Browsing Tips: Slow-Loading Sites, Google Chrome Tweak

04.10.2011
True story: I'd been getting fed up with Firefox, in part because it was acting sluggish and flaky, so I decided to give a try. And by "try," I mean make it my primary browser for a couple weeks.

I liked Chrome well enough, but I noticed that certain Web sites (including gadget blog Gizmodo) were very slow to load. I mean, most of the page content would appear immediately, but it would take 15-20 seconds before I could actually scroll or click a link. It got frustrating in a hurry.

On a lark, I checked Chrome's list of installed extensions, expecting to find only the two I'd installed myself. But there was a third: McAfee SiteAdvisor, which must have come preinstalled on this relatively new machine I'm using.

Can you guess the outcome? After disabling the SiteAdvisor extension, Gizmodo and other sites loaded much faster. Then I went back to Firefox and disabled it there. Same result. I won't say this is totally conclusive proof, but if you've encountered slow-loading sites and you have McAfee SiteAdvisor installed (whether you know it or not), I highly recommend giving it the boot. (Then report back in the Comments below and let me know if that helps.)

Google Chrome has a great built-in bookmark-syncing feature, but after syncing an older PC to my primary one, I discovered something most unwanted on my Bookmarks bar: a space-hogging folder called Other Bookmarks. This curious arrival displaced several of my frequently used bookmarks.