- Thread starter Bapun
- Start date
- Replies: Replies 629
- Views: Views 165,952
rahul1117kumar
Member
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2013
- Messages
- 10,365
- Reaction score
- 11,058
Google Chrome for Android tests new feature for easy one-handed use
One of the most common difficulties faced with large-screen devices is the inconvenience that they bring in terms of user experience. Simple operations which can be easily accomplished using one hand, require using both hands for bigger smartphones. When smartphones were smaller in size, single-handed usage was a lot easier. Large-screen smartphones not only made single-handed operation difficult but has also compelled developers to redesign interfaces so that it gets easier to navigate through apps for users. Chrome for Android is one of the latest apps to be overhauled for the need of convenience. Instead of the address bar at the top of the screen, a new interface under testing is looking at placing the most-used element at the bottom of the screen.
Google is reportedly testing a version of Chrome for Android that places its controls at the bottom of the screen. It might come across as a minor change but it would make the app much more intuitive than the current version that shows the controls at the top. Spotted by Android Police, the version is currently unfinished and places the address bar at the bottom of the screen when enabled. Along with the address bar, the add tabs option and the switch tabs option is also placed at the bottom of the screen.
If you want to take a look at the feature in-the-making, you can enable it in Chrome Dev and Canary by pasting chrome://flags/#enable-chrome-home into Chrome, tapping the highlighted select menu, tapping Enabled, and then restarting the browser.
A lot of mobile manufacturers are aiming at offering the smartphone experience by expanding the display sizes with some even crossing the 6-inch mark such as Xiaomi’s Mi Max with a massive 6.44-inch display. As a majority of smartphones come powered by Google’s Android OS, it makes sense for the company to tweak the interface of the most used browser.
A redesigned feature like this which places app controls at the bottom of the screen has been already put in order by Microsoft for its Windows 10 Mobile’s Edge browser in which the navigation bar is also placed at the bottom of the screen. Apple’s Safari on iOS also places certain browser controls at the bottom of the screen such as switch tabs, navigation, share, and the bookmark option.
Meanwhile, Google announced that it has made Chrome 15 percent faster on Windows under its plans of making the browser hog less memory. Starting with the Chrome 53 release of 64-bit Chrome and version 54 of the 32-bit version, Google has started using Microsoft’s Profile Guided Optimization technology to speed up startup times (by 17 percent), new tab page load times (by almost 15 percent), and overall page load times (by 6 percent) in Chrome, Chrome’s Sébastien Marchand explained.
Google is constantly tweaking its Chrome browser to make the experience better for users. In September, the company announced that it was extending the ‘Data Saver’ technology to videos on the Chrome browser. The feature will allow users to save up to 67 percent data when watching videos encoded in MP4 format. It automatically optimizes HTTP websites and saves 90 percent of the data, while loading pages two times faster. Other than the data saving feature, Google also introduced a new download feature for offline viewing of web pages, pictures, music, and videos. Helpful when the internet connectivity is poor, the feature allows one to download content and save it for later consumption. The company also added a new option to store all the downloaded content right within the Google Chrome app.
Although there is no official word on when the new Chrome feature will be introduced, given that Google is currently only testing the feature, the company would eventually roll out the feature to mobile users soon.
Google Chrome for Android tests new feature for easy one-handed use
One of the most common difficulties faced with large-screen devices is the inconvenience that they bring in terms of user experience. Simple operations which can be easily accomplished using one hand, require using both hands for bigger smartphones. When smartphones were smaller in size, single-handed usage was a lot easier. Large-screen smartphones not only made single-handed operation difficult but has also compelled developers to redesign interfaces so that it gets easier to navigate through apps for users. Chrome for Android is one of the latest apps to be overhauled for the need of convenience. Instead of the address bar at the top of the screen, a new interface under testing is looking at placing the most-used element at the bottom of the screen.
