Browser add-on’s can be very handy; extending the functionality of your favorite web browser. At the same time they can also affect its stability and performance. The more add-ons running in the background, the more likely it can also be an easy target for someone to maliciously target an add-on to compromise the web browser. Let’s take a look at managing web browser add ons in these popular web browsers:

Internet Explorer

Click Start, type: manage add-ons.

Hit Enter on your keyboard.

Click Manage add-ons.

Select the add-on you would like to disable and click Disable.

Mozilla Firefox

If you are running Mozilla Firefox 4 or later:

Click the Firefox menu and click Add-ons.

Click Extensions, select the browser add on and click Disable.

If you are running an earlier version of Firefox:

Click Tools > Add-ons.

Go to the Extensions tab, select the add-on and click Disable.

Google Chrome

In Google Chrome, click the Customize and Control menu button.

Select Tools, then click Extensions.

Select the Extension and click Disable.

Apple Safari

Extensions can be disabled by clicking Edit > Preferences.

Go to the Extensions tab, select the Extension and click Disable.

Opera

If you are running Opera, click the Opera Menu > Extensions > Manage Extensions.

How to disable web browser add ons (Browser Helper Objects) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

New versions of the popular Google Chrome browser will take additional steps to prevent users from the dark side of the Internet by blocking, or warning users of, malicious windows installer files. Most often, these types of websites promise free screensavers or tools, but only deliver a headache in the form of viruses and other nasty programs.

When users try to download a file that Google knows to be suspicious, the warning above will be displayed. The warning is slightly different from the standard Chrome warning when you download a program from the internet, but we think it could be a bit more in your face as users have been trained to just click save or Yes too often.

The new feature has been rolled out to the development build of Chrome for testing, but is expected to arrive in the next stable release of Chrome that will be pushed out to Chrome users.

Once the new protections are built into Chrome, we’d suggest switching your parents and other users that need a little help keeping malware and viruses off their computer, or as the we like to say – “Meet your dad’s new browser”.

The new system will make use of the existing Safe Browsing API which currently protects users of Chrome, Firefox and Safari when they try to visit a website suspected of containing malware. The new extension of the Safe Browsing API takes things further, looking for files that appear to be legit, but actually compromise security.

These websites have not been blocked in the past because they weren’t trying to automatically download malicious files, but rather depending on users to willingly download the software. The software can display spam, launch popups, perform click fraud and steal passwords and other personal information.

While other browsers use the Safe Browsing API, it’s not clear if, or when, Firefox and Safari might add this new feature to protect users from themselves.

Chrome will Block Malicious Windows Installers – Your Dad’s New Browser is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Sony is looking to take on Apple, Asus and Samsung with several new notebooks and gadgets later his year including a Chrome Notebook and a hybrid notebook with Intel Thunderbolt technology.

Sony Vaio Hybrid with Thunderbolt and external graphics – One of the most interesting additions to the VAIO line could be the yet un-named VAIO Hybrid Notebook which would give current notebooks, including the MacBook Pro, a run for their money.

Sony Insider reports that this unannounced VAIO is an ultraportable weighing in at 1.3kg and packing in a new Intel Core i7 processor, Thunderbolt connectivity, SSD, HDMI, Intel Wireless Display 2.0 and 3D support. Additionally this thin and light would deliver between 8 and 16.5 hours of battery life.

But that’s not what excites us. No, it’s the one more thing that sets this notebook apart and earns it the hybrid label. Reportedly this new VAIO would come with a dock that connects via Intel Thunderbolt and adds an external AMD GPU and a Blu-Ray drive in addition to other common ports in order to extend your functionality and graphical power while at your desk.

Sony VAIO Chrome Notebook – Sony is also working hard on a new VAIO Chrome Notebook which should likely launch later this summer when a full selection of low powered, cloud connected, Chrome notebooks hit. This notebook will look similar to the 11.6″ cr-48 notebook which Google sent out to users in late 2010 with 8 hours of battery life and a weight of 2 pounds. The notebook will come with 3G connectivity and may have Bluetooth and GPS enabled at a later date.

