Google has rolled out a Chrome browser update featuring hardware-accelerated 3D graphics capabilities, additional privacy controls, and improved security features. On Tuesday, Chrome 12 was automatically installed on many PCs running earlier editions of Google’s browser.
Chrome 12 will display a warning about web sites a user is about to visit that are suspected of phishing — attempting to trick the user into sharing personal or other sensitive information. Warnings also will appear in the browser window about any web sites containing malware designed to steal personal information.
“We’ve carefully designed this feature so that malicious content can be detected without Chrome or Google ever having to know about the URLs you visit or the files you download,” Chrome’s development team wrote in a blog.
Improved Graphics
Chrome 12 gives web surfers more control over the tracking files that web sites store on PCs, such as the local shared object (LSO) data files generated by Adobe Systems’ Flash technology. These so-called “Flash cookies” can now be managed from within Chrome 12 instead of a special tool created by Adobe for this purpose.
“We’ve worked closely with Adobe to integrate Flash LSO deletion directly into Chrome, making it easier for you to manage your online privacy,” Chrome’s development team explained.
Chrome 12 also sports improved graphics capabilities such as support for hardware-accelerated 3D cascading style sheet (CSS) and application designs. “You’ll get a snazzier experience in some web pages and web apps that choose to implement 3D effects,” the developers noted.
However, probably the single most important feature that all Chrome versions have is automatic updating, noted Al Hilwa, director of applications software development at IDC. “This means everyone will be able to take advantage of the improvements quickly, which is saying a lot in the software industry,” Hilwa said.
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