Google is reportedly testing a version of Chrome for Android that places its controls at the bottom of the screen. It might come across as a minor change but it would make the app much more intuitive than the current version that shows the controls at the top. Spotted by Android Police, the version is currently unfinished and places the address bar at the bottom of the screen when enabled. Along with the address bar, the add tabs option and the switch tabs option is also placed at the bottom of the screen.
If you want to take a look at the feature in-the-making, you can enable it in Chrome Dev and Canary by pasting chrome://flags/#enable-chrome-home into Chrome, tapping the highlighted select menu, tapping Enabled, and then restarting the browser.
A lot of mobile manufacturers are aiming at offering the smartphone experience by expanding the display sizes with some even crossing the 6-inch mark such as Xiaomi’s Mi Max with a massive 6.44-inch display. As a majority of smartphones come powered by Google’s Android OS, it makes sense for the company to tweak the interface of the most used browser.
A redesigned feature like this which places app controls at the bottom of the screen has been already put in order by Microsoft for its Windows 10 Mobile’s Edge browser in which the navigation bar is also placed at the bottom of the screen. Apple’s Safari on iOS also places certain browser controls at the bottom of the screen such as switch tabs, navigation, share, and the bookmark option.
Meanwhile, Google announced that it has made Chrome 15 percent faster on Windows under its plans of making the browser hog less memory. Starting with the Chrome 53 release of 64-bit Chrome and version 54 of the 32-bit version, Google has started using Microsoft’s Profile Guided Optimization technology to speed up startup times (by 17 percent), new tab page load times (by almost 15 percent), and overall page load times (by 6 percent) in Chrome, Chrome’s Sébastien Marchand explained.
Google is constantly tweaking its Chrome browser to make the experience better for users. In September, the company announced that it was extending the ‘Data Saver’ technology to videos on the Chrome browser. The feature will allow users to save up to 67 percent data when watching videos encoded in MP4 format. It automatically optimizes HTTP websites and saves 90 percent of the data, while loading pages two times faster. Other than the data saving feature, Google also introduced a new download feature for offline viewing of web pages, pictures, music, and videos. Helpful when the internet connectivity is poor, the feature allows one to download content and save it for later consumption. The company also added a new option to store all the downloaded content right within the Google Chrome app.
Although there is no official word on when the new Chrome feature will be introduced, given that Google is currently only testing the feature, the company would eventually roll out the feature to mobile users soon.
Google Chrome for Android tests new feature for easy one-handed use
Microsoft Edge is more secure than Chrome and Firefox
Testing was conducted during the months of September and October 2016, with 220,918 socially engineered malware results and 78,921 phishing results recorded.
Of the three browsers tested, Edge had the highest catch for phishing URLs with 91.4 percent success rate, and the highest block rate for SEM samples with 99.0 percent.
Chrome came second with 82.4 percent average block rate for phishing, and 85.8 percent block rate for SEM samples.
Bringing up the rear, Firefox caught 81.4 phishing URLs, and 78.3 percent SEM samples.
Web Browser Security - NSS Labs, Inc
Testing was conducted during the months of September and October 2016, with 220,918 socially engineered malware results and 78,921 phishing results recorded.
Of the three browsers tested, Edge had the highest catch for phishing URLs with 91.4 percent success rate, and the highest block rate for SEM samples with 99.0 percent.
Chrome came second with 82.4 percent average block rate for phishing, and 85.8 percent block rate for SEM samples.
Bringing up the rear, Firefox caught 81.4 phishing URLs, and 78.3 percent SEM samples.
Web Browser Security - NSS Labs, Inc
rahul1117kumar
Member
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2013
- Messages
- 10,365
- Reaction score
- 11,058
Microsoft pays hackers $120,000 for compromising the Edge browser
Teams from Beijing security firm, Qihoo and South Korean Hacker Lokihardt both managed to compromise the Microsoft Edge browser on Windows, and bagged bounties of $120,000 each. Each team or contenstant is given three attempts to compromise the target, with each attempt having a time limit of four minutes. Lokihardt managed to gain system level access in as little as 18 seconds.
