copyright © 2017 MakeUseOf. All Rights Reserved ®. ! New Window You can also have two separate Chrome windows running simultaneously. Each window will have their own set of tabs in it.