Protecting programs with a password is very useful to prevent intruders. That is something that we constantly use in our accounts, such as social networks, email, etc. But we could also protect applications. In this article we are going to talk about the necessary steps to request to log in to the browser and thus avoid problems that could compromise our privacy and security. It is something that you will be able to do in Google Chrome.
Why protect the browser
The browser is a fundamental piece for our day to day. It is the program we use to access accounts of all kinds and we store a lot of information. In fact, it is the application where we constantly exchange the most data. Much of this data will be stored there.
Within everything that we store we can mention the access codes. Google Chrome allows you to synchronize passwords between devices or leave them saved. In this way, when you enter a platform where you have previously logged in, such as Facebook or email, you will not need to enter the password again; you simply give it to connect automatically.
There will also be a record of the browsing history. This includes all pages visited, searches performed, social network profiles we use, etc. All of this is stored within the browser and is data that can compromise our security and privacy.
If someone has access to our browser, for example if we share the computer with another person, they could enter our accounts without knowing the password, see the browsing history, searches, etc. Our privacy could be compromised and, in addition, we would lose control over those accounts.
For all this it is a good idea to put a password on Google Chrome. It is something that you are going to be able to do easily in Windows, you are simply going to have to follow a series of steps that we are going to explain and you will force yourself to log in to be able to enter the browser and thus prevent your information from being compromised.
How to ask for login in Chrome
To be able to request to log in to Google Chrome and require knowing the password to open it, we can make use of some options that the Windows system itself has. There’s no need to install anything extra, or touch anything in Chrome; You will only have to configure some sections on your computer. You should keep in mind that this option is different from putting a password on Chrome, something that you can do with some extensions.
registry editor
You can use the Windows Registry Editor to have to sign in to open Google Chrome. In this case you have to press the key combination Windows + R and run regedit . Later you have to navigate to the following path to access the function: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesGoogleChrome.
Once you are there, you have to click with the second button on top of the Chrome folder, you give it to create New, value of DWORD (32 bits) and give it the name of BrowserSignin .
Later you click on that new created value and change the value 0 to 2 . You give OK, restart the computer and you should be ready.
From that moment on, once you open Google Chrome, an initial screen will appear to log in and enter the password. You will have protected all the passwords and data that may be there, such as browsing history, searches, saved bookmarks, etc.
group policies
The second option you will find is Group Policies. To open it you have to go to Start, search for Edit group policy and open it. You can also just press the Windows + R key combination and run gpedit.msc .
Once there you have to go to Local Computer Policy, go to Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Google and Google Chrome. There you look for Browser sign in setting and double click. You will see that it is disabled by default, so you click on enable. In the drop-down menu below you give Force users to log in to use the browser and click Accept.
After restarting the computer and restarting Google Chrome, as in the previous case, it will ask you to enter the password to enter the browser. You will have protected the keys and everything you have stored.
To reverse the situation, both through the Registry Editor and Group Policies, you simply have to follow the same steps again and delete the changes you have made, click accept and restart the computer so that it allows you to open the browser again without password.
This does not improve security completely
You should keep in mind that what we have explained is an interesting solution to having to log in when you open the browser. However, this alone will not substantially improve your security. The first because it is easy to remove Registry Editor, for example, and restart the browser without having to remove the password.
But in addition, it is one thing to protect access to the browser and another your security when browsing. There you will have to have other programs and have the equipment always in good condition. It will be essential that you use a good antivirus to prevent the entry of malware that can compromise your system. For example, Windows Defender itself is a good solution, but there are many more options available.
Beyond that, having the operating system updated, as well as Google Chrome itself, is essential. To avoid problems, what you can do is go to the top right menu in the browser, click on Help and go to About Google Chrome . There it will show you what version you have installed and possible updates will appear.
Therefore, although forcing you to log in when you open Google Chrome is an interesting measure to avoid problems and that anyone who has physical access to your computer cannot see your history or log in without entering a password, this is not really going to make a difference. important in terms of security, so you will have to take certain additional measures in order to prevent problems.
