With all the new browsers out there, everyone seems to have their favorite. I use firefox and chrome and bounce to Opera and IE when I am testing stuff. I am not an engineer when it comes to browsers, but I do know they get jacked up often. It happens for various reasons. The following are are few of the things that can turn your browser upside down.

1. Make sure your frigging internet is up. I know it sounds stupid, but check your connections. It happens to the best of us.

2. Have you installed any software lately. Maybe the software you installed screwed the boot. You will have to uninstall the screwed up copy. Restart your computer and install the new copy. Restart your computer and see if that fixes it.

3. Addons are huge reason for browser malfunctions. I can't tell you how many times this is the culprit. Make sure you know your addons or extensions. There are some seedy companies out there who use them for not so nice reasons. Be sure to check out the history of any browser extension or addon you add to your browser. With that said, try disabling any new addon and restart and see if that helps.

4. Dump your browsing history, cache cookies often. Do NOT save shit in your browser unless you know it is in a secure place. I am not some technical engineer  who can explain scientifically the risks out there, but I do know they are there. Everything you do, see, download, etc is tracked or cached one way or another. You have heard of cookies. This is the "spyware" companies use to track your behavior. Not all cookies are bad, but some are. Another thing to note is there are many exploits with different browsers and programs such as flash. The bad guys always figure out ways to basically fuck you. I wrote this blog to give you a few tips on how to fight the good fight and keep your computer clean. I have used the typical tools>Options>dum history, but that is not always effective.

There have been some add ons developed by various companies. You can search the addons and extensions and find dozens. I found this little gem and I have added it to both chrome and firefox and been impressed. I am into keeping things simple. Within in two clicks I can clean out my browser. It even dumps flash cache. http://www.hotcleaner.com/.

The download is simple. There is really no set up. You will see a little toilet paper icon after you install the the addon. Hit it and you will be surprised. You can download firefox here. Download Firefox 3.6 List of Browser Cleaners for Firefox.  You can download chorme here. Download Chrome List of extensions for Chrome (search for browser cleaners) I usually clean my browser daily. I am a heavy internet user. I would suggest at minimum once a week. The last thing I will leave you with is to make sure your local firewall or antivirus is not the culprit. I hope this helps.