 "Chrome 25 beta has default encrypted search, voice search and more")
Chrome’s latest beta update, Chrome 25, includes encrypted search by default. Earlier releases of the Chrome browser allowed only users who were logged in to opt for encrypted search on Google. Now every user’s searches are automatically encrypted whether the user is signed in or not. The latest beta update also packs numerous other features such as voice recognition for web search and blocking of the installation of plug-ins without the explicit permission of the user.
Allowing encrypted search for every user is a step ahead in ensuring web search privacy for users. Google Encrypted Search (https://www.google.com or to https://encrypted.google.com) enables searching over SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). A few other browsers support https search by default already. Firefox got the feature with its Firefox 14 release. For users of Chrome who wish to keep their web search activities away from prying eyes, encrypted search by default is a welcome feature.
A more secure Chrome with Chrome 25
Google has been pushing voice recognition-enabled features for the Android operating system. The latest Chrome release shows that development of voice recognition is being considered equally for desktops. An official blog post on the Chromium blog elucidates that it may soon be possible to “dictate documents, have a freestyle rap battle, or control game characters with your browser using only your voice”. Using the web search API, developers may now integrate speech recognition into their web apps. Users can compose emails by using the speech recognition features and enjoy new and interactive web applications.
Another big announcement made with the beta release is that the newest version of Chrome will automatically disable all extensions on Windows, which were installed by third party programmes, i.e., extensions not installed with the explicit permission of the user. This feature was implemented in light of the discovery that the functionality was being abused by third parties. Users will be shown a notification with a list of automatically disabled extensions. They can choose to re-enable the affected extensions and remove the ones they do not wish to keep.
Another security feature in this release is that support for unprefixed Content Policy Headers has been introduced. Web developers can now make a small whitelist of pages and resources that are safe to work with, reducing the risk of cross-scripting and injection attacks.
The Chrome 25 beta changelog includes: improvements in managing and securing your extensions, continued testing of search and the new tab page, better support for HTML 5 time/date inputs, Javascript speech API support, better WebGL error handling and several features for developers.
Download the latest release of Chrome.
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