Oh No, There Goes Tokyo, It’s Browzar

By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

File this in the review first, test later category. Recently Infoworld profiled a new Web Browser Browzar, which sounds more like an enemy of Godzilla, saying that is leaves no footprints. In the story, the creator even brings up the recent gaff by AOL in which they released the searches of 650,000 users, as if the browser would help protect them against this.

“Privacy is becoming a bigger issue,” Ahmed said, pointing to the recent leak of more than 20 million user search queries by AOL LLC. “The AOL story highlights the issue that some of the things people are searching for are very, very personal.”

Today, I’m reading Techmeme and it has several stories on the new browser, including this one, New secure browser Browzar is fake and full of adware which goes on to say,

Social news rave about Browzar - they claim it a new secure browser leaving no footprints. After looking at it closer, I found out that it’s not a browser at all, and moreover, this software thrusts search via its own PPC-SE full of ads on user.

Yeah, it’s just 264K add-on to Microsoft Internet Explorer that beginning programmer would easily make. More quality and useful soft based on IE exist, like Maxthon, ex MYIE.

After starting, Browzar shows its’ homepage, and these settings cannot be changed. Homepage offers to “Search the Web…”, but gives weird results from weird SE.

We Say: All of this is true, but the title says it’s full of adware, which it is not, he was referring the start page that is full of ppc links, each of which I’m sure they make money. As you can see in their screenshot, it links to Amazon and eBay when you search for del.icio.us. The verdict? While it’s not full of adware, and it’s only 264k, it sure is a waste of time, and it could come with adware in the future, they are trying awful hard to make money out of the gate, so you never know. It doesn’t add anything, you’ll still have to install Internet Explorer updates, and as reported by one blogger, it doesn’t even completely do the job it says it will.