Always login using https - Secure Login Helper for Chrome

Password is the key to access all your data. So, keeping your passwords safe is very important. That is why you should always use SSL/https while logging into any website. This week I came across a new tool to help me in this area. It is the 'Secure Login Helper' extension for Google Chrome.

It is a standard practice for websites to use https on the login screens even if they use plain old http to transfer other data. But, strangely, not all websites force you to login using https. And some websites don't even have a secure way to login. When I switched to Google Chrome last week, I came across a very good extension. It is called 'Secure Login Helper'. It will help you login to sites using SSL, if possible. And the best thing about this extension is that it turns the password field color to dark red if it is not using https. So, if you are on a site and about to login using http, you will notice that the password field is red in color. You will immediately know that it is not secure way to login. If that site has https login, you can then immediately choose to login using https.

How will you know if a website you are using supports https or not ? Just add the letter 's' after the http URL to turn it to https and see if the page loads. If the website supports https, you will most probably be now on https page.

After installing this extension, I came to know that there are about 5 websites in my bookmarks (which I use regularly) that have https support that I'm not using. I immediately changed my bookmarks to point to the https login page for these sites. I also found that one of my favorite site doesn't even support https login. I have contacted the website owners to check on the problem.

If you are not using Chrome yet, you should be. If you are, try the 'Secure Login Helper' extension. You will be surprised to find how many websites you use send your password in plain text.

Exchange rate slabs updated

Exchange rate slabs (like 50 - 2999 etc.) for some bank sites changed recently. I have checked the latest and updated the USD to INR and GBP to INR sites accordingly. You will now see the latest slabs and their corresponding rates.

It's time to switch to Google Chrome

When Google released Chrome, I wrote a little post on what is missing and why I couldn't use it as my default browser. Google Chrome got updated to version 4 few days ago and with it came what I was waiting for all these days ... Extensions and Bookmark Sync.

Google Chrome now has bookmark synchronization built-in (no need to install any third-party extension). You can use your existing Google account to sync your bookmarks from one computer to the other. And you always have your bookmarks available in your Google Docs account online. So, even if you are on your friend's computer, you can access your bookmarks without syncing.

If you are one of those people who worry about using Google account to sync your bookmarks, you can use the free Xmarks extension. If you use Xmarks, you can even sync between Firefox, Chrome, IE and Safari as they have extensions available for all those browsers (Google's bookmark sync is limited currently to Chrome browser only).

Chrome now supports extensions and there are hundreds of them available already. You can find all your favorite Firefox extensions in Chrome's extensions gallery or you can at least find a decent alternative. One of the major advantages of Chrome extensions over Firefox is that you can install and uninstall them without the need for a restart of the browser.

With these new features, Chrome won me over and I have switched from Firefox to Chrome. Chrome is my new default web browser. If you haven't already, it is time to try Google Chrome.

How to watch IPL Twenty20 matches live on YouTube in USA

Last week I have posted that YouTube is live streaming the IPL Twenty20 matches for free. But, as pointed out in the comments of that post, there are some caveats. YouTube live stream is apparently not "live" as there is a 5 minutes delay. And, it is not available in United States. So, if you can live with the 5 minutes delay, below is how you can access it inside the US.

Many websites that are US-only (like Hulu) are accessed by users from outside the US using tools that disguise/hide your IP address. You can use the same technique to access the live IPL stream on YouTube even though you live in US. Use Hotspot Shield, IP Hider or IP Disguise to disguise your IP. IP Hider lets you select a proxy. So, you can use it to select a proxy that is not in US and watch the IPL matches live.

Hope this helps those who are inside the US and want to watch IPL 3.