Filed under: Windows, Open Source
Ghostzilla: A tiny, instant web browser in any document
by Jordan Running Jun 12th 2006 at 5:05PM
I'm not at all sold on the utlility of Ghostzilla, but its novelty in undeniable: It's a tiny app for Windows that lets you instantly create a stripped-down web browser inside any application. Ghostzilla's intended purpose seems to be secret browsing: Ghostzilla embeds itself in any part of an application, but when you move your mouse away from it, it instantly disappears. It also supports a number of "hiding levels," which let you tweak how attention-grabbing images are displayed, e.g. optionally making images fade to a pal grey when the mouse is not over them. Ghostzilla is free and open source, so if you have something to hide, check out,
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
cj said 7:14PM on 6-12-2006
I've seen the utility of Ghostzilla when I've been at home doing bills or something and I just get an overwhelming urge to search for Jenna Jameson photos. It's like hiding in plain sight. My guess is that it was developed for surfing pr0n in nearly plain view of anyone, but it could be used in any situation where you've been administratively restricted from surfing any site (not network administratively -- it's not a tunneler or a firewall breacher -- it just hides the browser in a seamless window within another application window). With the different hiding levels, you'd really have to know what you were looking at on someone's desktop to see that you were surfing pr0n, or anything else, instead of doing that spreadsheet or checking e-mail. And with a mouse gesture or keystroke combo, the browser disappears completely, only to be restored with another key combination. So it'd be safe for the boss or SWMBO to come strolling by and even sit down at the terminal, while your surreptitious browser is safely tucked away, no taskbar or systray icons.
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Peter said 11:36AM on 6-13-2006
Another way of hiding the fact that you are surfing the internet when you shouldn't be is by auto-hiding the taskbar. This means that somone who sees your desktop won't see what windows are minimized or what's open in the systems tray. Also, when you do want to focus on whatever it is you're doing, you will have more of whatever it is displayed, becuase your taskbar will not be taking up room.
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