Use Google Chrome? You're not alone. But if you're like most users of this browser, you probably feel that Chrome isn't the best when it comes to speed or handling system resources.

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And it doesn't help things when you pile dozens of tabs into the browser. Each of those tabs consumes precious system resources.

This means that using tabs as bookmarks is a fast-track way to eat up free system resources and make both the browser and your computer sluggish.

Now, over the years, I tried all sorts of tips and tricks. I followed Google's advice (well, everything except the bit that said close unused tabs), and I uninstalled all the extensions I wasn't using, and I scanned for malware.

Google Chrome was still sluggish.

It's a combination of Google Chrome being inefficient (especially when compared to other Chromium-based browsers) and then keeping every tab open until the end of time.

But there's a solution. And I've been testing it for a while now, and it works really well.

And it involves installing an extension.

The extension is called Auto Tab Discard, and it works by allowing you to discard tabs that you aren't using.

Discarding a tab isn't the same as closing it because you can click on the inactive "discarded" tab and bring it back to life -- complete with your scroll position and any text entered into forms or boxes.

Discarded tabs can be bought back to life even after closing and re-opening the browser.

The extension also has options for pinned tabs, when a tab is playing media, and when a web page contains a form.

I've tried a number of extensions that suspend tabs, but this one is the best I've used. It's lightweight, reliable, and does what it says on the tin.

It's changed my view of Google Chrome.

If you're using Google Chrome, this is one extension I highly recommend. 

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