Tip #2970 - Google Browser Sync
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Google
Browser Sync
I don’t know
about you, but I usually work with about three PCs on any average day.
I know I’m somewhat of a geek, but I figure it’s a safe bet
that a lot of you out there put your time in to at least two different
PCs. If you do, I’m sure you know how tedious it can be to keep
your favorites or bookmarks the same on multiple computers. I have gone
home for the weekend and forgot to forward a URL to my e-mail address
so I could access it at home, only to find that I had forgotten it completely.
This has left me stuck several times. At least, until I could recall it
somehow. The whole process is annoying to me and there is all sorts of
room for errors.
Google has thought
of this as well and has created a browser synchronization application
that will allow you to keep your Firefox bookmarks, history, persistent
cookies, tabs, windows and saved passwords synchronized across multiple
PCs. Basically, this will keep all the PCs you may use throughout the
day on the same page. If you create a bookmark at work, it will immediately
be added to your home PC the next time you start up Firefox. By default,
the Google Browser Sync will be set to transfer all this
information in its synchronization process, but it can be configured to
a more specific range of options. Google Browser Sync also uses encryption
in order to protect the transfer of passwords and cookies that can only
be accessed by providing a reselected PIN number.
The program is actually
a Firefox extension created by Google, which means it currently only works
with Firefox (version 1.5 and above). After you download the extension,
you are prompted to install it to the browser. Upon successful installation,
you will need to restart Firefox for the Browser Sync tool to begin working.
Keep in mind that you may get a message warning you of using this on machines
where other people have access. This is because once the Google Browser
Sync is installed and active, anyone who uses Firefox can potentially
see your bookmarks, complete with cookies and passwords.
I really love this
idea and I whish I would have found it sooner. There are a few side notes
you should read before installing, however.
As I said before,
this only works on Firefox 1.5 or higher, which all of you should have
at least as a backup browser. You can check the version of Firefox you
have by opening the browser and going to Help, About.
It will be listed in the window like this:
In addition to this,
you will need to create a Google account. This is required in order to
save and transfer your information over the Web. The account, of course,
is free and you even get a great free Gmail account with it. With that
being said, if you already have a Google account, you don’t need
to create another one. Just simply log in using your existing authentication
information. If you would like to create a Google account, you can do
that here.
There is also a list of FAQs and other resources on their Web site that
will help you get acquainted with the Google Browser Sync.
You can download Google
Browser Sync here.
~ Chad Stelnicki
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