CNET: How to improve your privacy in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge and Brave. “Privacy is now a priority among browser makers, but they may not go as far as you want in fighting pervasive ad industry trackers on the web. Here’s a look at how you can crank up your privacy settings to outsmart that online tracking.”
Chrome
Neowin: Google is working on a ‘Read Later’ feature for Chrome
Neowin: Google is working on a ‘Read Later’ feature for Chrome. “Google is working on a new ‘Read Later’ feature for chrome that will let users set tabs aside for reading or accessing later. References to the feature were found in Chrome Canary’s experimental flags (via Techdows), with a Chromium entry also being spotted. However, the feature seems to be in the early stages of testing since enabling the flag does not really enable the feature in the browser.”
MakeUseOf: Best Chrome Extensions to Refresh the New Tab Page
MakeUseOf: Best Chrome Extensions to Refresh the New Tab Page. “Google Chrome’s new tab page is very minimal with a few quick links to the most viewed websites. For many, this default new tab page is boring and uninspiring, and the lack of customization options make it unpopular with the crowd. Luckily, there are lots of good chrome extensions which can totally revamp your default new tab page to a more useful one.”
Tom’s Guide: Don’t fall for this Google Chrome email update scam
Tom’s Guide: Don’t fall for this Google Chrome email update scam. “The latest wave of attacks involved 18,000 malicious emails sent in June and July to recipients in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K. and the U.S. The emails prompt the recipient to visit a website of interest to persons in that chosen field. The site is legitimate, but it has been corrupted by an injection of the malicious JavaScript-based framework known as SocGholish, or TA569.”
Neowin: Chrome OS 84 begins rolling out with new Overview mode features and more
Neowin: Chrome OS 84 begins rolling out with new Overview mode features and more. “Just a week after releasing Chrome version 84 to the desktop, Google is beginning to roll out Chrome OS 84 that brings with it a few new features. These features include enhancements to the Overview mode for better split-screen usage, improvements to the virtual keyboard, and added capability to the ChromeVox accessibility feature.”
Neowin: Google Chrome’s new feature tests promise up to 28% battery usage improvements
Neowin: Google Chrome’s new feature tests promise up to 28% battery usage improvements. “Google is testing a change to its Chrome browser that will let it consume anywhere between 13% to 28% less battery on devices. The update relates to tweaking the JavaScript timer wake up frequency for the tabs that have been hidden or inactive for five minutes or more, resulting in lesser power consumption.”
How to clean up Google Chrome when it’s slow: Notifications, search engine, more (9to5 Google)
9to5 Google: How to clean up Google Chrome when it’s slow: Notifications, search engine, more. “These days, you can’t get hardly anything done without a good, working web browser, but what do you do when Google Chrome starts acting up? Here’s a guide for how to clean up some of Google Chrome’s most common issues including slow loading, excess notifications, using the wrong search engine, and more.”
BetaNews: Google teams up with Parallels to allow Chromebooks to run Windows apps
BetaNews: Google teams up with Parallels to allow Chromebooks to run Windows apps. “Initially derided as a limited modern take on netbooks, Chromebooks have gathered loyal followers over the years as app support grows. In addition to web apps, there is also support for Android and Linux apps, but Chromebook owners have long dreamed of the day they can run Windows software. Thanks to a partnership between Google and virtualization specialist Parallels it will not be too long before Windows apps in Chrome OS becomes a reality. The bad news is that there is a slight caveat.”
The Next Web: Chrome will soon block ads that unnecessarily tax your CPU and battery
The Next Web: Chrome will soon block ads that unnecessarily tax your CPU and battery. “Google revealed it’s taking steps to wipe intrusive ads from its browser experience, particularly ones that consume a disproportionate amount of battery, processing power, and bandwidth without the knowledge of users. Such examples include ads with hidden cryptocurrency miners or poor network usage optimizations.”
Neowin: Google is bringing Live Caption to Chrome, now available in the Canary channel
Neowin: Google is bringing Live Caption to Chrome, now available in the Canary channel. “Last year at I/O, Google announced a series of new accessibility features for Android, one of which was Live Caption. Essentially, this capability allows for a device to recognize speech in any video the user might be watching on the phone, and add subtitles to the video in real-time. The feature ended up rolling out to the Pixel 4 family in October, followed by other Pixels and select Android devices. Now, the feature seems to be coming to the desktop thanks to Chrome.”
Make Tech Easier: 4 Best Reader Extensions for Chrome Reviewed
Make Tech Easier: 4 Best Reader Extensions for Chrome Reviewed . “The Internet is a simultaneously informative and distracting place, replete with information but also with a thousand panes, links, sidebars and banners that try to pull you away from what you’re reading at a given moment. A reader extension helps keep you focused by removing all the extraneous bits and just leaving you with the stuff you’re reading. These extensions also let you change font sizes, styles, and backgrounds for optimized reading. They’re handy, so we’ve decided to test four of the best reader extensions for Google Chrome and tell you just how good they really are.”
Make Tech Easier: 5 Chrome Extensions to Speed Up Your Browsing
Make Tech Easier: 5 Chrome Extensions to Speed Up Your Browsing . “Chrome is known as the fastest browser, but for some people even fastest isn’t enough. Moreover, Chrome is also a huge memory hog and may lead to a slower browsing experience on low-end devices. Thankfully, there are many Chrome extensions available that will speed things up for you exponentially.”
CNET: Chrome now can stop an important type of network snooping
CNET: Chrome now can stop an important type of network snooping. “Google Chrome has begun locking down an important type of communication that can leak private information to internet service providers or others who can snoop your web browser’s network activity. Chrome 83, released Tuesday, incorporates a new technology called DNS over HTTPS.”
Google Chrome security alert impacts billions: What to do now (Tom’s Guide)
Tom’s Guide: Google Chrome security alert impacts billions: What to do now . “Google last week issued an update to its Chrome web browser that includes a fix for a critical security flaw. But because it doesn’t want evil hackers exploiting the vulnerability, the browser maker didn’t give many details other than that the flaw involves ‘use after free in speech recognizer.’ Thanks to Sophos security researcher Paul Ducklin, we have a somewhat better idea about the fix inside Chrome version 81.0.4044.113 for Windows, Mac and Linux users — and why and how you should check to make sure you have the update.” If you’re using Linux, check to see if you’ve upgraded — I had to reinstall Chrome to get the update.
Exclusive: Google removes 49 Chrome extensions caught stealing crypto-wallet keys (ZDNet)
ZDNet: Exclusive: Google removes 49 Chrome extensions caught stealing crypto-wallet keys. “Google has removed 49 Chrome extensions from the Web Store that posed as legitimate cryptocurrency wallet apps but contained malicious code that stole crypto-wallet private keys, mnemonic phrases, and other raw secrets.”
