https://www.yahoo.com/finance/...r-could-174850552.html

Proposed Changes to Chrome Web Browser Could 'Destroy' Ad Blockers
Chris Morris Chris Morris 18 hours ago


Proposed Changes to Chrome Web Browser Could Destroy Ad Blockers
Google's Chrome web browser, the most popular browser on the internet, is setting itself up for a possible conflict with the makers of ad blocking extensions.

Proposed changes to an upcoming version of Chrome could mean that popular blockers, such as uBlock Origin and uMatrix "can no longer exist," say the makers of those extensions.

The proposed changes, made public in a Google document, would replace a key API ad blocking software developers rely upon for their extensions to work.

"This would basically mean that Google is destroying ad blocking and privacy protection as we know it," ad block developer Ghostery said in a statement to Gizmodo. "Users would be left with only very limited ways to prevent third parties from intercepting their surfing behavior or to get rid of unwanted content."

Google says the proposed changes were made to increase "security, privacy, and performance for extensions." As more and more developers object to the changes, though, the company is slowly walking back from the proposal.

"This design is still in a draft state, and will likely change," said Devlin Cronin, a Google software engineer on a message board discussing the changes. "Our goal is not to break extensions. ... Having a list of the use cases that aren't feasible is incredibly useful for us in moving forward."

Ad blocking software is unpopular with many websites that rely on online ads for revenue. Proponents of the technology, though, say it prevents companies from tracking consumers on the web and is a key shield for people's privacy.

Google, historically, has sided with ad blocking technology In 2017, it added features to Chrome that blocked certain ads based on content, despite some criticism from companies.

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Dora Hates You

LOL, then use FireFox. Google = Capitalism. You know, that thing you support with no restrictions?

I use Safari and FireFox.

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Dora Hates You

Chrome is really the most popular?

Hell, never mind, that make perfect sense.

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I was right.

I've pretty much abandoned Chrome, except for where it's the default at work. Using Opera and Firefox at home. Does Google still tout "Don't be evil" as their motto? LOL

I wonder that too and looked a couple of websites, and it looks like Chrome is in a league by itself with over 50% of the market share worldwide.

http://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share



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"Surf everyday as though it were a gift!" -- John Holeman

Google warns users to immediately update Chrome browser after critical bug discovered
The Telegraph Margi Murphy,The Telegraph 11 hours ago

Google said it was aware of hackers exploiting the flaw - AFP

Google has warned owners of Windows and Mac computers to urgently update their Chrome internet browser after learning that hackers may have exploited a mystery bug that has existed since its launch.

Justin Schuh, Chrome's security engineer chief warned users to update Chrome "like right this minute" on Twitter, declaring it a "#PSA [Public Service Announcement]".

The company shared a blog post in which it said an update that should fix the vulnerability, which it described as "high" in severity, had already been issued on March 1. It is up to users to update their browser.

Those who are concerned can check their device is running the updated version of Google Chrome by opening a window and clicking on the three vertical dots in the right-hand corner.

Clicking "help", followed by "about Google Chrome" in the drop down menu will lead to a page that will assist with updating.

The bug was discovered by Clement Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group on February 27, Google said.

Google said that the flaw was a "Use-After-Free", which is a type of flaw that corrupts how a web app accesses a computer's memory and can be used to install malicious software on a computer, causing it to crash or behave strangely.

The flaw was located in Google's FileReader, an application that is included in major browsers that lets the internet app access the contents of a PC.

"We would also like to thank all security researchers that worked with us during the development cycle to prevent security bugs from ever reaching the stable channel," said Abdul Syed, a Google Chrome engineer.

Microsoft's security chief raised eyebrows last month when he asked Windows PC owners to stop using Internet Explorer unless there was no other option. He claimed this was because it is no longer being updated - and therefore no longer being secured - by the company. Internet Explorer has issued a number of patches for "Use-After-Free" bugs in the past.

Security researchers have for years been picking holes in Google and Microsoft's apps, often in return for high sums of money as part of a "bug bounty". Last year Facebook said it had paid one individual $50,000 for finding glitches in the social network's code.

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Dora Hates You