The hacks were showcased at PwnFest , an event related to the ongoing Power of the Community information security conference in Seoul, Korea, according to a report in The Register. It was the first time that a VMware Workstation was successfully attacked with only remote code execution, and no interaction by the end user.
The PwnFest is a yearly event where major tech companies offer rewards to hackers for owning certain products. Targets for the hackers this year included Microsoft Edge, Google Pixel, Microsoft Hyper-V, Google Chrome, iOS, the Safari browser, Adobe Flash and VMWare Workstation. The event also has a Lord of Pwn trophy given to the team with the most successful attacks, and if there is a tie, the award is decided based on technical merit of the hacks.
The prize money ranges from $80,000 for the Safari hack, to $150,000 for the VMWare and the Hyper-V attacks. The exploits are not publicly disclosed, and the companies usually take measures to plug these security holes.
Microsoft pays hackers 0,000 for compromising the Edge browser Tech2 Mobile
Teams from Beijing security firm, Qihoo and South Korean Hacker Lokihardt both managed to compromise the Microsoft Edge browser on Windows, and bagged bounties of $120,000 each. Each team or contenstant is given three attempts to compromise the target, with each attempt having a time limit of four minutes. Lokihardt managed to gain system level access in as little as 18 seconds.
The hacks were showcased at PwnFest , an event related to the ongoing Power of the Community information security conference in Seoul, Korea, according to a report in The Register. It was the first time that a VMware Workstation was successfully attacked with only remote code execution, and no interaction by the end user.
The PwnFest is a yearly event where major tech companies offer rewards to hackers for owning certain products. Targets for the hackers this year included Microsoft Edge, Google Pixel, Microsoft Hyper-V, Google Chrome, iOS, the Safari browser, Adobe Flash and VMWare Workstation. The event also has a Lord of Pwn trophy given to the team with the most successful attacks, and if there is a tie, the award is decided based on technical merit of the hacks.
The prize money ranges from $80,000 for the Safari hack, to $150,000 for the VMWare and the Hyper-V attacks. The exploits are not publicly disclosed, and the companies usually take measures to plug these security holes.
Microsoft pays hackers 0,000 for compromising the Edge browser Tech2 Mobile
rahul1117kumar
Member
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2013
- Messages
- 10,365
- Reaction score
- 11,058
UC Browser crosses 100 Million Monthly Active Users in India; expands into entertainment content
Alibaba Mobile Business Group led UCWeb on Wednesday said that its flagship product, UC Browser , has crossed 100 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) in India.
Talking about UC News ’ future in India, Kenny Ye, general manager of Overseas Business, Alibaba Mobile Business Group said, “UC News has become the most downloaded news app in the Google Play app store within the 5 months of its launch. To further consolidate our role as a content distribution platform, we will be making a significant move by inviting more and more key opinion leaders, celebrities and self-publishers to join the We Media program to offer unique content on UC News. This will also help the contributors to gain traffic, revenue and followers from our platform.”
With over 462 million internet users and 371 million mobile internet users in India, according to IAMAI reports, UCWeb has adopted a strategy of becoming a content distribution platform from being a browsing tool by engaging and aggregating entertainment based content on its platforms – UC Browser and UC News.
“India has been an incredible market for UCWeb. In the 6 years that we have been here, UC Browser has transformed from being the largest mobile browser to a leading content distribution platform in India. By crossing 100 million MAUs, UCWeb envisions itself as powerful as Google and Facebook and bring the global mobile internet to an era of ‘GUF’ (Google, UCWeb, and Facebook)," Kenny added.
Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group plans to partner with more entertainment content providers and entertainment companies.
“We see entertainment as being the most consumed content genre in India right now and we want to give our users exactly what they want. We aim to create UC Browser & UC News as the ideal destination for entertainment based content providers to leverage it for the launch of their new movie, book, music or television show," Kenny said.
