Articles about Chrome

In a future update to Chrome, Google will give users the option of having extensions enabled or disabled on a site-by site basis.

This is an option that some browser extensions -- notably ad-blockers -- feature as standard, but the update will expand this so it applies to all add-ons. With a few clicks it will be possible to quickly disable all extensions for a particular site for the purposes of compatibility, privacy or performance.

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Passwords are a problem. They are difficult to remember, often easily guessed or cracked, and generally just a pain. Google is looking to help by adding secure, password-free login to Chrome 108 thanks to newly added passkey support.

The security feature is available to users of Windows 11, macOS and Android, and it follows a short period of beta testing. Backed by the likes of the FIDO Alliance, Microsoft, Apple, and -- of course -- Google, passkeys are a step away from the password managers so many of us have become reliant on.

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With 2023 just around the corner, thoughts may well be turning to New Year's resolutions -- and that certainly seems to be the case for Chrome. Just as many people use the arrival of a new year as a reason to go on a diet, so Google is making its web browser less greedy.

Chrome has earned itself something of a reputation for being incredibly resource-hungry, and Google is now ready to address what amounts to a serious problem for many people. What does this mean in practice? Google is reducing Chrome memory and power consumption thanks to Energy Saver and Memory Saver.

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Google is, of course, best known for its search engine but in a significant update to Chrome, the company has introduced a powerful new way to search tabs, bookmarks and browsing history in the browser.

It has been possible to conduct each of these types of search for some time, but now Google has simplified things dramatically. The change means that Chrome's address bar can now be used for much more than just to search the web; all it takes is the addition of an @.

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A Chromebook is a laptop running Google's Linux-based ChromeOS operating system. However, when you connect such a notebook to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, it becomes a makeshift desktop computer.

The most elegant way to transform a laptop into a desktop is with a USB-C docking station. But how can you be sure your Chromebook is compatible? Well, if the dock is officially certified as "Works With Chromebook," then you can be assured that it will work flawlessly.

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Google Chrome is a great web browser for many reasons, including its cross-platform nature. You can run Ubuntu Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android, for instance, and use the same Chrome web browser on all of those operating systems. Thanks to cloud data syncing, you can have a seamless experience too.

With the upcoming Google Chrome 110, however, there will be two fewer operating systems supported. You see, early next year, Google will be dropping support for its web browser on both Windows 7 and 8.1. In other words, if you use Microsoft's desktop operating system, you will need to be on Windows 10 or 11.

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Google has announced today that it's bringing passkey support to both Chrome and Android. Passkeys offer a significantly safer replacement for passwords and other phishable authentication factors and mark another step towards a passwordless future.

If you're unfamiliar with passkeys, they're a joint initiative from Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Unlike a password the key is stored exclusively on your devices and never gets shared with anyone else.

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Whether you are running Windows, macOS or a Linux distro, if you're a Chrome user there is an extremely important update to install right now.

Google has released Chrome 105.0.5195.102 for all three platforms to address the vulnerability which is tracked as CVE-2022-3075. The security flaw, which relates to data validation in the Mojo runtime libraries, is known to have been exploited in the wild, so users are advised to actively seek out the update rather than waiting for Google to roll it out to everyone.

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Passwords. Despite numerous predictions of their demise we still can't live without them. Using strong passwords though, especially if you have several devices, means using a password manager to help you keep track.

Google Password Manager has been around in Chrome since 2008, but it's always offered a somewhat different experience on desktop and mobile devices. Until now that is.

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It is easy to perform searches in Chrome, but you can make things easier. You probably currently either launch Google (or your preferred search engine) in a new tab, or just type a search term in the address bar, but there is another somewhat secret option.

Google’s browser has an optional search sidebar that not very many people know about. Called simply Side Search, this useful left-hand panel makes it easy to explore search results at speed.

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Internet Explorer was once the dominant web browser, boasting a 95 percent market share in 2004. The arrival of better and faster browsers like Firefox and Chrome, along with the rise of smartphones, slowly destroyed its ubiquity and from today it is now officially retired and out of support.

While few people will mourn its passing, the browser is still used by many businesses and individuals who simply haven’t bothered to switch from what they know. For those users, Microsoft’s solution will be a predictable one.

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Is Windows 11 a good desktop operating system. Absolutely. Is it the best desktop operating system? Well, that is harder to answer. Ultimately, if you are 100 percent dependent on Windows software, then yes, Windows 11 is the best operating system... for you. If you can get by without using software designed for Microsoft's OS, however, a Linux-based operating system might be the better option -- especially if you have an older computer.

You see, Windows 11 is very polarizing. The operating system features radical changes to the user interface (such as a centered task bar) which some users do like, but many others do not. Not to mention, the system requirements will leave many still-capable computers unable to upgrade without using unofficial hacks. Even worse, computers deemed incompatible could eventually stop getting updates! Linux doesn't have these problems.

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Making payments online is fraught with potential dangers, and there is risk involved with making purchases with your credit card. To help offer a level of protection, many companies -- including the likes of Revolut -- enable their customers to create virtual, disposable credit cards.

Inspired by this, Google is building the same functionality into Chrome. The company announced the upcoming payment security feature at Google I/O, saying that there will be support for autofilling details to help speed up transactions.

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While Chromebooks are often great, there is a big problem -- a lack of AMD processors. Most laptops running Chrome OS are powered by Intel or ARM-based chips. Wouldn't it be great if AMD released some new specialized processors designed for Chromebooks specifically?

Well, folks, AMD has done exactly that with the all-new Ryzen 5000 C-Series processors. There are four such chips coming to market -- the dual-core Ryzen 3 5125C, quad-core Ryzen 3 5425C, hexa-core Ryzen 5 5625C, and octa-core Ryzen 7 5825C. These processors are based on Zen 3 architecture and AMD says they will be paired with Wi-Fi 6E/Bluetooth 5.2 modules -- likely its own RZ600 series radio chips it co-designed with MediaTek.

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As we mark World Password Day, three of the major technology players are announcing a significant step on the road to a passwordless future.

Over the next year Google plans to implement passwordless support in Android and Chrome. Apple and Microsoft have also announced that they will offer support in iOS, MacOS, Safari, Windows and Edge.

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