Hands-on review: ArmorSurf Internet browser

Erasing cookies, deleting private data, clearing history: Cleaning up your tracks while browsing online isn't very reliable and can be a total pain at times. Level 9 Technology's ArmorSurf browser takes the concept of "for your eyes only" and applies it in a robust, privacy-centric Internet browser.

You get the normal Web-browsing niceties with ArmorSurf: Tabbed browsing, download manager, login manager, and popup blocking. But ArmorSurf's main shtick is it's private Internet-browsing features. The application is password protected on startup, minimize, standby, and hibernate, and your downloads are encrypted for viewing only in the browser. Additionally, your browsing history, bookmarks, and cookies are all encrypted as well, keeping stray eyes out of your favorite sites.

The second plus to AmorSurf is its downloading engine. The browser can download movies (and images) directly from your favorite video sharing sites (like YouTube, Break, Vimeo, etc) with one click, allowing you to play them back whenever you'd like. (The downloaded content is automatically encrypted, so it can only be played in the browser.)

Everything mentioned above comes free in the standard version of ArmorSurf. If you choose to upgrade to ArmorSurf Gold (at a $29.99 fee), you also get the ability to export your downloaded movie library to your desktop, the option of burning a video DVD directly from the browser, the option to export your movies to your iPod or other mobile device (in MP4 format), and a mass-downloader/web crawling tool (to automatically pull all content from one site).

There's no doubt that the feature list on ArmorSurf is thick, but how does it function? Quite well, actually. I didn't have any noticeable defects in rendering pages, and page load/rendering time was speedy. Ripping videos off of YouTube and Vimeo went without any hitch either, and playback in the internal media player worked perfectly as well. Exporting your downloaded videos into MP4 was a one-click affair, and the quality was pretty good, but unfortunately, you can only output in one resolution in 4:3 aspect ratio. Still, not bad.

There are a few quips I have with the software. The color scheme and design are visually a little rough around the edges, and some of the user-interaction can be confusing. (Why can't I launch a video directly from my download list, and why can't I bookmark from the main toolbar?) One suggestion: The uninstall feature should be password protected as well, seeing that someone can simply uninstall the program and erase your entire downloaded collection without your approval.

Even with these minor setbacks, ArmorSurf really shines with its big, big feature set. (I particularly use the panic-key shortcut to instantly close the browser, not that I'm using it at work...) If you're on a shared PC and want to keep your peers out of your sight, ArmorSurf good way to make your Internet browsing private.

You can download the free standard version over at ArmorSurf.com