The mobile browser has a 57% market share in India as per Stat Counter and with an increase of 25% of MAUs in 2016, UC Browser is now the largest mobile browser in India, the group said in a statement.
UC Browser crosses 100 Million Monthly Active Users in India; expands into entertainment content - ET Telecom
Alibaba Mobile Business Group led UCWeb on Wednesday said that its flagship product, UC Browser , has crossed 100 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) in India.
Talking about UC News ’ future in India, Kenny Ye, general manager of Overseas Business, Alibaba Mobile Business Group said, “UC News has become the most downloaded news app in the Google Play app store within the 5 months of its launch. To further consolidate our role as a content distribution platform, we will be making a significant move by inviting more and more key opinion leaders, celebrities and self-publishers to join the We Media program to offer unique content on UC News. This will also help the contributors to gain traffic, revenue and followers from our platform.”
With over 462 million internet users and 371 million mobile internet users in India, according to IAMAI reports, UCWeb has adopted a strategy of becoming a content distribution platform from being a browsing tool by engaging and aggregating entertainment based content on its platforms – UC Browser and UC News.
“India has been an incredible market for UCWeb. In the 6 years that we have been here, UC Browser has transformed from being the largest mobile browser to a leading content distribution platform in India. By crossing 100 million MAUs, UCWeb envisions itself as powerful as Google and Facebook and bring the global mobile internet to an era of ‘GUF’ (Google, UCWeb, and Facebook)," Kenny added.
Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group plans to partner with more entertainment content providers and entertainment companies.
“We see entertainment as being the most consumed content genre in India right now and we want to give our users exactly what they want. We aim to create UC Browser & UC News as the ideal destination for entertainment based content providers to leverage it for the launch of their new movie, book, music or television show," Kenny said.
The mobile browser has a 57% market share in India as per Stat Counter and with an increase of 25% of MAUs in 2016, UC Browser is now the largest mobile browser in India, the group said in a statement.
UC Browser crosses 100 Million Monthly Active Users in India; expands into entertainment content - ET Telecom
rahul1117kumar
Member
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2013
- Messages
- 10,365
- Reaction score
- 11,058
This Chrome extension helps verify fake news online
While Mark Zuckerberg has denied fake news and hoax to be a significant component of the content on Facebook, a user on Product Hunt has himself found a solution to tackle fake news online. Daniel Sieradski, has created a Chrome extension called BS Detector, which is claimed to identify and spot any fake news or hoax that float on the web. When a user scrolls through websites and articles on Facebook, the extension identifies articles that are from a “questionable source.” The warning appears when users scroll over the article on a feed.
Sieradski wrote on Product Hunt, “I built this in about an hour yesterday after reading Zuck’s BS about not being able to flag fake news sites. Of course you can. It just takes having a spine to call out nonsense. This is just a proof of concept at this point, but it works well enough.”
In order for the system to flag the target articles, he compiled a list of well-known hoax sites, instead of developing an algorithm to warn users about individual articles. He said the sites run across the political spectrum. Users can submit requests to modify those settings on Github. “I’ve compiled a list of domains that are well-known sources of fake news, conspiracy theory, innuendo, and unsourced claims. The domains cover the political spectrum from left to right and I have done my absolute best to be impartial in my selections,” he said.
Since the US presidential elections, the criticism against Facebook ‘s lack of scrutiny toward online hoaxes has grown louder. Concerned over the spread of fake news on the social network, the US President Barack Obama had also criticized Facebook, saying fake stories on social networks are spreading lies this election. Speaking at a rally for Hillary Clinton at University of Michigan, Obama said, “The way campaigns have unfolded, we just start accepting crazy stuff as normal and people if they just repeat attacks enough and outright lies over and over again.”
“As long as it’s on Facebook, and people can see it, as long as it’s on social media, people start believing it, and it creates this dust cloud of nonsense,” he told the gathering. A recent
BuzzFeed investigation found that 38 percent of posts shared from three large right-wing politics pages on Facebook included “false or misleading information.”
