CNET: Chrome 92 blocks phishing attacks faster and gets 3 other security protections. “A new version of Google Chrome, released Tuesday, blocks phishing attacks 50 times faster and uses less battery power in the process. It’s one of several new security abilities built into Chrome 92 as part of its effort to squelch the risks of going online.”
Tom’s Guide: Update Google Chrome now to fix this dangerous zero-day flaw . “Few details are yet available about the zero-day flaw. Google’s Chrome blog post yesterday (July 15) notes that it involves ‘type confusion in V8,’ the JavaScript rendering engine used by Chrome, and that ‘Google is aware of reports that an exploit for CVE-2021-30563 [the flaw’s catalogue number] exists in the wild.’”
TechRadar: Google finds zero-day security flaws in all your favorite browsers. “DIscovered by Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), the four vulnerabilities in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and WebKit, the browser engine used by Apple’s Safari, were used as a part of three different campaigns.”
Ubergizmo: Mozilla’s Firefox Lite Browser Has Been Killed Off. “The company has announced that they will be ending both development and support for Firefox Lite because they say that the current version of Firefox for mobile is fast enough. However, based on the comments and feedback users have been providing, the Lite version has also gotten a bit too big and bloated for a supposed ‘Lite’ app, which kind of renders it useless.”
Engadget: Vivaldi adds mail, calendar, RSS and translation tools to its privacy-focused browser. “Vivaldi has released a major update for its eponymous web browser for privacy-minded power users. Version 4.0 bring with it a translation tool, along with beta versions of Vivaldi Mail, Calendar, and Feed Reader. The update is available now on Windows, Mac and Linux and Android devices.”
CNET: Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge join forces to improve browser extensions. “The teams behind the Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge browsers have banded together to improve extensions, the add-ons you can download to customize the software. That should mean your extensions will work better and come with a better security foundation to protect you from malware.”
BetaNews: Microsoft is finally ready to kill off Internet Explorer once and for all… for most people. “Internet Explorer may be a stalwart of the world of web browsers, but it has also been an object of ridicule and derision for pretty much its entire life. Since the emergence of the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, the writing has been on the wall for the browser just about everyone loves to hate, but IE has been lingering for longer than many people would have expected. But now Microsoft is finally ready to pull the plug. Sort of.”
Neowin: Vivaldi 3.8 banishes annoying cookie messages on desktop and mobile. “The web browser maker, Vivaldi, has announced the release of Vivaldi 3.8 on desktop and on mobile. Both come with unique features specific to their environments but they both share a new feature that banishes those annoying cookie pop-ups from appearing.”
Tom’s Guide: Update Google Chrome now to fix these three urgent security flaws. “Google has updated the desktop version of its Chrome browser for Windows, Mac and Linux yet again, pushing the version number to 90.0.4430.93 and fixing nine security flaws, at least three of which merit the ‘High’ severity rating.”
The Verge: Google introducing a feature in Chrome 90 to create links to highlighted text on a webpage. “An upcoming feature in Chrome 90 will allow users to create a link to a section of a website that they’ve highlighted. First launched as a browser extension called Link to Text Fragment last year, Google has now added the feature within Chrome itself.”
ZDNet: The good and the bad with Chrome web browser’s new security defaults. “First, the good news. Starting with the mid-April release of Google’s Chrome 90 web browser, Chrome will default to trying to load the version of a website that’s been secured with a Transport Layer Security (TLS). These are the sites that show a closed lock in the Chrome Omnibox, what most of us know as the Chrome address (URL) bar. The bad news is that just because a site is secured by HTTPS doesn’t mean it’s trustworthy.”
Neowin: Firefox 87 reduces ETP site breakage with SmartBlock. “Mozilla has announced the release of Firefox 87 which introduces several features including SmartBlock which aims to reduce website breakage while using private browsing mode with Strict Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP). SmartBlock provides local scripts to fill the place of those blocked by third-parties, helping websites to function properly.”
The Register: Opera loses Touch with iOS app: Browser maker locks and loads the rebrandogun . “As with the iOS versions of Microsoft’s Edge, Google’s Chrome, Vivaldi and so on, Opera has attempted to differentiate itself via the bits around the core rendering engine (what the company refers to as ‘the personal browser experience’). As well as the ad and cookie blocking that has become common among browsers, Opera added its Flow technology to the mobile browser at its 2018 launch to facilitate the sharing of files between desktop and device.”
TechCrunch: Sidekick Browser wants to be a productivity-honed ‘work OS’ on Chromium. “Fire up a web browser and it’s hard to deny it’s the best of times for knowledge work. Yet working across multiple browser tabs and windows can feel like the friction-filled, frustrating worst. This is the problem Sidekick Browser is taking aim at by adding a productivity-focused layer atop Chromium that it bills as a ‘work OS’.”
