How to find and change Google Chrome settings - Nira

To find Chrome settings, go to the Chrome menu (the three dots next to your profile picture) and select Settings, or type chrome://settings into the omnibar. TherearelotsofwaystogetmoreoutofChrome.Below,weputtogethernineofourfavorites. We’llalsoincludehowtoopenChrome’sexperimentalsettings,knownasFlags,andhowtoresetChrometodefaultifyouwanttostartover. FindingChromeSettings TofindChromesettings,gototheChromemenu(thethreedotsnexttoyourprofilepicture)andselectSettings,ortypechrome://settingsintotheomnibar. Here,you’llfindacentralizedsetofcontrolsthatmanagestabs,searchengines,privacy,howcontentisdisplayed,howcookiesandsitedataareused,andlotsofothersettings. 1.NoMoreNotificationRequests Chromenotificationscanbeusefulbuttheycanalsocreatetoomuchnoise.SincenearlyeverywebsitenowsupportsChromenotifications,you’relikelytogetwaytoomanyrequests.Constantlyclicking“no”cangetdistracting. Thegoodnewsis,youcanturnthemthesenotificationrequestsinyourChromesettings. Starthere:chrome://settings/content/notifications You’llseealistofwebsiteswiththeirassociatedpermissions.Rightatthetopisatoggleswitch.Bydefault,it’ssetto“Askbeforesending,”whichmeansyou’llseethe“site.comwantstosendyounotifications”popuponwebsites. Togglethatswitchoverto“Blocked”andyoushouldn’tseeanynotificationrequests.Somestilldogetthrough,butnotnearlyasmany. 2.GetAroundAdBlockerBlocking AreyouusingaChromeadblocker tosaveonbandwidth,speedupbrowsing,andgenerallygetallthosepoorlytargetedremindersadsoffyourscreen? Somesiteshavegottenmoreaggressivebyblockingadblockers.They’lleitherlockaccessuntilyouturnyouradblockerofforthey’llhityouwithabunchofadsaskingyoutoturnadsbackon. Here’showtotakebackcontrol.AllyouhavetodoisdisableJavaScriptonthesitesthatharassyouaboutyouradblocker. Gohere:chrome://settings/content/javascript Thedefaultsettingis“Allowed”forallsites.YoucanblockJavaScriptforallsites,oraddsitestoablocklistwhichcutsoffJavaScriptjustforthosesites. Ifyoublockitacrossallsites,prettymuchthewholeinternetwillstopworking.Soit’sbesttodoitonasite-by-sitebasis.IrecommendblockingJavaScriptonafewsitesthatyouuseregularly.Newssitesareperfectexamples. 3.FontandSizing SometimesextensionscanmesswiththedefaultfontsthatChromeusestodisplaycontent.Othertimesyoumightjustpreferalargerfontoraclearerone. Whateveryourreasons,youcaneasilyadjustfontsacrossChromeinSettings. Starthere:chrome://settings/fonts Youcanadjustnormalandminimumfontsizesaswellascustomizingthefontitself. 4. ReviewyourPasswords Ifyou’reusingChromePasswordManager,you’reprobablyaccumulatingamassivepileofauto-remembered,auto-generatedpasswords.That’sbetterthanusingthesamepasswordforeverythingbutitcomeswithsomeissuestoo. OneisthatyoucouldlosethemifyouresetChrometoitsdefaultsettings,thoughtherearerecoveryoptions.AnotheristhatanyonewhositsdownatadevicewithasyncedChromeaccountonitcanseeallyourpasswordsbygoinghere: chrome://settings/passwords Werecommendgettingamoresecurepasswordmanager. Ifyou’regoingtokeeptheChromepasswordmanager,Isuggestyoureviewyourpasswordsfortheseitems: Repetitiveuseofthesamepassword.Soonerorlater,apasswordwillleak.Thatcouldbeaseriousproblemisyouusethesamepasswordacrossmultipleaccounts. Oldemailsforlogins.Keepaccountsupdatedwithcurrentemailaddressessoyoucanresetthemquicklyduringasecuritybreak. Weakpasswords.I’duseapasswordgenerationtoolthatcreatesreallycomplicatedpasswords,thatwillmakeitharderforsomeonetogetaccesstoyouraccount. 5.CustomizeYourStartupPages Bydefault,Chromeopensanew,blanksearchpagewhenyoustartupthebrowser.Butyoucansetittoopenonanypage(orpages)youlike.Thatway,ifyouneedthesamesitesopenwhenyousitdowntowork,youcansetChrometodisplaythemautomaticallyeverytimeyourelaunchthebrowser. Here’swheretofindtheoption:chrome://settings/onStartup YoucanuseanextensiontocontroltheNewTabpage.ButyoucanalsosetChrometo: Continuewhereyouleftoffbyreopeningallthepagesyouhadopenwhenyoushutdownthebrowser Openwithaspecificsetofpages.YoucanchoosethesemanuallyorhaveChromeopenthepagesyouhaveopennow. 