In retaliation, three days ago, Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to clear the air of fake news that was thickening around the social media. He spoke about how Facebook believes in giving each individual a voice, and the liberty to project their opinions. He wrote, “After the election, many people are asking whether fake news contributed to the result, and what our responsibility is to prevent fake news from spreading. These are very important questions and I care deeply about getting them right. I want to do my best to explain what we know here.”
“Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 percent of what people see is authentic. Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes. The hoaxes that do exist are not limited to one partisan view, or even to politics. Overall, this makes it extremely unlikely hoaxes changed the outcome of this election in one direction or the other.”
Mark Zuckerberg
on Saturday
I want to share some thoughts on Facebook and the election.
Our goal is to give every person a voice. We believe deeply in people. Assuming that people understand what is important in their lives and that they can express those views has driven not only our community, but democracy overall. Sometimes when people use their voice though, they say things that seem wrong and they support people you disagree with.
After the election, many people are asking whether fake news contri... See More
However, he said, “ we don’t want any hoaxes on Facebook. Our goal is to show people the content they will find most meaningful, and people want accurate news. We have already launched work enabling our community to flag hoaxes and fake news, and there is more we can do here. We have made progress, and we will continue to work on this to improve further.”
Consequently, concerned about the perennial accusations of fake news on its platform. Facebook has been working on tackling the issue for a while now. According to a report last month, a network of more than 30 international companies and organizations was formed in an effort to filter out fake news stories and to improve the quality of information found online. Among the companies that joined, Facebook and Twitter were members of the network. Media houses like New York Times and CNN were also part of the coalition.
In a similar move last month, Google also introduced a new ‘fact-check’ tag, to categorize stories on its Google News service based on accuracy and facts. In order to make its service more reliable, the new tag differentiates verified stories from the rest. Traditionally, the service has different labels for articles which are categorized into In-Depth, Opinion, Wikipedia, and Highly-cited, among others.
This Chrome extension helps verify fake news online
While Mark Zuckerberg has denied fake news and hoax to be a significant component of the content on Facebook, a user on Product Hunt has himself found a solution to tackle fake news online. Daniel Sieradski, has created a Chrome extension called BS Detector, which is claimed to identify and spot any fake news or hoax that float on the web. When a user scrolls through websites and articles on Facebook, the extension identifies articles that are from a “questionable source.” The warning appears when users scroll over the article on a feed.
Sieradski wrote on Product Hunt, “I built this in about an hour yesterday after reading Zuck’s BS about not being able to flag fake news sites. Of course you can. It just takes having a spine to call out nonsense. This is just a proof of concept at this point, but it works well enough.”
In order for the system to flag the target articles, he compiled a list of well-known hoax sites, instead of developing an algorithm to warn users about individual articles. He said the sites run across the political spectrum. Users can submit requests to modify those settings on Github. “I’ve compiled a list of domains that are well-known sources of fake news, conspiracy theory, innuendo, and unsourced claims. The domains cover the political spectrum from left to right and I have done my absolute best to be impartial in my selections,” he said.
Since the US presidential elections, the criticism against Facebook ‘s lack of scrutiny toward online hoaxes has grown louder. Concerned over the spread of fake news on the social network, the US President Barack Obama had also criticized Facebook, saying fake stories on social networks are spreading lies this election. Speaking at a rally for Hillary Clinton at University of Michigan, Obama said, “The way campaigns have unfolded, we just start accepting crazy stuff as normal and people if they just repeat attacks enough and outright lies over and over again.”
“As long as it’s on Facebook, and people can see it, as long as it’s on social media, people start believing it, and it creates this dust cloud of nonsense,” he told the gathering. A recent
BuzzFeed investigation found that 38 percent of posts shared from three large right-wing politics pages on Facebook included “false or misleading information.”
