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Microsoft's new Edge logo erases bad memories of Internet Explorer
Now that Microsoft Edge has a new Chromium-powered engine, the company is ready to give the browser a fresh look to match. In the wake of an Easter egg hunt, the software giant has revealed a redesigned, ocean wave-inspired logo for Edge that bears precious little resemblance to the Internet Explorer-inspired icon of old. The "E" is there if you look closely, but it's evident that Microsoft would rather you not associate the new app too closely with the days of IE-only web pages and glaring security holes.
Microsoft's Chromium Edge browser is ready for beta testing
After testing its next-generation Chromium Edge browser for several months, Microsoft announced that it's now ready for a slightly more stable beta release. Windows 10 and MacOS users can now snag the beta, which is more suited to regular users than the experimental Canary and Developer Edge builds. It'll be updated every six weeks, compared to the daily and weekly refreshes for the other releases. Still, you can expect to see all of the major features we've been expecting in the new Edge, including a dark mode, online tracking prevention, and of course, the speed boost from Chromium. The company says this will be the last test version of the browser before its official release -- unfortunately, we still don't know when that will be.
Microsoft starts testing Internet Explorer mode for Edge
Microsoft's ever-expanding tests for its Chromium-based Edge browser have reached the corporate crowd. The software firm has started enabling enterprise features in Edge's Dev builds, most notably the vaunted Internet Explorer mode. If a company absolutely needs IE 11 to visit a legacy site, you can try the option without having to switch browsers or give up the creature comforts of the modern web. IT managers can even create a site list that automatically flips to the legacy mode.
Brave web browser is really fast at blocking ads
Google recently unveiled "Manifest V3," a new suite of proposed Chromium browser changes that would make it a lot harder to block ads. Now, the third-party browser Brave, which uses Chromium technology, has essentially defied Google by unveiling extremely rapid ad-blocking tech (in beta) that's much, much faster than before, but without the Manifest V3 limitations.
Microsoft brings tracking prevention to its Edge browser
Recently Mozilla has updated Firefox with features that block companies from tracking you across different websites, and now Microsoft is testing similar tech in its Chromium-based Edge browser. Insider beta testers with the latest Canary release on Windows can try it by enabling a browser flag (enter - "edge://flags#edge-tracking-prevention" in the address bar) then restarting.
Microsoft's reworked Edge browser is available to try on Windows 7
Microsoft has expanded the reach of its Chromium-based Edge browser to one of its most important audiences: namely, people who have to (or want to) use older versions of Windows. The company has released Canary channel preview builds of Edge for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users. They're rough around the edges like most pre-release software. The feature set will be "largely the same" as you'd get on Windows 10, however, including the upcoming Internet Explorer mode to satisfy business users who need compatibility.
Microsoft releases first test version of its Edge browser for Mac
Last month, Microsoft released a preview of its new, Chromium-powered Edge browser for Windows 10. Now, you can test drive the browser with macOS, too. For the most part, the macOS Canary build comes with the same features you'll find in the Windows 10 preview, but Microsoft promises subtle changes to "make it feel at home on a Mac."
Microsoft Edge is getting an Internet Explorer mode
There are some big changes ahead for Microsoft's Edge browser. In December, the company announced that it'll be moving over to Chromium, the open source project that powers Google's Chrome. But that's not all: Microsoft announced today that the next version of Edge will come with an Internet Explorer mode, allowing you to run older websites that don't support modern browser tech. That probably won't mean much to most consumers, but it's a boon for corporate users and their IT departments, as they're often stuck using aging web apps.
Microsoft releases first test builds of its Chromium-based Edge browser
Microsoft has released the first test versions of its new-look, Chromium-powered Edge browser on Windows 10. The Canary preview is updated every day and is more likely to have bugs, while the Developer version will have weekly updates. A more-stable beta build (which will be on a six-week update cycle) will be available in the future, and the full release will follow. But if you're happy to take a chance and check out the latest version of Edge sooner rather than later, now's your opportunity.
Tesla's in-car browser will be upgraded to Chromium
Tesla's in-car browser is pretty infamous for being wonky, so it didn't come as a surprise when someone told Elon Musk on Twitter that they wish it worked consistently. The CEO's response? Tesla is about to upgrade the in-car browser to Chromium, Google's open-source browser project. That doesn't mean the vehicles will be getting Chrome: the Chromium project merely generates code for Chrome and other browsers from companies and vendors outside of Google, including Opera. It's likely that the Chromium code will just power Tesla's upgraded browser.
Chrome OS will block the USB ports on locked Chromebooks
Even when your Chromebook is locked, bad actors can access it using a "Rubber Ducky," or malicious USB drive that mimics a keyboard. Chrome OS will soon put a stop to those attacks with a feature called USBGuard, seen in a Canary Chrome build by Chrome Story. It stops the operating system from reading code or executing commands from USB devices when your Chromebook is locked. The feature is similar to what Apple introduced in a recent build of IOS 11 that stops USB activity if a device has been locked for more than an hour.
