Is web browsing secure? Assessment from an end-user perspective

Abstract

With the ever-growing use of the Internet in our daily lives, an increase of potentially sensitive data being shared and accessed online is observed. Web apps and browsers are the main tools used by Internet users, so being able to guarantee secure browsing is a key point. In this context, this paper explores key aspects of web security and privacy in two of the most widely used browsers worldwide - Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, running in different operating systems - Windows and Linux. Whilst emulating a browsing routine of a common web user for navigating through heterogeneous services, the aim is to verify if the content being shared online is properly secure. For this purpose, a comparative analysis based on collected web-browsing traffic, protocols in use, cookies and related policies is carried out, being the main browsers' vulnerabilities identified and discussed.