In retaliation, three days ago, Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to clear the air of fake news that was thickening around the social media. He spoke about how Facebook believes in giving each individual a voice, and the liberty to project their opinions. He wrote, “After the election, many people are asking whether fake news contributed to the result, and what our responsibility is to prevent fake news from spreading. These are very important questions and I care deeply about getting them right. I want to do my best to explain what we know here.”
“Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 percent of what people see is authentic. Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes. The hoaxes that do exist are not limited to one partisan view, or even to politics. Overall, this makes it extremely unlikely hoaxes changed the outcome of this election in one direction or the other.”
Mark Zuckerberg
on Saturday
I want to share some thoughts on Facebook and the election.
Our goal is to give every person a voice. We believe deeply in people. Assuming that people understand what is important in their lives and that they can express those views has driven not only our community, but democracy overall. Sometimes when people use their voice though, they say things that seem wrong and they support people you disagree with.
After the election, many people are asking whether fake news contri... See More
However, he said, “ we don’t want any hoaxes on Facebook. Our goal is to show people the content they will find most meaningful, and people want accurate news. We have already launched work enabling our community to flag hoaxes and fake news, and there is more we can do here. We have made progress, and we will continue to work on this to improve further.”
Consequently, concerned about the perennial accusations of fake news on its platform. Facebook has been working on tackling the issue for a while now. According to a report last month, a network of more than 30 international companies and organizations was formed in an effort to filter out fake news stories and to improve the quality of information found online. Among the companies that joined, Facebook and Twitter were members of the network. Media houses like New York Times and CNN were also part of the coalition.
In a similar move last month, Google also introduced a new ‘fact-check’ tag, to categorize stories on its Google News service based on accuracy and facts. In order to make its service more reliable, the new tag differentiates verified stories from the rest. Traditionally, the service has different labels for articles which are categorized into In-Depth, Opinion, Wikipedia, and Highly-cited, among others.
This Chrome extension helps verify fake news online
rahul1117kumar
Member
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2013
- Messages
- 10,365
- Reaction score
- 11,058
Mozilla launches Firefox Focus, a ‘private’ browser for iOS
Everybody wants to hide their tracks online but somehow fail to do so. After browsing the internet, going back and deleting your history is a cumbersome task to say the least. Also, clearing the browser history messes up the bucket load of often used and important websites. While there are Incognito or Private modes on most web browsers these days, they don’t really prevent websites from tracking your web surfing activities. But Mozilla’s new Firefox Focus web browser for iPhones aims to change that. Firefox Focus is Mozilla’s ‘private’ browser for iOS. It is not available for Android, unfortunately. It is a separate app, and not an extension on the Firefox browser. It is currently available for download via the App Store. Mozilla had launched Focus by Firefox, a content blocker for iOS back in December 2015. Firefox Focus is revamped version of the app with an integrated browser. Firefox Focus is simple and easy to use and it flaunts a pretty background which complements the browser. On opening the app, the homepage appears which has the search bar in the centre. Just like the famous tagline “Eat, sleep, rave, repeat”, Firefox Focus also has its own tagline of “Browse. Erase. Repeat.” written below the search bar. On typing the desired query on the search bar, it will lead one to the normal Google search results. On top of the page, just next to the URL tab, is an option to ‘Erase’ the search history. Tapping that will erase whatever you have searched for and will lead you back to the homepage. You need not keep erasing every website you visit simultaneously. You can browse as much as you like and select the ‘Erase’ option and it will wipe out all your browsing history.
Firefox Focus also has another feature which is like a bonus for browsing secretly online. Firefox Focus blocks trackers that usually monitor the user visiting the particular website. Mozilla on its official blog post writes, “Much of what makes mobile web pages slow is the technology used to track users on the web. Because Firefox Focus blocks these trackers, it is likely you’ll notice a performance boost on the many sites that track your behavior.” This not only makes your browsing history obsolete, it is also developed to increase the speed of web pages and websites loading on one’s phone. For those websites which use the tracking feature and is dependent on it, you can still open those websites either in Firefox or Apple’s own Safari browser. Mozilla, in the blog post, also says, “Firefox Focus continues to operate as a Safari content blocker on iOS, and users will be able to take advantage of Tracking Protection on both Safari and Firefox Focus.”
