Filed under: Features, Windows, Freeware, Browsers, Lists
14 portable web browsers for Windows
by Lee Mathews Sep 14th 2009 at 10:00AM
There are a lot more options than you think - here are 13 different options for users of Windows PCs. Don't see your choice on the list? Share it with us in the comments!
Mozilla
Portable Firefox (current) [download] and Portable Minefield [download]
John T. Haller's Portable Apps project is always right on top of the latest Firefox updates, so it's the place to go if you need the Fox in your pocket. The most recent unstable branch is provided as well, in case you want to test it without installing.
PocketFlock v2 [download]
The kicked-up Firefox remix for social networking types is also available in a portable version, thanks to enthusiast Dave Ferrite.
PocketKMeleon [download]
KMeleon is somewhat like a lightweight Firefox. It's a very solid little browser which supports custom skins and is highly customizable. Several modified Firefox add-ons are even available from K-Meleon Extensions Central.
TOR Browser Bundle [download]
The fine fellows behind the TOR project also provide a portable, all-in-one privacy-enhanced Firefox bundle which includes TOR, Polipo, Vidalia, and the Torbutton add-on.
Internet Explorer
note: these browsers aren't portable in the truest sense of the word. They do,however, provide a good way to use a beefed-up version of IE with your personalizations wherever you can plug in your USB drive (and IE is installed, of course).
Avant offers mouse gestures, an RSS reader, an ad blocker AND Flash filter, form filler, skin support, and online profile storage. The split-window browsing feature is also pretty slick.
GreenBrowser [download]
This little baby adds tons of missing features to IE: ad blocker, download manager, URL aliases, form fill, and much, much more. Tons of customization features let you tweak GreenBrowser any which way you choose
Maxthon Portable [download]
Maxthon has a lot more fans and great number of features you probably don't know about. Like GreenBrowser, it adds ad blocking, a download manager, and form fill. Want more? How about mouse gestures, skins, screen capture, online favorites storage...
Opera
Opera@USB [download]
Opera is an excellent web browser, and it's certainly got a devoted fanbase. Pop this on your flash drive if you like integrated mouse gestures, speed dial, torrent downloading, a built-in mail client, and all the other Opera goodness.
Want some added anonymity whilst you surf? Like the Firefox pack, this zip contains a ready-to-roll portable Opera browser with Tor and Polipo to give you a little extra privacy.
Webkit
Google Chrome Portable [download]
Carsten Knoblauch's project lets you take Chrome (currently v. 3.0.195.20) with you on your flash drive. He updates frequently and the page's download link should always hook you up with the latest version.
Packed as a .7z archive, Midori is small, lightweight, extensible, and totally portable. It's got an ad-blocker, mouse gestures, and Userscript support. Midori just made the jump to Windows recently, and it's a fairly young browser - so expect the occasional glitch.
QTWeb [download]
Would it really be a surprise if I told you that this one was built using the QT framework and Webkit? No, I didn't think so. Out-of-the-box QTWeb sports an ad-blocker, private browsing mode, and quick access to all privacy-related features.
SRWare Iron [download]
Take Chromium and strip out the bits that feed usage info to Google (like the unique identifier and suggestions features) and you've got Iron.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
turu said 12:28PM on 9-14-2009
Pocket k-melon project has been stopped long time a go. Current k-melon 1.5.x series is easier to make it as portable, and there are how to guide on their webiste.
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/wiki/KMPortable
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d00msay3r3 said 4:18PM on 9-14-2009
I've got portable versions of all these and a few others on my thumbdrive for logging into more than one Facebook account at a time, on one machine.
Have to say the QTWeb browser is just waaaaaayyyyy too slow for me. Absolute worst of the bunch.
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Bryan Price said 6:09PM on 9-14-2009
3.5.3 is installed, but I'm running Shiretoko (3.5.4 daily), Namoroka (3.6a daily) and Minefield (3.7a daily) as well.
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Ricky Lively said 8:06AM on 9-15-2009
http://www.kejut.com/operaportable
Opera Portable - Opera in USB, CD, LAN, Wherever!
Sekali Klik Tanpa
Introducing Opera Portable, the Opera browser that has been repacked so that you can run Opera by just clicking, without the need of installation or administrator rights.
Introducing Opera Portable, the Opera browser that has been modified so that you can run Opera by just a click, without installation (or administrator rights). With only 7 MB, you get the same Opera features. Of course it's free!
Features
* Does not affect existing browsers - IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Google Chrome, etc.
* No traces left after exiting - files are overwritten, not just deleted
* Doesn't make your USB drive tired - all program files and data are stored in a temporary place on host computer
* Create multiple profiles for use in different situations
* Easy to distribute and use, not limited to USB drives or CDs
Opera Portable is completely free and will always remain free, which means you can use it free of charge for any purposes (subject to Opera Software's license agreement). If you are satisfied with Opera Portable and want to help motivate the development, any amount of donation will be welcomed and gratefully appreciated.
Downloads
* Opera Portable Personal 10.00 (English, other languages see below)
You can manage multiple profiles! For example: office, school, home, internet cafe. The profile file will contain all the settings you made while running Opera Portable. So, your settings, history, wand passwords, etc are packed into a single file, then they are overwritten and deleted on the host machine (so you leave no traces). When you run Opera Portable on other machines, your settings will be applied again. This is suitable for usage in USB/flash disks and other writable media, even your harddisk!
* Opera Portable One-Use 10.00 (English, other languages see below)
All settings, history, cache etc are completely destroyed after running. This is suitable if you run Opera Portable from LAN shares, CD/DVD, or other non-writable media.
It is recommended that you backup the .ophome file in case of data corruption. You should use 7z or zip or rar or any compressor to backup it since it is highly compressible :D
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secret.miracles said 12:05AM on 10-16-2009
Great Post! Love Portable Apps as I am always on the move with my fav apps. Thanks! :)
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