Browsers

Taking a page from Opera and Amazon playbooks, then writing on it some more, Google is using its own servers to speed up page loading on its mobile version of Chrome.

The feature, called proxy browsing, is enabled in the Chrome 26 beta for Android, though it must be manually activated through the chrome://flags interface by selecting "Enable Data Compression Proxy." With proxy browsing, a server with a fast Internet connection and more processing horsepower than a mobile device loads the Web page on behalf of that mobile device.

The chief advantage of the approach is that … Read more

Google is finally adding a full password sync feature to Chrome.

Currently in beta, Chrome 26 is due to receive the new sync feature over the coming days, according to the Chrome team's latest blog.

The password sync will work only with devices running Chrome version 26 or higher. But that includes both the desktop and mobile editions. Chrome users will be able to keep their Web site passwords in sync across their computers, smartphones, and tablets. The Chrome mobile browser supports Android and Apple's iOS.

Chrome already offers a way to save and sync your passwords, but … Read more

Microsoft is to learn the hard way that "a deal is a deal," at least in the eyes of the European Union, by being forced to swallow a massive fine for breaching earlier promises made with the 27-nation bloc.

The software giant has been fined 561 million euros ($731 million) by European authorities for falling foul of previous antitrust settlement conditions.

The software giant breached a settlement that it signed with the European Commission in 2009, which mandated that it display a "browser choice" screen on all existing and new PCs in the region.

Europe's … Read more

The first results of Opera's WebKit brain transplant are now available for people to try: a beta version of Opera for Android.

The new version uses Android-native user-interface elements but preserves many Opera features such as Speed Dial. It gets some new features, too, such as Off-road Mode to enable a proxy-browsing technology designed for slow network connections and the Discovery tool for people who want to browse content tailored to their interests.

The Oslo, Norway-based company announced in February that it's scrapped its own Presto engine, except in its TV browser product line, in favor of the … Read more

In response to discovering that hackers were actively exploiting two vulnerabilities in Java running in Web browsers, Oracle has released an emergency patch that it says should deal with the problem.

"These vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication, i.e., they may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password," Oracle wrote in a security alert today. "For an exploit to be successful, an unsuspecting user running an affected release in a browser must visit a malicious web page that leverages these vulnerabilities. Successful exploits can impact the availability, integrity, and … Read more

Google Chrome has matured from a lightweight and fast browsing alternative into an innovative, standard-bearing browser that people love. It's powerful enough to drive its own operating system, Chrome OS. The browser that people can use today, Chrome 25, offers highly competitive features, including synchronization, autofill, and standards compliance, and maintains Google's reputation for building one of the fastest browsers available.

Chrome 25 represents a major milestone for the browser, but those expecting to see dramatic changes in major version-point updates will be disappointed. For a while now, Google has been pushing features over what it calls milestone … Read more

PasswordBox keeps all of your online passwords in one convenient location accessible from any computer. This application is slowly becoming a preferred tool around the office known for decreasing log-in time increasing time spent on Facebook and Tumblr.

The installation file will you set you up with the PasswordBox add-ons for popular browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and IE. It runs from within the browser environment and works the same way across the board. PasswordBox is still in beta, and the setup is one way to make an account.

Essentially a vault for all of your online passwords, PasswordBox … Read more

Apple's Safari is still by far the dominant mobile browser, though its competition is eating away at some of its popularity.

Safari grabbed 55.4 percent of all mobile-browser traffic captured by Web tracker Net Applications in February. That proved a hefty drop from January's 61 percent share and last July's 66 percent share.

At the same time, the stock Android browser, which is found on older Android devices, chewed up 22.8 percent of the mobile browser traffic last month. Though its numbers were higher last October and November, the Android browser has sliced off an … Read more

There are Android apps that come with many features, possibly more features than you need. Or perhaps it's not fully-featured apps you're trying to avoid, but the battery power they require. The more apps you have running in the background, the less battery life you'll see. Here's a trick you can use to skip out on apps that have Chrome bookmarklet counterparts.

This example uses Pocket (formerly Read It Later) to show you how it's done. The Pocket app is actually fantastic -- provided you want access to any queued content on-the-go. If you're … Read more