IE just hit version 9, Firefox hit version 4, and Chrome – the newest kid on the block – is already at version 12. That’s not to say these numbers can’t be inflated, but a big portion of the blame can be put on Google’s six week release cyclce for the product. This time around we’re getting some improved security features, increased privacy, and 3D CSS.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been added:
- Safe Browsing technology, which implements the Safe Browsing API to protect users from malicious sites and downloads. When a user tries to grab a program that registers with Google’s database of malicious distributors or files, users receive a warning and must confirm whether or not they still want the file.
Google has made it clear that they have taken extensive precautions to ensure that “malicious content can be detected without Chrome or Google ever having to know about the URLs you visit or the files you download.” In other words, that video player you downloaded for that “special” movie – Google doesn’t track, tally, or store what you did.
- You can delete object stored locally in Flash programs (known as LSOs) directly through Chrome. Chrome is the first browser to offer this, although Adobe has allowed users to delete the LSOs through an online application.
- 3D CSS has hit the browser. In addition to providing support for the code type in all sites, this improvement will bolster the performance of many websites and apps that feature 3D content. You can check out the 3D CSS Chrome Experiment to goof around with it yourself.
Those who are currently using Chrome should see an update icon on their “Settings” wrench in the coming days. If you’re especially eager to get on this new version, however, you can download it at this site.
[via the Google Chrome Blog]