6.SendaDoNotTrackRequest YoucansetChrometoautomaticallysendrequeststowebsitestonottrackyou. Howmuchthisactuallyreducestrackingisopentoquestion.Googledoesn’tprovideinformationonwhichwebsitesrespectthisrequest.Ifprivacyisamajorconcern,youshouldlookintoprivacy-positiveextensions thatactuallydopreventtracking.Sendingarequestisbetterthannothing. Findithere:chrome://settings/privacy Enable“DoNotTrack”andclick“Confirm.” 7.SetFlashtoAskFirst Bydefault,FlashplayerisblockedcompletelyinChrome.That’sbecauseit’sanabsolute securityandprivacy dumpster fire.WhichiswhyChromeisremovingsupportforFlashentirely. YoumightbestuckusingFlashforsomething.Ifyoucan’tgetaroundit,youcanhaveChromeaskyouifyouwanttouseFlashinsteadofblockingitentirely.ThisisamuchbetteroptionthanturningonFlashbydefault. Starthere:chrome://settings/content SelectFlashandtoggletheswitchto“Askfirst.”TherearealsoBlockandAllowlists.Youcanaddsitestotheseliststodefaulttooneoptionortheothereverytimeyouvisit. 8.MicandCameraAccess Ifyouwanttousevideo-callingtoolslikeSkype,you’llneedtohandovercontrolofyourmicrophoneandcamera. Bydefault,Chromesetscameraandmicpermissionsto“Askbeforeusing.”JustlikeinotherChromesettings,there’saBlocklistandanAllowlist.AddingappsthatyouuseregularlytotheAllowlistwillmakesureyourmicandcameraalwayswork. Also,it’sgoodtocheckwhatyou’vegivenaccessto.Noonewantsaroguesiteaccessingtheirmicandcamera. Gohere:chrome://settings/content OpenCamera,thencheckthatyourecognizeandareOKwithalltheappsthathavecameraaccess.GobackanddothesamewithMicrophone.ToremoveanappfromtheAllowlist,justclickthetrashcannexttoit. 9.SendReportstoGoogle TheSendreportstoGooglesettingisoffbydefault,butitmakessensetoenableit.You’renothandingGooglethekeystothekingdombyenablingthis,butyouaremakingitmorelikelythatChrome’sautomateddetectionofsuspiciouswebsiteswillimproveandeventuallyprotectyoubetter. Enableithere:chrome://settings/syncSetup Whileyou’reinthere,italsomakessensetoenableSafebrowsing.Youcanalwaysdisableitlaterifitseemstobegettingintheway. Bonus:FlagsandExtensions TherearewaystoaccessmoreadvancedChromefeatures.ChromeFlags allowyoutocontrolexperimentalfeatureswhichcansignificantlyalterthewayChromeworks.ThefulllistofFlagscanbeaccessedat: chrome://flags Here,you’llfindtoolstochangethewayChromelooks,feels,interactswithwebsites,andmore. Weespeciallylovethese: Tabfreezeanddiscard(#proactive-tab-freeze-and-discard),whichkeepstabsopenbutstopsthemrunning,sotheydon’tusememory Paralleldownloading(#enable-parallel-downloading),whichsplitslargefilestoacceleratedownloads Lazyimageloading(#enable-lazy-image-loading)whichspeedsupbrowsingbyforcingimagesonwebpagestoloadonlyasyouscrolldowntothem Here’safulllist ofChromeFlagsyoushouldconsider. There’salsoahugelibraryofChromeextensions.SomereplicatefunctionalityChromealreadyhas,whileothersofferreallyusefuladditionstowhatChromecando. ResettingChrometoDefaultSettings IfyoueverbreakChromebyaccidentandwanttoreseteverything,it’ssupereasy.ScrolltothebottomofsettingsandclickAdvanced.Then: OnMac,Chromebook,orLinux: UnderResetSettings,clickRestoresettingstotheiroriginaldefaults>ResetSettings. OnWindows: UnderResetandcleanup,clickResetSettings>ResetSettings. Youcandothisatanytime.Butthiswon’tdoacompletereset.Settingslikefontsandaccessibilitymightstaythesame.Tostartovercompletely,youcanalwayscreateanewuserprofileinChrome.Oruninstallandreinstall. TopPosts WhatisNira? Over45%ofemployeesadmittotakingdocumentsfromformeremployers How51LeadingCompaniesDefinetheITManagerRole Protectcompanydocumentsfromunauthorizedaccess 51BiggestDocumentLeaks&DataBreachesofAllTime GuidesandManuals BestGuideonHowtoSecureYourDocuments TheUltimateManualtoEmployeeDataSecurity TheUltimateManualForDataBreaches TheUltimateManualToSensitiveData BestGuideonHowtoDefendYourRemoteBusinessfromCyberattacks TheUltimateManualToVendorAssessment TheUltimateManualForDataLossPrevention(DLP) TheUltimateManualForIdentityandAccessManagement(IAM) ITSecurityPolicy:TheCompleteGuide TheUltimateManualForDataGovernance Search Searchfor: Search WhatwouldyoulikeNiratodoforyourcompany?*Yourname* First Last Email* Company*Isthereanythingelseyouwanttoshare?5+8=*