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1. What is Google Web Accelerator?
Google Web Accelerator is an application that uses the power of Google's global computer network to make web pages load faster. Google Web Accelerator is easy to use; all you have to do is download and install it, and from then on many web pages will automatically load faster than before.
Please note that Google Web Accelerator is currently in beta test mode. If you have any problems using it or have suggestions for how we can improve it, please see the Google Group devoted to it.
Also note that during the first part of our beta testing period, users outside of North America and Europe may not see much improvement in their web page loading speed.
2. How does Google Web Accelerator work?
Google Web Accelerator uses various strategies to make your web pages load faster, including:
- Sending your page requests through Google machines dedicated to handling Google Web Accelerator traffic.
- Storing copies of frequently looked at pages to make them quickly accessible.
- Downloading only the updates if a web page has changed slightly since you last viewed it.
- Prefetching certain pages onto your computer in advance.
- Managing your Internet connection to reduce delays.
- Compressing data before sending it to your computer.
3. Can I use Google Web Accelerator with a dial-up connection?
Dial-up users may not see much improvement, as Google Web Accelerator is currently optimized to speed up web page loading for broadband connections.
4. Does Google Web Accelerator speed up all web pages?
No, it doesn't. For security reasons, Google Web Accelerator won't speed up pages encrypted with the HTTPS: protocol (such as bank records pages). Also, Google Web Accelerator only speeds up web pages, not large data downloads such as MP3 and streaming video files.
5. How does using Google Web Accelerator affect my privacy?
Google Web Accelerator receives much of the same kind of information you currently send to your ISP when you surf the Web:
- Google will receive your requests for unencrypted pages (those with "HTTP:", not "HTTPS:", at the beginning of the URL), along with information such as the date and time of the request, your IP address, and computer and connection information
- If you enter personally identifiable information (such as an email address) onto a form on an unencrypted web page, some sites may send this information through Google. Whenever your computer sends cookies with browsing or prefetching page requests for unencrypted sites, we
temporarily cache these cookies in order to improve performance - In order to speed up the display of pages generally, Google Web Accelerator may store copies of web pages, including prefetched pages that you did not visit, in the Google Web Accelerator cache on your machine. This is separate from your browser's cache, which only identifies pages that you actually visited. You can empty your Google Web Accelerator cache at any time by following these instructions.
The policies for the Google Web Accelerator, like those for Google.com, uphold the highest level of integrity and respect for our users' information. Google will never rent or sell a user's personal information to third parties without a user's explicit permission. To learn more about our privacy practices, please see the Google Web Accelerator Privacy Policy.
6. What are Google Web Accelerator's system requirements?
To use Google Web Accelerator, your computer must have a Windows XP or Windows 2000 SP 3+ operating system. Google Web Accelerator works for the Internet Explorer 5.5+ or Firefox 1.0+ browsers.
7. Can I run Google Web Accelerator on a browser other than Internet Explorer or Firefox?
For other browsers running on Windows, you'll need to manually configure your proxy settings to 127.0.0.1:9100 for HTTP connections.
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