chrome

Tue
05
Mar
John Lister's picture

No More Passwords: 'Keys' to Become New Standard

The demise of the password has come a step closer this week with the adoption of a new standard for physical "keys" for logging in to websites. "WebAuthn," as it's called, makes it easier for sites to let users log in through a physical method - ... rather than relying on users having to remember a password. These methods range from USB devices that act like a physical key to biometric devices such as fingerprint or eye scanners. The big hope is that such devices reduce the need to rely on passwords which can be guessed or stolen in data breaches. Browsers Already On Board Having a ... (view more)

Tue
18
Dec
John Lister's picture

Chrome To Combat Sticky 'Back Button' Websites

Google is to fight back against websites that make it deliberately hard for users to leave their pages. It's tweaking the way the Chrome browser responds to the back button. The back button sounds like something simple that would intuitive take the ... user to the page they were on before navigating to the current page. However, the way it works has proven open to abuse. In reality the back button doesn't reverse the most recent "move" between pages. Instead it tells the browser to visit the most recent page in its history list. To the user it makes no difference, but to the browser it's ... (view more)

Wed
05
Dec
John Lister's picture

Report: Microsoft to Ditch Edge Browser

Sources close to Microsoft suggest that the company may ditch its Edge browser as the default option in Windows 10. Its replacement would run on the same underlying code as Google's Chrome. While Edge has failed to win the hearts of most users, it ... appears the main reason behind the move is that site developers are tired of having to do extra work to make their sites work on the browser. The most recent statistics show Chrome dominating the browser market, being used on more than 70 per cent of computers, compared with just four percent running Edge. Given that Edge is the default option on ... (view more)

Wed
07
Nov
John Lister's picture

Chrome To Block Ads On Scam Websites

Google's Chrome browser will soon block all ads on sites that have "abusive experiences" for users. It's designed as a way to put financial pressure on scammers. It's a new step following on from an existing attempt to protect users against ... misleading websites. 'Misleading' has a couple of meanings in this context. One is sites that carry pop-up or other ads that falsely claim to be system warnings, such as those which state the user's computer has malware. In this case, the user either downloads (and pays for) fake security software to "fix" the "problem", or is directed ... (view more)

Thu
04
Oct
John Lister's picture

Google Cracks Down On Browser Scams

Google is taking several more steps to make browser extensions safer. It's giving users more control and cracking down on some common rogue practices. The changes are to Chrome's extensions. Also known as add-ons with some browsers, extensions are ... third-party tools designed to improve the online experience using a web browser. For example, an Amazon extension lets users send text on a web page (such as a lengthy article) straight to their Kindle e-reader as a document with one click. By nature, extensions need some degree of access to and control over Chrome itself, which sometimes means the ... (view more)

Tue
18
Sep
John Lister's picture

Microsoft Warns Users Not to Install Chrome Browser

Microsoft is asking users to think twice before installing browsers such as Firefox and Chrome. A "warning message" is being tested in Windows 10. The message has been spotted by people in the Windows Insider program that lets them get early access ... to new features. The idea is to test the features on computers being used out in the 'real world' rather than in Microsoft labs. One such user has posted a screenshot of a message that appeared when they attempted to install Mozilla's Firefox browser. It reads "You already have Microsoft Edge - the safer, faster browser for Windows 10." ... (view more)

Wed
18
Jul
John Lister's picture

Chrome to become Slower, Use More Memory to Tackle Malware

Google is updating the Chrome browser to give it better defenses against major security threats. It comes at the price of reduced performance and a larger memory footprint. The changes are to address two security bugs labeled Meltdown and Spectre by ... researchers. They take advantage of a flaw in almost every computer processor built since 1995, which is (as of this day) 100% of all computers, tablets, smartphones, laptops - and anything else that uses a processor. The flaw is in regard to a processor feature, which is designed to speed up a computer's response time. It works by using spare ... (view more)

Thu
31
May
John Lister's picture

Chrome Browser Theme 'Free Movie' Offer is a Scam

A series of Google Chrome browser 'tools' that claims to offer free movies is the first part of a convoluted credit card scam. The people behind it seem to be playing the numbers game. The tools are distributed via the Chrome Web Store. They aren't ... the usual apps (which run independently) or extensions (which add extra functionality to the Chrome Browser), but rather themes. The idea is they change the appearance of the browser in a similar way to the early 2000s craze for installing custom-made desktop wallpaper. While a browser theme shouldn't be anything but purely decorative, the ones in ... (view more)

Thu
05
Apr
John Lister's picture

Chrome Browser PC Scans Come As Surprise

Google Chrome users have been surprised to discover that the Chrome browser scans their computers in search of malware. It doesn't appear to be a reason to panic, but arguably Google could have been more up front about it. The scans were spotted by ... Kelly Shortidge who works at a cyber security company. She noticed that the chrome.exe executable file (which is visible in Windows Task Manager) was scanning files in her Windows documents folder. On further investigation, she discovered Chrome has been doing this since around October, 2017. The scans are being done through Chrome Cleanup, a tool ... (view more)

Tue
20
Feb
John Lister's picture

Google Exposes Unfixed Microsoft Edge Security Flaw

Google has revealed a security flaw with the Microsoft Edge browser before Microsoft released a patch. It's a controversial move with arguments across both the tech and security industries. The flaw in question is somewhat complicated. In very ... simplified terms, the flaw is to do with how Microsoft Edge converts website code into what users see on their computer screen when visiting a website. Google realized that it could work out precisely when the browser would access part of the computer's memory and use this knowledge to effectively set a booby trap. That could then force the computer to ... (view more)

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