Google Chrome is one of the programs that we most often use on a daily basis. In it we store all the access data to the websites we visit, as well as a history with all our activity on the network and a lot of personal information. When our computer is only used by us, there is no problem, but when another person takes control of our PC, all this information can fall into the wrong hands. Unless, of course, we know how to protect it.
There are many ways to separate the data of one PC user from the data of other users. For example, we can create several users in Windows so that each one can have their own configuration and their own personal space to save data, we can bet on the use of different programs for each one, or, why not, configure several user accounts user within Chrome so that each one has their own profile within the browser.
Not long ago, Google’s browser allowed us, without the need for additional extensions, to protect browser accounts using Google’s own password. Suddenly, however, this functionality disappeared, and no one knows why. Therefore, today Chrome does not allow password-protected access to each of the profiles. And, therefore, any of the users could load our profile and access all our data.
Luckily, there is an unofficial way to password-protect access to this data. And for this we only have to install a simple extension.
Install LockPW in Google Chrome
LockPW is a simple extension whose main purpose is to help us lock our Chrome profile with a password so that, to open it and be able to browse with it, we have to enter the corresponding password. This extension is only loaded on top of Chrome, and asks for the password when loading the profile, so at no time does it encrypt or alter the user data of our browser.
To install it, the first thing we must do is download it completely free of charge from the Chrome Store.
Once installed and configured, this extension will prevent a user from opening our Chrome profile without the corresponding password. In addition, it also has other security features to help us reduce the risk of someone accessing our data, such as the ability to automatically delete browsing history when the password is entered incorrectly a certain number of times. Also, to prevent the process from being forcefully terminated, LockPW is protected in RAM.
When we no longer want to continue protecting the account with the password, all we have to do is disable, or uninstall, the extension. In this way the Chrome profiles will be available to everyone again. With the risks, yes, that this implies for privacy.
