Web Browsers

For the first time in its history Google Chrome has been crowned the world's most popular browser, at least according to StatCounter. In other news, a dangerous worm is spreading via Facebook while adware has begun to rear its ugly head once again. Peruse these stories and more in this week's edition of Web browser news...

• Google Chrome Overtakes Internet Explorer (PCWorld)
• Chrome Now World's Top Browser, But Beware The Math (CNET)
• Cross-Browser Worm Spreads Via Facebook, Security Experts Warn (Computerworld)
• Adware Stages Comeback Via Browser Extensions (Krebs On Security)
• Seeing Wikipedia Ads? You've Got Malware (PC Magazine)
• Windows RT Browser Restriction Sparks Senate Committee Probe (ZDNet)
• Twitter Implements Do Not Track Privacy Option (The New York Times)
• Google Releases Chrome 19, Adds Tab Sync And Patches 20 Bugs (Computerworld)
• Browser Wars On iOS? Seems Unlikely (TIME)
• Nokia Brings Web Browsing, Social Networking To New Low-End Phones (Wired)
• Netflix Launches Snazzy New In-Browser Video Player (PCWorld)
• MoboTap Inks Deal With KDDI, Dolphin Browser To Be Preloaded On New Japanese Android Phones (TechCrunch)
• Kylo Web Browser For TV Turned Open Source Overnight (SlashGear)

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As we celebrate and honor the moms in our lives today, take a few moments to catch up on the latest browser news. It was a particularly contentious week between Mozilla and Microsoft, with the former registering some serious concerns about the way third-party browsers will be handled in the latter's forthcoming Windows RT. Enjoy these stories and much more below...

• Senate To Look At Mozilla's Browser Competition Allegations (Computerworld)
• Why Mozilla Believes Firefox On Windows RT Is A Bust (CNET)
• Mozilla's Hypocrisy: Apple Can Block Firefox, But Microsoft Can't (PCWorld)
• Mozilla On New Browser Brouhaha: Microsoft, Apple Different Cases (Computerworld)
• Free, Browser-Based 'Wolfenstein 3D' Released By Bethesda (PC Magazine)
• Rumor: Microsoft Testing Modified IE9 Browser For Xbox 360 (PC Magazine)
• Microsoft Bing Revamp Spotlights Interactive Social Sidebar (InfoWorld)
• China Churns Out Mobile Phones. Can It Build A Better Browser? (Forbes)
• Chinese Browser Maker UC Wants 100M Mobile Users In India By 2015, Will Invest An Initial $5M (The Next Web)
• Big Improvements For Browser Games On The Horizon, Says Epic's Sweeney (Gamasutra)
• Backed By Angels, SiteSimon Launches To Turn Your Browser Into An Intelligent Assistant (TechCrunch)
• Opera Launches 11.64 Browser Update (Ubergizmo)
• Mozilla Cracks Down On Memory Leaks In Firefox Add-Ons (PCWorld)
• New Firefox Preferences UI Lands In Nightly Build (Geek.com)
• Safari 5.1.7 Update Disables Out-Of-Date Flash Versions (Apple Insider)
• How To Re-Enable Older Flash In Safari 5.1.7 (CNET)
• Safari's 'Disable Flash' Feature Does Less Than It Promises (ZDNet)
• Third-Party Dolphin Browser Updates iPhone, iPad Versions (AppAdvice)

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This week's edition spotlights Internet Explorer's potential return to prominence, details of a dangerous Firefox extension, the rapid rise of mobile Web use, and much more...

