Are you a Google Chrome fan? Think of browsers as the vehicle that takes you around the internet. But every vehicle needs some maintenance. Below we'll look at simple hacks to make Google Chrome better, faster, and use less RAM.
Google Chrome is now the most popular browser. It is a powerful, reliable platform that gives you a lot of productivity features through the use of extensions. There are also a lot of tweaks that expose browser features that are hidden in its code. 
If you don't have Google Chrome, you can download it here. Chrome is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, for iOS, and for Android.
If you already have Google Chrome installed, then the first thing you should do is check if you need to update your browser. At iGuRu.gr we highly recommend every update (perhaps with some reservations regarding Microsoft updates).
You can see if there is an update because the burger menu (the three-line icon in the top right corner of the browser) has been changed from green, yellow, and red to give you a visual reminder that an update is needed.
Typically, closing and restarting Chrome is all it takes to see if there is an update, but you can also check at:
chrome://help
Now that you're running an updated version of Chrome, you can start removing any unwanted extensions and plugins that you've used over the months or maybe even years since you started using the browser.
To do this, type
chrome://extensions
in the address bar. You can uncheck the box to disable the extension or click the trash can icon to delete it.
Then type
chrome://plugins
in the address bar to check your plugins. Simply click the link to disable them.
Then, if you tend to browse with a lot of tabs open, you may have noticed that this uses up a lot of RAM. Below are some extensions that will help you have as many tabs open as you want without consuming as much memory.
You can choose:
Tab Wrangler
One Tab
The Great Suspender
Another way to improve browser performance is to clear the cache.
If Chrome has been running for a while, the cache fills up with your browsing history. Clearing the cache not only frees up disk space, but also makes your browser more user-friendly.
Type:
chrome://settings/clearBrowserData
in the address bar and decide what you want to delete. I would suggest choosing Cached images and files. Alternatively, you can delete everything and start with a completely clean browser.
Check your browser for malware.
To scan your Chrome installation for malware, Google has developed the Chrome Cleanup Tool for Windows users.
You could also scan your favorite Anti-Malware program.
Useful Shortcuts
There are a lot of keyboard shortcuts for Google Chrome, but we'll look at the most useful ones
Here are some of my favorites:
Ctrl/Cmd + L Highlight text in the address bar Ctrl/Cmd + T - Open a new tab Ctrl/Cmd + W - Close current tab Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T - Reopen the tab you closed Ctrl + Tab - Switch Tab one tab to the right Ctrl + Shift + Tab - Switch Tab one tab to the left Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + B - Toggle bookmarks bar view
Some other tricks
Want to see some hidden features of Google Chrome? Type the following in the address bar:
chrome://histograms chrome://memory chrome://cache chrome://dns
Want to use Google Chrome as a notepad? Type in the address bar:
data:text/html,