Something worth pointing out however is that in the US, the default search engine for Firefox Focus is Yahoo. The irony here is that Yahoo was recently in the limelight for the biggest online hack with over 500 million users compromised. In India, the default search engine is Google. There is currently no option to change the default browser, but it is said that search engine choice will be available in an updated version of the app.
As said earlier, it is a simple app with no option other than to erase the browsing history. There is a Settings section which lets the user toggle on and off different kinds of data to be blocked. These include blocking ad trackers, blocking analytics trackers, block social trackers, blocking other content trackers, and blocking web fonts. Firefox Focus does have its limitations, and for those who want a quick search on things without hassle can opt for this app. Although the company claims that the app will hide all the browsing data and history, there is no guarantee that indeed all the information will be wiped out and not leave any traces behind.
http://www.bgr.in/news/mozilla-launches-firefox-focus-a-private-browser-for-ios/
Everybody wants to hide their tracks online but somehow fail to do so. After browsing the internet, going back and deleting your history is a cumbersome task to say the least. Also, clearing the browser history messes up the bucket load of often used and important websites. While there are Incognito or Private modes on most web browsers these days, they don’t really prevent websites from tracking your web surfing activities. But Mozilla’s new Firefox Focus web browser for iPhones aims to change that. Firefox Focus is Mozilla’s ‘private’ browser for iOS. It is not available for Android, unfortunately. It is a separate app, and not an extension on the Firefox browser. It is currently available for download via the App Store. Mozilla had launched Focus by Firefox, a content blocker for iOS back in December 2015. Firefox Focus is revamped version of the app with an integrated browser. Firefox Focus is simple and easy to use and it flaunts a pretty background which complements the browser. On opening the app, the homepage appears which has the search bar in the centre. Just like the famous tagline “Eat, sleep, rave, repeat”, Firefox Focus also has its own tagline of “Browse. Erase. Repeat.” written below the search bar. On typing the desired query on the search bar, it will lead one to the normal Google search results. On top of the page, just next to the URL tab, is an option to ‘Erase’ the search history. Tapping that will erase whatever you have searched for and will lead you back to the homepage. You need not keep erasing every website you visit simultaneously. You can browse as much as you like and select the ‘Erase’ option and it will wipe out all your browsing history.
Firefox Focus also has another feature which is like a bonus for browsing secretly online. Firefox Focus blocks trackers that usually monitor the user visiting the particular website. Mozilla on its official blog post writes, “Much of what makes mobile web pages slow is the technology used to track users on the web. Because Firefox Focus blocks these trackers, it is likely you’ll notice a performance boost on the many sites that track your behavior.” This not only makes your browsing history obsolete, it is also developed to increase the speed of web pages and websites loading on one’s phone. For those websites which use the tracking feature and is dependent on it, you can still open those websites either in Firefox or Apple’s own Safari browser. Mozilla, in the blog post, also says, “Firefox Focus continues to operate as a Safari content blocker on iOS, and users will be able to take advantage of Tracking Protection on both Safari and Firefox Focus.”
Something worth pointing out however is that in the US, the default search engine for Firefox Focus is Yahoo. The irony here is that Yahoo was recently in the limelight for the biggest online hack with over 500 million users compromised. In India, the default search engine is Google. There is currently no option to change the default browser, but it is said that search engine choice will be available in an updated version of the app.