• Google 'Negotiating FTC Fine' After Bypassing Safari Privacy Settings (ZDNet)
• IE On A Rebound, Browser Share Data Shows (Computerworld)
• Adobe Patches New Flash Zero-Day Bug With Emergency Update (PCWorld)
• Rogue Firefox Extension Hijacks Browser Sessions (ZDNet)
• Developer Builds Privacy-Enhancing Web Browser For Apple Devices (PCWorld)
• AirDroid Updates With Easier Browser Access (Android Community)
• Yahoo! Browser Comes To Android In Japan (WebProNews)
• CodeNow.com Lets You Build And Test Code In Real Time, In Your Browser (TechCrunch)
• Opera Browser Stats Reveal Rise Of Mobile Web (The Wall Street Journal)
• iPad Leaps Ahead Of iPhone Browser Usage, Opera Mini Collapses (BetaNews)
• PHP Working On New Patch For Critical Vulnerability After Initial One Failed (InfoWorld)
• Is Mozilla's Firefox 'Click-To-Play' Feature A Sound Response To Drive-By Malware Attacks? (ZDNet)
• NotCompatible Android Trojan: What You Need To Know (PCWorld)
• Google Fixes Five Flaws In Chrome 18 (ZDNet)

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Our next entry in the Maxthon tutorial series deals with shortcuts. Not the kind that get you to the office ten minutes faster, but those handy little keyboard and mouse combinations that can transform the average user into a smarter, more efficient Web surfer. Maxthon for Windows offers several dozen integrated shortcut keys and mouse gestures, as well as the ability to create your own. When it comes to browsing the net, faster usually equals better. Learning how to utilize and customize Maxthon's shortcuts and gestures the correct way will undoubtedly take your browsing experience to the next level. Our in-depth tutorial provides all of the details necessary to turn you into a shortcut expert in no time!‏

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Mozilla made the most noise this past week, ironically for releasing a version of Firefox containing silent updates. In addition to the unveiling of Firefox 12, version 13 beta was also launched with support for the SPDY protocol. In other beta news, Opera 12 was made available for download while Chrome for Android took another step closer to going gold...

• Mozilla Releases Firefox 12 With Silent Updates (PC Magazine)
• Firefox 13 Beta Geta A Speed Boost With SPDY By Default (PCWorld)
• Mozilla Dispatches Firefox 3.6, Fills Its Chair With Version 13 Beta (Engadget)
• Onion Browser: A Mobile Browser For The Truly Paranoid (TechCrunch)
• Google Details Chrome Browser Security-Testing Technology (Computerworld)
• Opera Forges Ahead With Plan To Support WebKit Prefixes (Wired)
• Nokia Browser 2.0 Update Rolls Out (Ubergizmo)
• Opera 12's First Beta Also Swan Song For Quirky Features (CNET)
• Google "Zerg Rush" And Prepare To Defend Your Browser (PC Gamer)
• Chrome For Android To Come Out Of Beta Soon (CNET)
• Google Drive Comes To Chrome OS (CNET)
• Folloyu Uses QR Codes To Take Your Browsing Experience From Desktop To Mobile In Seconds (The Next Web)
• Build Your Own Android Browser, Courtesy Of Maxthon (Android Authority)
• Reader Mode Coming To Firefox Mobile (Mobiputing)
• Poorly Designed Mobile Sites 'Drain Smartphone Battery' (BBC)

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This week's browser news was highlighted by Google's self-proclaimed mission to double website load times over mobile networks, in an effort to unearth a perceived treasure trove of e-commerce and advertising dollars. We've assembled these stories and more below...

• Chrome Browser For Android Gets New Features, Languages (Computerworld)
• Search And Browse Simultaneously With Slikk (VentureBeat)
• Google Gives Apache A SPDY Boost (Computerworld)
• 74% Of The Browser Market Supports HTML5 Video, But Flash's Death Will Take Time (The Next Web)
• Marc Andreessen's Five Big Ideas That Have Shaped The Internet (Forbes)
• Google Seeks Billions By Boosting Mobile Internet Speeds (Bloomberg)
• Who's Fastest? Google Measures Web Speeds Around The World (Bloomberg)
• Google Introduces New TV Like Metrics For Measuring Ads (PCWorld)

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Maxthon, the winner of About.com's Small Market Desktop Browser award for the past two years, has begun to gain quite a following. Taking into account the browser's growing popularity with About's readers, publishing a series of Maxthon tutorials seemed appropriate.

Our first group of step-by-step help articles involve managing Maxthon's integrated search engines, home page settings, and private data components such as browsing history.

