using portable browsers on hdd?

hi friends
if i extract a portable browser such as ff portable or chrome portable to a folder on the desktop and if i use this as my default web browser:
1. would it be trace-proof?
2. would it be sort of like using web browser in a sandbox, so that there'd be no traces or no nothing after i delete its folder?
3. would there be any perfromance issues?
4. would it be no good considered security-wise?
5. would i be able to use all the extensions and apps such as adblock, etc. with it?
thanks in adv.

 

bump.

 

1. i don't quite understand the question.
2. once you delete the folder everything is gone.
use Chrome if you want sandboxing protection against drive-by malware.
3. no, Chrome portable is just as fast as the install version.
4. does not matter for Chrome since the install version installs to user space anyway.
5. yes

 

It's just Chrome but everything is handled in a single folder.

 

That. Valid for Firefox Portable too, with the additional info that Firefox Portable by Portable Apps comes "optimized" (slight different default config).

 

i've been using firefox portable this way for years work perfectly plus backup copy and paste the folder to usb all addons contained in one folder

 

Portable browsers are meant to be used on USB flash drives. Browser settings are configured accordingly. They don't alter Windows' registry and don't leave traces on the HDD. All data is located in the browser directory. Keep in mind that even so third party plugins can leave traces on the HDD if used with a portable browser.
These are the only differences vs non portable.

 

well, let me put it this way:
when you use a portable browser, say ff or chrome, and run it from a folder located on your desktop, does it leave traces in system's registry, in any part of your os, on any part of your hdd? as far as i know, every single piece of software you use on your pc leaves countless traces on your hdd, such as a browser leaving traces of your web surfing in registry.

so if i use it the way you do but run it from a folder located on my desktop, instead of a usb drive, and after each & every session if i delete that folder with a secure eraser software such as eraser, and use that backup copy of the portable browser i keep ready to use, in this case, will there be any traces leftover in my system?

how so, while the browser itself leaves no traces, the 3rd party plugins happen to leave traces afterall? do you mean all 3rd party plugins? if not, which ones wouldn't leave any traces behind and which ones would?

thank you all, guys.

 

@imdb

Because they are not part of the browser, just coded to work with. Can't tell how many since I didn't try them all. The only plugin I seldom use is the Flash plugin which leaves flash cookies.

 

it's not supposed to; that's the whole idea behind the concept of portable apps.

you can verify yourself that everything is 'good' by using a file and registry compare utility.

 

Just to verify something, don't you get this under HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Google?

 

yes i do.

good catch there mrpink.

 

Thanks! So why they say it's stealth portable?

 

you got me there.

perhaps you could try Opera and Firefox portable to see if they act the same.

personally, it does not bother me but i can understand why someone else might feel different about this.

 

I don't think this applies to Chrome portable
From PortableFreeware.com FAQ;

But anyway, it doesn't bother me, i'm not that paranoid

 

Chrome itself should only leave 1 (if any) registry entries and the portable version should leave no files behind. In that sense it is stealth.

 

I installed Chrome portable (from PortableApps.com) on a secondary internal HDD and I can find absolutely nothing here; zilch as far as registry entries. I can, however, say the same with respect to Opera, which I installed to the same drive using the "standalone" option.

 

@prius04

Not quite accurate. Look for Opera under HKEY_CURRENT_USER. However the 'Last CommandLine v2' key is not a big deal.
More annoying is that Opera isn't a good choice when it comes to use it on a USB flash drive because of its poor RAM cache performance. No wonder that PortableApps.com delivers it with disk cache enabled

 

Good thread about leaving traces etc

Another option is to use ShadowDefender or the like

 

Yes. Thank you. I did just as you suggested and indeed that one key is there.

As I indicated, I have Opera installed on a secondary internal HDD and I chose the standalone option when I installed it (I d/l'd it from Opera, not from PortableApps.com, btw). My disk cache is "Off" and I haven't run into any performance issues, at least none that are readily apparent. Frankly, I doubt I'd even be using Opera if not for the fact that I have Opera Mini installed on my Blackberry and use the Opera Link feature in the desktop version to sync bookmarks on my phone.

 

Has anyone used both Portable Apps Opera & the Opera ASA's portable, if so are there any differences?

I mainly use Firefox portable but I like a back-up & I had too many problems with the Portable Apps version of Chrome so I went back to the (Portable Apps) Opera as back-up.

 

i see your point. you're right. and flash is a good example for that.

 

so in that case, it seems it's not quite possible to use a portable browser, be it chrome, ff or opera, and leave no traces behind.
well then, if i use sbie free version and run portable browser within sbie, disable any security or non-security application which keeps track of web browsing sessions like antivirus softwares' webshields or firewall softwares' logs, etc; and after each and every session i close all sandboxed applications, terminate all sandboxed processes through sandboxie's system tray icon which allows me to terminate all sandboxed processes, and exit sandboxie application itself and then secure-erase the contents of the sandbox folder with a secure eraser application, would there be any traces left behind apart from the traces of sandboxie itself leaves on system registry, or in any part of system, which (afaik) are in noway related to the web surfing session, which is acceptable because of the nature of operating systems and application installation procedure?