It's only been a week or so since Microsoft released the first builds of its new Chromium-powered update to the Edge browser. And on the tail of the Microsoft Build and Google I/O developer events, both companies have updated the "canary" releases of their browsers. Interestingly, although Microsoft has adopted Google's Chromium rendering engine, Google has now imitated Microsoft with some elements of the next release of Chrome.

There's a running joke that the reason Microsoft includes the Edge browser in Windows 10 is so users can then download Chrome easily. But the other big news for Microsoft Edge is that it's shifting to Chromium as its underlying rendering engine, as well as a new Internet Explorer mode, as we mentioned yesterday. The final release is some time away but here's how you can get the beta release now.

Over the last few weeks I've been making a concerted effort to reduce my online footprint. One of the things I've been doing to that end is reconsidering what search engine and web browser I use when online. And while I've settled on a combination that works, for now, it's not been without challenges. Here's what I'm using, the challenges and how I plan to overcome them.

False login pages are a common method of phishing login credentials from users. If a website look legit, it’s easy for your muscle memory to kick in and for you to start typing your username and password without checking that the URL is correct (or the website is legitimate).

Complicating matters is a new issue, recently profiled by developer Jim Fisher, that shows just how easy it is for a website to use a fake address bar to make you think you’re somewhere you’re not.

Brave, a chromium-based web browser that boasts an ad-free browsing experience, will now pay users to watch ads. That’s right — the ad-blocking browser will now be running ads, but in a more thoughtful way than we’re accustomed to.

Dark mode has stealthily rolled out to the Android version of Google Chrome as a part of the app’s most recent updates. Finally, we can all stare at our phones a little more comfortably, especially at night, without having to enable night-time reader modes or other settings. And I suppose it’s helpful for battery life, too.

For people who hate ads, auto-play videos, and busy web pages, we’ve got some good news: Google Chrome is adding a reader mode.

With Google Chrome now dominating web usage, followed by Firefox and Edge, you'd think there are very few choices when it comes to web browsing. But the reality is there are still plenty of other options. Here are five web browsers you can try if you're looking for something a little different.

Microsoft has launched public testing for the newest version of its Edge web browser, which it built on top of Google’s “Chromium” open-source framework. Not only does this mean that Edge should (supposedly) work better with sites designed to modern web standards, but it also means that you’ll be able to run Chrome extensions in Edge—making the browser much more bearable than previous incarnations.

Google Chrome is the world's most popular web browser, commanding about two-thirds of the market. In addition to being a fast browser with great standards compliance, it's also highly customisable and can be extended with free plug-ins. But first you need to find them. Here are five Chrome plug-ins you should have, but probably don't.

No one likes auto-play videos. A random assault of sound that you may or may not have come to see is rarely a pleasant surprise. This week, Firefox received an update that adds a new, robust tool for blocking the audio from auto-play videos from any site, which makes web browsing much more comfortable.

Chrome wasn't the only browser to get a visual overhaul this week, because the privacy-focused Tor Browser was also given a new lick of paint, as well as a host of under-the-hood upgrades, and refinements to make it easier to use for newcomers. There are now more reasons than ever to make Tor your daily browser of choice.

Privacy advocates love it. Law enforcement hates it. The Tor web browser is especially designed to provide web users with a a completely anonymised online experience - and it recently received a big new update. But what is Tor? Why do we need it? And is it actually worth using?

iOS/Android: I hate mobile browsing. When I open Safari, I'm usually trying to google something quickly, then go back to my other apps. Lately I've been trying the mobile browser Cake, publicly released for iOS and Android today and it's made searching much faster.

Web: Firefox users bouncing between work and personal accounts on a daily basis are probably tired of logging in and out, or switching accounts. Thanks to the new (and overdue) Mozilla-made Multi-Account Container extension, you won't have to worry about remembering which account you're logged into. If you're unconcerned about separating work and personal accounts, you can still take advantage of multi-account browsing to preserve your privacy or discourage bad habits.

Asking someone what the best browser is can be a great way to start an argument. For what it's worth, I don't find a lot of difference in the performance and features of the main browsers on the market although I do have some preferences when it comes to their interfaces. Brave browser is a multi-platform app that promises to protect your privacy and block ads. Here's what I found after a few days of use.

It isn't hard to go from reading an article on your phone to reading it on your laptop. All you need to do is remember where you found it, right? But searching for something you already have in front of you is redundant, especially since companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple all have ways to take what's on your phone and bring it to your desktop in an instant. Chances are, with a few settings tweaks, you can enable the feature right now.

Last year, Opera, the little browser that everyone seems to forget about, rolled out a free VPN. While it immediately ran into a security problem by leaking IP addresses, it's now been patched up, and is easily the simplest, cheapest and reasonably private way to access a VPN right now. It does come with a slew of caveats though.

Many of us spend most of our time on the web, but all too often browsing sessions can descend into a sprawling mess of memory-hogging, audio-playing tabs that bring your computer and your productivity to a shuddering halt. It doesn't have to be that way. These extensions and tricks can bring some simplicity back to your browsing.