A lot of people have been asking me:
"What is Brave browser?"
"How can I download Brave?"
"What makes Brave different to any other search engine?"
"Is Brave really a safe anonymous web browser?"
I heard you could earn free Crypto just from browsing and that it was really fast and secure.
It all sounded a bit too good to be true. I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about.
Brave browser: Not just a heroic search engine or adventurous portal to the internet. The secure web application works just like Chrome or Safari, blocks adverts, then pays you in cryptocurrency for browsing. A hoax, surely? I thought. What’s the catch? Is Brave actually safe to browse?
At first I dismissed it, however slowly but surely, more people asked me about it and I just had to look in to it. What is it about this mysterious crypto browser that is catching everyone’s attention?
How can a company even make a web directory using cryptocurrency?
In the early days of Crypto, the idea of private web viewing software, VPN’s and anonymity was an alien concept for most people.
Cyber security was a long established concept but a decade ago data collection was relatively unheard of. The potential to exploit people consenting to pages and pages of terms and conditions without properly reading them created a situation where everybody’s data could be shared, whether they knew it or not.
Private gateways like TOR were slow in their infancy and not user friendly. The idea of connecting anonymously to a server somewhere the other side of the world naturally posed questions for a lot of people.
Fast forward only a few years and data collection is everywhere. With the introduction of cookies, the ability for companies to track and monitor your browsing habits and online activity has created a space where people no longer feel safe on the internet. People are worried that by simply clicking in the wrong place they might accidentally download a virus or some sort of malware. The fact the GDPR regulations ware only implemented in 2018 paints a stark reality of how un-secure web browsing has tainted the user experience.
But if that hasn’t bothered you too much, what about pop-up ads? Do you know how to locate the malicious files and delete them from your system?
It can be tricky, they’re designed to be.
In a single 20 minute Youtube video I will sometimes receive up to 10 pop-up ads when using Chrome. And that’s not counting the 4-5 adverts Youtube bombard me with: Content that some lazy trackers have vaguely linked to my browsing habits and online activity to form an algorithmic opinion about my buying habits. They can be pretty spot on at times to be fair, but let’s face it, we’ve all been deep into a video and had some obtuse advert interrupting our viewing pleasure.
This is getting out of control.
Even with an appreciation for marketing, this gets annoying after a while. So you install an ad-blocker, great. But the ads are intelligent. Every move you make online gives advertisers an opportunity. Now some of my apps don’t work and I have to turn the ad-blocker off. Eventually, I’m seeing more ads than before. I pause Netflix to make a drink, take the dog out or get some food, I return to season 4 episode 9 of my favourite average-quality police/murder series and there’s a stack of them in the top right of my screen. My partner moves the mouse on my laptop to bring Netflix back and there’s a long line of “sexy women in my area” whom I have never met, all wanting my attention for some reason.
Enter the Brave Browser.
I first came across the Brave private web application program when I was looking at different cryptocurrencies on Coinbase. As my understanding of how cryptocurrencies work and the different roles they play, I began reading about the history and potential use cases of various coins. I came across Basic Attention Token (BAT).
I learned that the strongly-named start-up had developed a fast and safe private browser which rewards you with cryptocurrency.
The design of Brave is based on the Chronium search engine. They have changed the role of the traditional web crawler by incorporating blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.
According to Coinbase:
“BAT is an Ethereum token that powers the Brave Software’s blockchain-based digital advertising platform. Internet users who browse the web using the web application download can choose to replace the ads they see with ads on Brave’s network. Users then receive BAT from advertisers as compensation for their attention.”
Everyone seemed to be talking about it and so of course, I gave in to the FOMO. Considering the performance of the BAT token and my growing passion for cryptocurrency, this seemed like a real innovation – earning crypto just for browsing.
What’s even better is that you can personalise your advert settings. You can select how many ads you want to pop up within an hour, increasing your BAT rewards the more adverts you see.
You can exchange your BAT for other cryptocurrency and even withdraw it in cash.
Brave’s ethos is based around security and rewarding ethical advertising. Brave puts YOU in control of what adverts you see and don’t see.
This was the hook for me. Earning crypto just for browsing. I earned $2 in a week from my regular browsing habits and the performance was spot on.
What I didn’t expect was the level of privacy and security that this private web portal offers. The home page provides stats on the number of trackers and ads that Brave has blocked, how many un-secure websites it has upgraded and the estimated amount of time it has saved the user by blocking ads and pop-ups. It also displays how much BAT you’ve earned on the homepage of the portal.
Brave have made a safe, secure and private web browser like no other.
At the time of writing in just over a week after downloading, I’ve earned 12.3 BAT worth $2.34 USD. It has blocked 17,263 ads and trackers, made 21 HTTPS upgrades and saved me an estimated 21 minutes.
Brave have actually made a browser that pays you to be safer online.
I usually turn down the amount of ads I see if I’m working or writing, but the maximum of 5 ads that the bold-named business allows barely even registers when I’m in the flow of using it.
The icing on the cake is the donations feature. When browsing your favourite content using the militant display program, you can tip your favourite content creators in BAT to show your support and appreciation. This could be a relatively small amount but the overall principle is beautiful:
Earn cryptocurrency for browsing the internet safely and securely as you normally would, on a secure internet service provider that blocks ads or lets you choose how many ads you want to see. You can then pocket the cash or donate it to your favourite musician or podcaster.
I’ve set the download to work just like Chrome but you can set it to work pretty much like your favourite browser. Brave have added an extra layer of value to the internet with their new private web directory.
I believe in the heroic search portal just from a security and privacy perspective and I was very impressed with the speed. But the fact that it pays you to browse is incredible. The digital age has seen a huge change in how artists, educators and creators earn their living and the lion-hearted and logo’d internet innovators, have certainly taken this into consideration with their secure download application.
Keeping your data private when browsing online has never been so rewarding.
The fact that people still ask – “Is Brave actually a safe browser?” is bonkers. Brave is transforming the browser-user security.
Brave is the search engine of the future.
Courageous computer scientists’ innovations have brought blockchain to internet service providers and the potential scope is huge.
But don’t just take my word for it, download the best free fastest and most secure way to browse, and see for yourself!
By following the link on the pop-up banner (or clicking here!) and installing the Brave private web browser, Brave rewards us with a little bonus to say thank you for using their application, which really helps support our website and deliver valuable content and learning material.
Thank you for reading, please feel free to leave any comments and feedback in the box below. I strongly believe this could be the web browser of the future. Let me know if you agree! I’ve been desperate to find a safe and secure web browser application and this is the audacious answer I’ve been looking for.
Stay tuned for more posts on how to improve cryptocurrency security next week! (NOW LIVE)
Jack – BCG Director
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This is NOT financial advice. Beginners Crypto Guide does NOT OFFER formal nor informal financial advice, and accepts no liability for such service. You should always do your own research before making any financial decisions.
