A web browser is an attack surface. Because it downloads stuff from the Internet, it can download something malicious that infects your computer. Even reputable websites have been infected with malicious ads.

There are many ways to make web browsers secure, but to me, the most secure option is not running the browser on a computer you care about. Run it somewhere else. 

This way, if the browser does eventually serve as a gateway to infecting an operating system, the impact is minimal or trivial. And, you can start off with a safer operating system in the first place. 

One way to run a browser on another system is virtually. The browser runs inside a “guest” virtual operating system, walled off from the “host” real system. But virtual machines are complicated, resource-hungry things. I hoped for something simpler.

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