Sony VAIO Google Chrome Notebook Specs:

• Nvidia Tegra 2 (250) platform
• 11.6″ (1366×768) LCD display
• 1 GB of Memory
• 16 GB eMMC (electronic multimedia card)
• Ultra-low power GeForce GPU
• Wireless WAN
• Wide Keyboard (18mm) will be pretty similar to the Google Chrome Cr-48 laptop keyboard
• Dimensions: less than an inch thick at around 19.9 mm; width is at 11.7″ (298 mm) and it is 21.5 cm (8.46″) deep

While we wouldn’t recommend that you hold off on a new computer purchase based on these rumors and the fact that Sony just released a collection of new VAIO notebooks, the prospect of a Chrome Powered VAIO is good since we expect to see numerous offerings this summer, some pre iced as low as $200. As for the Hybrid, we’ll have to wait and see if Sony can bring it to market at a sensible price.

Sony Planning VAIO with Thunderbolt And External GPU, Chrome Notebooks is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Adding extensions to Chrome is an easy way to customize the browser to meet your individual needs and make it easier to get work done, or just to keep track of your day and listen to Pandora easier. We’ve rounded up our favorite Chrome extensions to make your browsing experience better.

Cloud Save – Cloud Save is a chrome extension that allows you to easily save a document, image or file to a cloud service like Dropbox or Box.net. Instead of downloading it and moving the file to the right folder, simply right click and you can send it where you want. This is one of the most useful add ons we have found for Chrome.

Pandora – The Pandora chrome extension makes it easy to control your Pandora music from whatever Chrome window you are working in. It’s great to be able to start plying in one window and then 20 minutes later in another window pause Pandora without hunting for the right window and tab. You can also control Pandora with commands typed in the Omnibar for mouseless control.

Evernote - Evernote is one of the most used apps in our browser. We use the web clipper to save notes for later, or to clip whole webpages to our notes so that we can access them later without looking all over.

Google Voice – The Google Voice Chrome extension allows you to call numbers with your Google Voice number, makes clickable phone numbers in your browser and allows you to send text messages without leaving the tab you are on. You can also look at your inbox with the extension and get an audible notification of new messages.

DayHiker - If you use Google Calendar to manage your life the DayHiker extension is a must have. This tool allows you to see a calendar, your appointments and create new meetings with a click on the icon. The DayHiker icon can be configured to change color when you have an appointment upcoming so that, with a glance, you can tell if you are busy today.

AwesomeScreenshot - If you take screenshots at all, this is the perfect extension for you. It captures the page you are looking at and allows you to trip and crop the image as well as add shapes, arrows and annotations without the need to open to paint. You can download as a PNG or upload to Awesomescreenshot and get a short link for sharing.

Copy Link Text – Copy Link Text is great for the times you need to copy the text that a link is made up of, or if you need top copy the link and the text in a HTML format that you can paste into a text editor. You can control how the copy works in the options. This is a must if you spend any amount of time copying and pasting in Chrome.

7 Google Chrome Extensions to Make Work (and Play) Easier is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Google keeps pushing out new features for the Google Chrome browser, and the latest feature to make it to the Chrome Beta is Password Syncing, which along with extension and other syncing options can keep your Chrome user experience the same across multiple computers. On top of the password syncing Google has added a new way to interact with your user settings and speed improvements.

The speed improvements focus on Javascript, which Google calls, “as quick as a bunny” with a 66% increase in speed over the current stable version of Chrome.

Additionally this beta includes the first steps from Google to prepare Chrome to work with the recent Flash 10.2 Player update which allows the GPU to handle video in certain cases. This hardware acceleration with Flash 10.2 can provide up to an 80% reduction in CPU usage which means better battery life!

While users will appreciate these features, we expect that many will switch to the Chrome 10 Beta simply to get access to Password Syncing. Password Syncing is built right into Chrome 10 and protected with either your Google login or a passphrase of your choosing. There are no third party extensions to install. We really appreciate this feature since we have a large number of long and complex passwords to remember.

When users go to set up Password Sync they will also notice that the settings in Chrome has moved to a tab all its own. The settings are still in the familiar location, so you won’t need to go hunting, but it is a nice move from the separate small window.

