Kingsoft’s New Browser Sets Up Battle For Web Access In China

Chinese Internet security company Kingsoft Network announced that its secured web browser has formally started public beta tests.

Meanwhile, the company launched a compensation plan for testers who participate in the beta tests, stating that any user who was cheated and suffered financial losses while using Kingsoft’s browser will gain an annual compensation up to CNY1,000 in cash. Prior to this, Kingsoft Network launched a similar bounty for its anti-virus product.

At the end of April 2012, Kingsoft Network revealed its intention to develop a Web browser. On May 2, the company started internal beta tests for the browser and sent invitation codes to users. According to the development team, hundreds of thousands of netizens had participated in the internal beta tests and provided suggestions for improvement. As a dual-core secured browser combining IE and Chrome features, Kingsoft’s new browser boasted over 100 optimizations based on Chromium, increasing browsing speed by 30% compared with traditional browsers like Mozilla’s Firefox or Opera.

The development team said that in regards to the Internet shopping security issues, they developed a browser-based active defense system named BIPS, which can independently block phishing websites and websites with viruses. It can also prevent transaction hijacking and page tampering, realizing secured browsing even without anti-virus software.

Chinese technology competitors Qihoo 360 and Rising have each independently launched their own recent browser products, setting up a domestic battle for netizens’ gateways to the Web.