Chrome may stop websites from hijacking your browser's back button
Surf the web for long enough and you'll invariably run into a site that refuses to acknowledge your browser's back button, usually because it wants to force ads down your throat. Google might soon put a stop to those shady redirects, though. Recently published Chromium code changes show that Google is considering a way to fight back button hijacking. Chrome would look for attempts to manipulate your browser history and would flag or skip entries that you didn't specifically request.
Microsoft's new Edge browser will support Chrome extensions
Microsoft's upcoming Chromium-based Edge browser will support Chrome's vast collection of extensions. The software's project manager, Kyle Alden, revealed the answer to the question on everyone's lips on the Windows 10 subreddit, reports Thurrotts. "It's our intention to support existing Chrome extensions," he said in reply to a query about how the new browser will function.
Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge browser will be available on Mac
With its share of the browser market dwindling despite coming pre-installed on Windows machines, Microsoft is calling an audible with Edge. Following rumors earlier this week, the company announced today that it is is overhauling the browser using the open source Chromium project that is the basis for Google Chrome. The retooled version of the browser will be available on Mac, Windows 7 and Windows 8 in addition to Windows 10.
Microsoft rumor points to a Chromium replacement for Edge
Three years after arriving along with Windows 10, Microsoft's Edge browser has added features and showed some good statistical results, but it hasn't pulled many users away from the competition. Now, Windows Central reports that Microsoft could start over with a new browser built on Chromium, the open source base behind Google Chrome and other browsers like Brave, Amazon Silk and Opera. The rumored codename for the project is Anaheim, and this news pops up after a recent post by 9to5Google pointing out a number of code commits to the Chromium project by Microsoft developers. At the time, the news centered around the possibility of a Windows 10 on ARM-compatible version of Chrome, but this would represent an even larger step. So why would they make this move, perhaps as early as the first half of next year? Windows Central speculates that it could keep rendering consistent with Chrome while using the default browser to keep web developers happy, Microsoft watcher "Walking Cat" notes Edge supports multiple rendering engines already, and Swift on Security points to the popularity of ElectronJS in apps requiring native optimizations to improve performance.
Chrome gains fingerprint authentication on Android and Mac
Chrome's tenth birthday came and went, now it's back to the betas for the new look browser. Number 70 touts access to a device's fingerprint or Touch ID sensor for Mac and Android and "shape identification". The latter relies on three different APIs to detect faces (including the eyes, nose and mouth), barcodes (which decodes QR codes into strings), and Latin text in images across the web. Meanwhile, the Web Authentication API enables fingerprint ID on Mac and Android by default, which developers can use on websites as Two Factor Authentication (for example).
Chrome is killing its 'Secure' URL label in September
The Chrome browser's upcoming versions will focus on highlighting its negative security indicators, even going as far as sunsetting its positive ones. Chrome Security Product Manager Emily Schechter has announced that Chrome 69, which will be available in September, will stop marking HTTPS sites as "Secure" on the address bar. Why? Well, because Google wants the default state to be secure. The tech giant already revealed earlier this year that all HTTP-only sites will be marked "Not Secure" in July. It looks like the Chrome team will also take things a step further by October: starting that month, the usually gray "Not Secure" warning will flash red as soon as you start typing in data on HTTP pages.
Samsung inexplicably opens up its Android browser
Samsung has announced that the new version of its browser, Samsung Internet, can be used on any relatively new Android phone, which is good news if you're bored of existing mobile browsers that already do the job perfectly well. The Korean tech giant made its software ambitions known in March when, in response to "many requests", it released a beta version of Samsung Internet (5.4) compatible with Google devices such as the Pixel and Nexus series. Now, the v6 beta version is being released for any phone running Android 5.0, aka Lollipop, or later.
Google's next trick for Android is 'copyless pasting'
Google's recognition for context goes beyond conversing with Assistant, it would seem. The search juggernaut is working on a feature that "thinks" of what you were looking at in Chrome and makes it available in other apps. It's called "Copyless Paste" for now and a glimpse at the code documentation should give a few clues as to how it works:
Chrome quietly received a big 3D graphics boost
Did you recently notice a boost to 3D web graphics while using Chrome? It's not just you. Google has revealed that Chrome 56 and later releases support the WebGL 2.0 standard. You should see faster performance, new texture types and visual effects (such as volume-based effects and tone mapping). And importantly, it's now on par with the same OpenGL ES 3 spec you see in newer mobile games -- it might now be possible to port your favorite phone title to Chrome without losing graphical detail.