These features are only available on the Chrome 10 Beta, which shouldn’t be used as your primary browser if you do mission critical work. For home users who are OK with the off chance of having a crash, the Beta is worth trying out. To install the Google Chrome Beta, visit the Beta download page and get started. To sync passwords you will need to install the beta on all the computers you want passwords to sync to.

Google Chrome 10 Beta Adds Password Syncing and Speed Improvements is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Many of us rely on Google search results to find the answers to dozens of questions every day, but sometimes the answers are as puzzling as Watson’s answer on Jeopardy! If you find that your top Google Search results commonly link to a website that doesn’t provide an answer, you can block that website from your search results with a browser extension.

Currently the Personal BlockList extension is only available on Google’s Chrome Browser. Chrome is a free browser that offers syncing of options and bookmarks between computers and much more. If you don’t have Chrome installed you will need to download and install if before proceeding.

Step 1: Install the Chrome Personal Blocklist extension by clicking on the link and then clicking Install.

Step 2: After installing the extension, do a search on Google and look at the  search results. You should see a small text link that will allow you to block specific websites as shown in the image below.

Step 3: After you click the Block Link your future searches will no longer show results from those websites. You can click on the Personal BlockList logo in the upper right of your browser to edit or remove blocks as shown below.

Step 4: If you temporarily want to see blocked results you can scroll to the bottom of the search page and click show as highlighted in the image below.

Over time you will remove the sites from your search results and improve the speed of finding what you want with Google.

How to Use a Personal Blocklist to Clean up Your Google Search Results is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

If you visit a lot of websites in your favorite web browser and re-visit these sites over time, a small snippet of information is retained by your web browser, basically a memory of the last time you visited the site.

In this article I will show you how to clear your browser history in five of the most popular web browsers.

Internet Explorer 8 and 9

Click Start, type: internet options.

Hit Enter on your keyboard.

Under Browsing history, click Delete.

(Windows XP users, click Start > Control Panel > Internet Options or click Start, right click Internet Options > click Properties).

Google Chrome

Press Control + H on your keyboard or Click the Customize and control Google Chrome wrench located at the extreme right hand top of the window.

Click History.

Click Edit Items…

Click Clear all browsing data…

Mozilla Firefox

Click Tools > click Clear Recent History or press CTRL + Shift + Del.

Click the Details button then check the following: Browsing & Download History, Cookies, Cache. Firefox gives you the option of selectively removing certain information and retaining other parts.

Click in the Time range to clear: list box and select Everything.

Click Clear Now.

Opera

Click the Opera Menu, then click History.

Select the name, (you can make non-adjacent selections), then click Delete on the toolbar.

Apple Safari

Click History menu, the click Clear History.

How to Clear Your Web Browser History (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Great news for eBook readers who want to be able to read their Kindle books on the web. Today at the Google Chrome event where the Chrome Web Store was launched Amazon announced Amazon Kindle for the Web — a way to read your Kindle books on the web.

Amazon Kindle for the Web is an HTML 5 app that uses no plugins and has access to all of your Kindle books and presents a similar layout as you are used to and also in a “flow setting” which provides an easy to navigate coverflow-style interface.

You can also see information that is pulled in from sites like Shelfari and other Amazon web resources to help you figure out which books you want to buy.

As you dive into the reading experience the browser fades to the back and you can get into the reading. Kindle for the Web has a plethora of controls and settings to allow users to choose alignment and other details for a customizable reading experience.

Amazon also announced that if you have your own website you can create a bookstore with these new tools to sell books you like or that relate to your blog.

Amazon Kindle for the Web will launch in 2011 as a free app for users to read Kindle books. For more details about today’s announcements, check out our coverage of Chrome OS and the Google Netbook.

Amazon Kindle For The Web Announced: Online Kindle eBook Reading is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

This week we saw there was plenty of news about the Motorola Droid 2, including a review roundup and issues with Flash. We also heard from a VP at HP confirming a webOS tablet coming early next year. This is of course in addition to plenty of news about notebooks and netbooks.