As said earlier, it is a simple app with no option other than to erase the browsing history. There is a Settings section which lets the user toggle on and off different kinds of data to be blocked. These include blocking ad trackers, blocking analytics trackers, block social trackers, blocking other content trackers, and blocking web fonts. Firefox Focus does have its limitations, and for those who want a quick search on things without hassle can opt for this app. Although the company claims that the app will hide all the browsing data and history, there is no guarantee that indeed all the information will be wiped out and not leave any traces behind.
http://www.bgr.in/news/mozilla-launches-firefox-focus-a-private-browser-for-ios/
- Joined
- 20 Jul 2014
- Messages
- 7,149
- Solutions
- 4
- Reaction score
- 12,819
Flash’s slow death continues with Chrome 55
Google is continuing its plan to phase out Flash in favor of HTML5 today by launching Chrome 55. With this new update, many sites around the web will begin defaulting to HTML5 instead of Flash. There are a few exceptions, but Chrome 55 largely implements the measures Google laid out earlier in the year.
Google has been working to limit Flash over the past few Chrome versions, but it’s in Chrome 55 where users will likely see the biggest changes. Once the update is applied, websites will default to HTML5 automatically, except in cases where the website only supports Flash. Those sites are exempt from the new rules, as are the top 10 websites, which are determined by Google’s own internal rankings. Here are those top 10 websites:
YouTube.com
Facebook.com
Yahoo.com
VK.com
Live.com
Yandex.ru
OK.ru
Twitch.tv
Amazon.com
Mail.ru
While those sites don’t need to fear the death of Flash just yet, it won’t remain that way forever. As 9to5Google points out, these sites are only exempt for a year. By that point, the hope is that these Flash holdouts will have made the jump to HTML5. Websites are still able to use Flash to deliver content, but that now requires permission from Chrome users.
The move away from Flash has been prompted by security fears and the desire to see webpages load faster. HTML5 is better in both areas than Flash is, which is why we’ve seen a number of sites begin to adopt that as the default format for things like videos and ads. It wasn’t that long ago that Twitch kicked off a beta test for HTML5, while other browsers like Firefox and Microsoft Edge are largely with Google in migrating to HTML5 as the standard.
Chrome 55 is launching today for PC, Mac, and Linux. The update for Android and Chrome OS will lag behind the desktop release a little bit, but Google says that those versions of Chrome will be updated shortly.
https://www.slashgear.com/flashs-slow-death-continues-with-chrome-55-02466220/
Google is continuing its plan to phase out Flash in favor of HTML5 today by launching Chrome 55. With this new update, many sites around the web will begin defaulting to HTML5 instead of Flash. There are a few exceptions, but Chrome 55 largely implements the measures Google laid out earlier in the year.
Google has been working to limit Flash over the past few Chrome versions, but it’s in Chrome 55 where users will likely see the biggest changes. Once the update is applied, websites will default to HTML5 automatically, except in cases where the website only supports Flash. Those sites are exempt from the new rules, as are the top 10 websites, which are determined by Google’s own internal rankings. Here are those top 10 websites:
YouTube.com
Facebook.com
Yahoo.com
VK.com
Live.com
Yandex.ru
OK.ru
Twitch.tv
Amazon.com
Mail.ru
While those sites don’t need to fear the death of Flash just yet, it won’t remain that way forever. As 9to5Google points out, these sites are only exempt for a year. By that point, the hope is that these Flash holdouts will have made the jump to HTML5. Websites are still able to use Flash to deliver content, but that now requires permission from Chrome users.
The move away from Flash has been prompted by security fears and the desire to see webpages load faster. HTML5 is better in both areas than Flash is, which is why we’ve seen a number of sites begin to adopt that as the default format for things like videos and ads. It wasn’t that long ago that Twitch kicked off a beta test for HTML5, while other browsers like Firefox and Microsoft Edge are largely with Google in migrating to HTML5 as the standard.
Chrome 55 is launching today for PC, Mac, and Linux. The update for Android and Chrome OS will lag behind the desktop release a little bit, but Google says that those versions of Chrome will be updated shortly.
https://www.slashgear.com/flashs-slow-death-continues-with-chrome-55-02466220/
Similar threads
