browsers - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• IE9 to let users block tracking

  The next version of Internet Explorer will let users turn on "tracking protection," a new mechanism that will block specified third-party sites from tracking users, Microsoft said.

• Google Chrome netbook: What to expect

  Google has issued invitations for a media event on Tuesday, and all signs point to some sort of official unveiling of Google-branded netbooks built on the Chrome OS. Just in case you haven't been keeping up on the Chrome OS news, here is a little background and some idea of what you can expect from a Google netbook.

• Firefox 4 offers silent add-on updates

  Firefox 4 will automatically update the browser's extensions, a Mozilla interface designer said Sunday.

• Microsoft's 'China problem' means IE6 lives on

  A Microsoft executive's self-described job of driving Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) into extinction will be difficult unless he can move Chinese users off the aged browser.

• Google Chrome 8: What's new, and what's next

  The blogosphere may be buzzing about Google's Chrome OS and Chrome Web Store this week, but Google itself is focusing on its original Chrome product: The Chrome Web browser.

• Google quashes 13 Chrome bugs, adds PDF viewer

  Google on Thursday patched 13 vulnerabilities in Chrome as it shifted the most stable edition of the browser to version 8.

• Google, Adobe sandbox Flash for Chrome to protect users

  Adobe and Google have collaborated to put the Flash Player plug-in inside a sandbox within Chrome, an effort by the two companies to better protect users from attacks.

• Internet Explorer 6 usage plummets...finally

  Internet Explorer 6 was originally released in the summer of 2001. At the time, it was a significant step forward for Microsoft and helped to establish Internet Explorer as a dominant force in Web browsers. The venerable browser has put up a good fight, but new usage statistics suggest it may finally be on its proverbial death bed.

• Google's Chrome web store looks set to launch

  Though most recently expected to debut in October, Google's Chrome Web Store may now finally be on the verge of launching.

• Five best browser innovations of 2010

  The browser wars have changed. During the last couple of years, the four or five leading browsers have all greatly improved -- to the point that the choice often comes down to taste or political conviction, as in "I hate Microsoft and I'll never use IE."

• Android browser flaw exposes user data

  A vulnerability in the Android browser could permit an attacker to steal the user's local data, according to a report yesterday from security expert, Thomas Cannon.

• Opera upgrades mobile browser for Symbian

  Looking to speed up browsing on the Symbian platform, Opera Software released on Wednesday Opera Mobile 10.1 for Symbian/Series 60 phones, offering faster JavaScript performance, the company said.

• Mozilla confirms an app store is on the way

  Along with its audited financial statements indicating a revenue increase of 34 percent last year, Mozilla late last week also published a "State of Mozilla" report providing a glimpse at what the organization is planning for the future.

• Search deals generate 97% of Mozilla's income

  Although Firefox's usage share has been stalled for the last year, Mozilla's revenues were up 34% in 2009, largely on the back of money paid the organization by Google and other search engines.

• Apple patches critical 'drive-by' Safari bugs

  Apple today patched 27 vulnerabilities in Safari for Mac OS X and Windows, 85 per cent of them critical bugs that could be exploited to hijack Macs or PCs.