• How to Change the Home Page in Maxthon
• How to Delete Private Data in Maxthon
• How to Manage Search Engines in Maxthon

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In what was a relatively slow week in browser country, the World Wide Web Consortium's Tracking Protection Working Group met to discuss Do Not Track technology. In other news, the folks at Mozilla are contemplating a move to improve plug-in security in their Firefox browser...

• Microsoft Wants To Put Skype In Your Web Browser (Wired)
• Dolphin Browser HD For Android Gets A Small Update (IntoMobile)
• Mozilla Enhances Plug-In Control In Firefox (eSecurity Planet)
• Why Facebook Needs To Build A Browser (CNET)
• Google Gives Chrome OS A Less Alienating Interface (CNET)
• W3C Moves Do Not Track To Showdown Phase (ZDNet)
• Google Starts Testing Device Syncing For Chrome (Digital Trends)
• Android Apps Don't Need Permission To See Your Data (PCWorld)

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The topic of note this week is malware, led by news that the Flashback trojan has infected an estimated 600,000 Mac users. In other security developments, Google has patched serious vulnerabilities in Chrome for the second time in less than two weeks while Microsoft prepares for significant updates to IE on Patch Tuesday...

• What You Need To Know About The Flashback Trojan (Macworld)
• Flashback Is The Largest Mac Malware Threat Ever (CNET)
• Quick Protection For Older Macs From The Flashback Trojan (ZDNet)
• Microsoft Quietly Buys Netscape Browser Technology (SlashGear)
• Experimental Opera Mobile Build Brings Desktop Extensions To Android (Android Police)
• Google Patches Chrome For Second Time In Eight Days (PCWorld)
• HTML5 Roundup: Mozilla Demos Standards-Based Video Chat In Firefox (Ars Technica)
• PSA: How To Temporarily Fix The Chrome SSL Bug (SlashGear)
• Chrome: Fastest On Macs, Favorite On Weekends? (PCWorld)
• IE's Browser Share Recovers, Chrome Down For Third Straight Month (PCWorld)
• Dolphin Browser 4.0 For iPhone Gets Voice Commands, More (MobileBurn)
• Microsoft Inspired By London Tube Seeks Sleeker Designs (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Microsoft Readies Patch For Gaping IE Browser Security Holes (ZDNet)
• Firefox For Windows 8 Beginning To Take Shape (Wired)
• Facebook Open-Sources Mobile Browser Test Suite Ringmark (ZDNet)
• UC Browser 8.2 For Android Takes A Crack At The US Market (Ubergizmo)
• Sparrow For iPhone Update Adds Browser, Push Notifications Coming Soon (Gotta Be Mobile)

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As more than a smattering of April Fools' Day jokes hit the Web, we take a look back at the legitimate news from the past seven days...

• Firefox Survives First Round Of Surgery (CNET)
• Chrome 18 Gets Graphics Boost, Fixes Pwn2Own Glitches (PC Magazine)
• Google Claims Latest Chrome Is Speedier (PCWorld)
• Yahoo Plans Support For 'Do Not Track' Web Privacy Tool (Wired)
• Amazon Intros Silk Browser Upgrade And More With Kindle Fire Update (PC Magazine)
• Opera Mini 7 Stretches To Android (CNET)
• Mozilla Launches Multiplayer Browser Adventure To Showcase HTML5 Gaming (Ars Technica)
• Ex-Google Engineer Launches Web Protection Startup (Tom's Guide)
• Adobe's Latest Critical Security Update Pushes Scareware (ZDNet)
• Facebook Scammers Host Trojan Horse Extensions On Chrome Web Store (Computerworld)
• Good Technology Debuts 'First Secure Browser' For Enterprise Android Deployments (Engadget)
• Google Ends Chrome Search Rank Penalty Period (Computerworld)
• Windows 8 Browsers: The Only Metro Apps To Get Desktop Power (TechRadar)
• Bootstrapped Startup Saves Over $100K By Dropping IE (TechCrunch)
• Security Firm AVG Releases Do-Not-Track Features For Windows (PCWorld)
• Hands-on: GNOME 3.4 Arrives, Introducing Significant Design Changes (Ars Technica)

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