Frequent Questions

Why is AutoControl not supported in my operating system? AutoControl is what's known as a native extension. Native extensions can provide a wider set of features than regular extensions. However, this extra power comes at a cost, additional effort is needed to support each operating system. Due to this, AutoControl is initially supported on the Windows family of operating systems which are sufficiently compatible among them so as to support all OS versions in one effort from the old Windows XP till the newest Windows available.
In time, the popularity of AutoControl on Windows will determine when other operating systems become supported. How are native extensions different from regular extensions? A native extension is made up of two components: the usual web component, as all regular extensions are, and also a native component which requires an additional installation step.
These two components cooperate with each other, allowing the extension superior capabilities that are not possible on regular extensions. How does AutoControl benefit from being a native extension? On the one hand, there are regular extensions that work by injecting Javascript code into every page you visit. This is always slow because the browser has to wait for the server to respond with the web page before it can inject the extension's code into it. So, as long as there's no page loaded in a tab, a regular extension is unable to work on that tab.
Also, injecting Javascript is a costly process that requires code compilation, execution and memory usage that only increases as you open more and more tabs. Thus making your browser slower at every turn.

Moreover, this approach is only good for shortcuts that are detectable from the inside of a webpage. So, it's not possible to change the browser's native actions, such as switching from one tab to another, opening and closing tabs, etc.

What's worse, Javascript injection won't work at all whenever a webpage forbids code injection due to various browser restrictions. These cases include the New Tab Page, extension pages, settings pages, error pages, any page where Javascript is disabled, among others.

AutoControl, on the other hand, doesn't need to inject code whatsoever, so it's impervious to all those problems and limitations. AutoControl is pure machine code, which makes it fast and efficient. Shortcuts and gestures are implemented natively, allowing them to respond instantly. The browser's factory shortcuts, like Ctrl+Tab and others, can be redefined to perform any action you want, and last but not least, they work on ALL tabs, regardless of what the content of a tab is. My antivirus says AutoControl may be harmful, what should I do? First, you must ensure you got AutoControl from the Chrome Web Store. This is the only legitimate way of installing AutoControl. Do not trust any other form of installation.

Second, there are known cases of few anti-malware software that can deem AutoControl a threat. These cases are known as "false positives", i.e. misjudgements of what constitutes a threat. This usually happens due to overly broad detection rules that end up finding threats where there are none.
You can review the VirusTotal analysis of AutoControl here. All antivirus solutions participating in the analysis (possibly with a few exceptions) regard AutoControl as clean software.

As long as you install AutoControl from the Chrome Web Store, you'll be safe. How can I trust this extension? Is the source code available? AutoControl and spin-off extensions such as Tab Thumbnails Switcher and Per Tab Zoom are not open-source.
Source code is no guarantee of trustworthiness. A malicious developer could publish source code with the harmful parts removed so as to give the appearance of safety.
Therefore, being open-source does not eliminate the need for trust. No amount of source code, documents or promises will ever mean that you don't need to trust us. Trust is always part of the contract when you allow software made by others to run on your computer.
You have to decide if AutoControl is trustworthy in the same way you decide to allow a stranger into your home. It's a calculated risk.
The Native Component and the extensions that depend on it are a recent development. We'll prove them to be trustworthy gradually with time, by providing quality, reliability and by being clear and upfront about your privacy when using any of our products. Do I have to give away my private information by using AutoControl? AutoControl does not require or demand any personal information about you, the user. Your privacy is not compromised in any way by using AutoControl. Please review AutoControl's Privacy Policy for full details. What's the catch? How do you make money out of this? AutoControl is offered at no cost for everyone's personal use and benefit. It was developed purely out of passion for building useful tools. It does not generate any revenue for us, but we do accept voluntary donations from anybody who'd like to support us and help us keep moving the project forward.

Go to Donations if you wish to lend us a financial hand. We'll really appreciate it. Thank you! Where can I ask for help or report a problem in AutoControl? The Support Forum is the place to talk about anything related to AutoControl and its spin-off extensions. You can ask questions, suggest new features, report problems, bugs or any kind of issues you may find while using AutoControl.