Articles about web browser

Google has used the latest version of Chrome to give users new ways to personalize the browser with backgrounds, themes and color schemes.

While some options, such as themes and colors, affect the entire browser, others are only visible on the New Tab page -- such as background images. Google says that it I has a wide range of "special artist collections commissioned by Asian & Pacific Islander, LGBTQ+, Latino, Black and Native American artists", and promises that more are coming later this year.

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Web browser Brave has long had a focus on privacy, making it the browser of choice for those with concerns about online tracking and the like. Although Brave may be regarded as one of the most private browsers available, its developers continue to work on new innovations; the latest is Forgetful Browsing.

This new feature makes it possible to always clear cookies and other storage when a site is closed, helping to eliminate the potential for tracking and bringing other benefits. Forgetful Browsing can be enabled on a site-by-site basis, or applied across the board, and it prevents sites from using trackers to identify you, bypasses article viewing limits, and ensures that you are logged out of sites when you leave them.

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Visit a secure website (that is, one that loads over HTTPS) in Chrome, and you'll see a lock icon in the address bar. But this is set to change. Google has announced plans to remove the familiar padlock icon, providing a number of reasons for a decision that many users will regard as a step in the wrong direction.

Among the arguments in favor of removing the icon is that HTTPS is the norm rather than the exception, and that the simple fact a site uses a secure connection is in no way indicative of its inherent trustworthiness.

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Google Chrome has a long-held -- and much-deserved -- reputation for being a resource hog. To help counter this the company recently introduced Memory Saver, a feature that reduces the browser's memory consumption by putting inactive tabs to sleep.

This was an addition that went down well with most users, but there were some who were unhappy with the lack of control they had over the feature. This is about to change, with Google working to introduce new settings to gives users more option when it comes to memory management.

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There are very few web browsers that are not accused of being slow and bloated at some stage, and Microsoft Edge is no different.

Looking to give users more control, Microsoft is looking at ways to give people a more personalized and faster browsing experience. The company's solution is, perhaps, an obvious one -- introducing the option to disable unwanted features to remove unnecessary bloat and speed things up.

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Google has issued an emergency update for Chrome which should be installed as soon as possible to plug a vulnerability known to be under active exploitation. The update is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

In releasing Chrome v112.0.5615.121 for desktop to the stable channel, Google addresses the high severity CVE-2023-2033 as well as issuing other fixes. Described as a "type confusion in V8 in Google Chrome", CVE-2023-2033 is being exploited in the wild, hence the need for the emergency patch.

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When asked to select the most significant cyber threats to their organizations, browsing Threats topped the list, with 43 percent of CISOs ranking it as a top concern.

A new report from RedAccess, based on responses from 300 chief information security officers across the US and UK, looks at the impact of hybrid working on security posture and the new threats that it introduces. Insecure browsing is ranked as the #1 hybrid/remote work security concern that puts organizations at the most risk.

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Microsoft is working to bring a cryptocurrency wallet feature to its Edge browser.

Known simply as "Crypto wallet" the feature is currently undergoing development and is being trialed on a test group of unknown size. Microsoft highlights the benefits of having the non-custodial wallet embedded in Edge, eliminating the need for a browser extension.

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With the release of Chrome 111, Google is waving goodbye to the Chrome Cleanup Tool that has been available for a number of years.

After 8 years of service, Google has decided the Chrome Cleanup Tool -- which, the company explains, helps users to "recover from unexpected settings changes, and to detect and remove unwanted software" -- is simply no longer needed.

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For anyone who struggles to remember the growing list of endlessly complicated passwords needed to gain access to the plethora of online accounts we all now have, a password manager is near-essential. Chrome, like many of the web browsers, has long-featured a tool for storing and automatically entering passwords, and now Google is giving it a much-needed upgrade.

Until now, Chrome's password manager has been functional, but far from being adorned with bells and whistles. Now Google is giving it a new user interface as well as an important injection of new features.

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Since consigning Internet Explorer to the trash can and adopting the Chromium engine, Microsoft has developed Edge quite rapidly and it has evolved into a browser that does a lot to make up for its predecessor.

And Microsoft is showing no signs of slowing down. The company is currently working away on a revamped version of Edge, code-named Phoenix. In addition to a more Windows 11-like look, there are some new features on the horizon, including the ability to split an Edge window into two tabs -- and you can even try this out in the preview builds of Edge right now to get a taste of what the future holds.

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It does not seem all that long since browser version numbers were single digits, but Microsoft Edge has now reached the 111 milestone -- for Insiders on the Dev channel, at least.

Available for Windows, iOS, Android and Linux (with the macOS edition promised "at a later date"), Microsoft Edge 111.0.1619.2 includes a number of interesting new features and settings. Highlights include a new option to personalize top side in the Sidebar, the ability to hide duplicate entries from History, and new protections against unwanted Start page and search engine changes.

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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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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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