Firefox unveiled a handful of new features this week via its Test Pilot program, and two caught our eye: A new Side View that allows you to view two sites within the same window side-by-side, and Firefox Color, a feature that allows you to aggressively customise your browser's colours.

We all fall victim to the dangerous belief that if an app or extension is listed in an official repository - be it the App Store, Google Play, the Microsoft Store, Mozilla's Add-Ons directory or so on - it must be legitimate. After all, the big tech companies surely use a lot of automated systems (and real human beings) to ensure that their customers aren't downloading harmful things. Right?

Browser cookies are useful in some instances; unpleasant in others. While they can save you from having to go through a complicated authentication process whenever you're trying to access your favourite sites, they can also store data on what you've done on a particular website -- which can then be used to serve you more "relevant" advertising at a future point.

I recently stumbled across the extension Toby (Chrome, Firefox), and I'm surprised at how much I love it. So much so that it has replaced the pretty Chrome Delight and Earth View from Google Earth extensions I've been using whenever I open a new tab. I'm one-hundred per cent Toby now, because it's one of the best ways I've seen to get a little more control over all those open tabs in my browser.

Suppose you're trying to troubleshoot a family member's computer, you want to show a friend some issue you're having with your system, or you want to make a quick recording of some crazy thing you're about to do in a game. With the Chrome extension Loom, it's incredibly easy to capture and share a quick recording of your screen right from of your browser.

Google's latest update to Chrome came with big changes about how the browser treats autoplaying videos, but it's now causing a lot of audio issues with various web apps and games.

Chrome/Firefox: If you've used a web browser at any point in the past eight years, you've surely heard of the extension Turn Off the Lights (Chrome, Firefox). It's the best way to automatically embiggen your YouTube videos when you start watching and, of course, dim your browser's background for a prettier view (even if you're already using YouTube's dark mode).

So you just installed Google Chrome -- that, or you've cleared your cache and history because you wanted to save some space on your PC or fix some website issue involving cookies. You go to pull up your favourite website and, suddenly, a sound starts blasting out of your speakers. The dreaded autoplaying video returneth.

Even if you're the next Stephen King or George R. R. Martin -- and if you're the latter, please try to write faster -- everyone needs a helping hand with writing. That's why the world has editors, and copy editors, grammar coaches, ten million books on writing, and most importantly, browser extensions that can help you better your craft.

If you use Microsoft's Edge browser in any capacity, congratulations! You're incredibly rare, so much so that services like Statcounter don't even have your browser of choice in its top-six list.

Firefox is adding a new feature that will tell you if you’re visiting a website that has been hacked. Working with Aussie security researcher Troy Hunt, the Mozilla team will use the Have I Been Pawnd service to identify sites that have been compormised to warn you.

The web browser most used to download other web browsers, Edge, is expanding its footprint to the mobile world. Microsoft Edge, the default browser in Windows 10, is coming out in two new flavours; Android and iOS.

It turns out your browser's privacy features aren't as anonymous as you think. Although Ingonito mode on Chrome, InPrivate with Edge and Private browsing with Safari make it harder for someone to view your browser history on your device, they don't hide your browser habits completely.

Whenever your computer visits a website, that traffic can be recorded and linked back to you directly. So, what can you do to be totally private on the web?

While Chrome is most people's favourite browser and Edge is the browser most used to download other browsers, Mozilla's Firefox has just been updated to version 54. The focus of this release was knocking over 32 bugs that were potentially exploitable by attackers.

While Chrome has won the crown as the most popular desktop browser, it's not the only game in town. Opera continues to add new features. Last year, it was the addition of an integrated VPN that won it headlines. This week, Opera released a new version. Codenamed Reborn, it allows messenger apps to reside within the browser without the need to install any extensions or apps.

The second you log onto the internet, you start leaving a trace that's more telling than you think. Browsers can not only identify where you are in the world, but they collect a ton of other data too, such as where your mouse is hovering and when you launch a private browser window. Here's a way to find out exactly what you're leaking.

In June, Microsoft ran its own test that showed Edge browser consumed less power on a laptop than Chrome, which came in at last place. Google isn't going to take it laying down, firing back with its own tests to prove that Chrome isn't the battery draining browser that Microsoft makes it out to be. You can see the results here.

Web/iOS: If you've been playing a lot of Pokemon GO, you're probably tired of catching the same ol' Pokemon in your neighbourhood. The Poke Radar map and iPhone app help you find the rest of them so you can complete your collection.

So tests have shown Microsoft's Edge browser consumes less energy than other popular browsers including Chrome and Firefox. The company is proudly promoting these test results but will this be enough to convince people to ditch their current browsers and go with Edge instead?