One of the highlights of the week was a look at the best notebooks and netbooks for Middle and HighSchool students heading back to school this fall that covers everything from basic homework up to the creative child looking to go pro at an early age.

Highlights from Notebooks.com:

• Google and Verizon Team to Launch Chrome OS tablet on Black Friday – Rumors point to a Google Tablet in the near future.
• Toshiba Portege R705 Review: The Affordable Ultraportable – The Toshiba Portege R705 wins an Editor’s Choice award, read the full review to find out why.
• Acer Aspire One D255 With Android Unboxed on Video – The Android/Windows 7 dual boot netbook gets unboxed by NetbookNews.
• Asus Blames iPad for Loss of Sales – Netbook sales are down, Asus blames the iPad for the company’s misfortune.
• Save at BestBuy With the Shopkick App – New iPhone app rewards shoppers for walking into the store and more.

Highlights from GottaBeMobile.com:

• Novatel MiFi: The Most Important Gadget in my Mobile Arsenal – Xavier names his most useful gadget.
• Tech Companies Bend Definitions – A look at how Unlimited and other terms never really mean what they say in tech advertisements.
• GottaHaveFMRadio: Should FM be mandatory in mobile devices? – A look at whether or note FM radio should be a mandatory cell phone feature for the sake of public safety.
• Enhance your Evernote experience with custom shortcuts – How to boost your Evernote productivity with taskbar shortcuts.
• WritePad for iPad Update Now Uses Dropbox – Writepad is, according to Warner Crocker, “one of the better Digital Ink note taking apps out there,” for the iPad and now it can sync notes using DropBox.

Highlights from our Friends in Tech:

• 3 Reasons Google Should Make its own Tablets - JK On The Run – Good thoughts on why Google should be the one building Chrome and Android tablets.
• Samsung Q430-11 Reviewed: Great Performance, No Endurance – Laptop Mag – A look at how this 14″ powerhouse handles.
• Exclusive: T-Mobile G2 in the wild! – Engadget gets pics of the T-Mobile G2, the company’s first HSPA+ phone – including it’s interesting slide up and back screen.
• Samsung X125 AMD-powered ultraportable gets the video review treatment – Liliputing points us to a review of the new Samsung netbook from a fashion blog in the Netherlands.
• Tab sync code on its way to Google Chrome - Download Squad – Soon, you’ll be able to sync your open tabs between computers on Chrome without any add-ons.

Notebooks.com Week in Review – August 20th is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Google held their “cool new mobile features” special event today. Two main features were announced: Voice Actions and Chrome to Phone.

It looks as though the speculation of an Android Video Calling application or “Find My Phone” app didn’t come to fruition. However, Voice Actions are a welcomed surprise. Voice Actions allow the user to simply speak what they want their Android device to do. Possible Voice Actions include:

send text to [contact] [message]

listen to [artist/song/album]

call [business]

call [contact]

send email to [contact] [message]

go to [website]

note to self [note]

navigate to [location/business name]

directions to [location/business name]

map of [location]

Check out the video below for a full demonstration of this awesome new feature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPPcTN5sdX4&feature=player_embedded

The downside? Voice Actions are only available for devices running Android 2.2 Froyo. This limits the device range to the Motorola Droid 2, which was launched today with Voice Actions preloaded, and the Google Nexus One, which was recently discontinued. However, many Android devices are slated to receive a Froyo update. This includes the HTC EVO 4G, Motorola Droid and Motorola Droid X among many others. Check for it in the Android Market once your device is updated with Android 2.2 Froyo.

The second Google announcement today was that the Chrome to Phone app, which has been available since May, is now official and available to all users running Android 2.2 Froyo. What does this app do? If you have the Google Chrome web browser on your Mac or PC,  websites can be pushed from the computer to your Android device. Additionally, websites such as YouTube and Maps open in their respective apps. Though not quite as exciting as Voice Actions, it is still a unique and useful feature. Chrome to Phone is currently available on the Android Market for Android 2.2 Froyo users.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oyCWEUqNvY

Via USA Today, Gizmodo, Engadget

Voice Actions and Chrome to Phone Now Available for Android 2.2 Devices is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.