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by Chrome to become Slower, Use More Memory to Tackle Malware
3-4 minutes
Google is updating the Chrome browser to give it better defenses against major security threats. It comes at the price of reduced performance and a larger memory footprint.
The changes are to address two security bugs labeled Meltdown and Spectre by researchers. They take advantage of a flaw in almost every computer processor built since 1995, which is (as of this day) 100% of all computers, tablets, smartphones, laptops - and anything else that uses a processor.
The flaw is in regard to a processor feature, which is designed to speed up a computer's response time. It works by using spare capacity to guess what tasks are likely to be asked by the user (or programs) to perform next, and then carries out the calculations in advance. This is referred to as speculative computation, or speculative execution.
Unfortunately this process meant some data that's meant to be kept completely isolated could be seen by rogue software - including information such as passwords or personal details. One such threat came from an open web page in a browser, which was then able to access data from another open page.
Site Isolation Limits Risk
After tests among business users, Google is now rolling out a Chrome security feature named Site Isolation. It deals with what happens when two open tabs in Chrome share information, for example when one page opens up a new tab through a pop-up window.
Until now, Chrome has allowed two tabs connected in this way to share the same "process", meaning the computer's processor treats them as a single task to which it can allocate resources.
With Site Isolation, this will now only happen if Chrome is absolutely certain that both tabs are from the same website, removing the risk of a rogue site accessing data from a legitimate one. (Source: chromium.org)
Read More: Slow Chrome Browser
3-4 minutes
Google is updating the Chrome browser to give it better defenses against major security threats. It comes at the price of reduced performance and a larger memory footprint.
The changes are to address two security bugs labeled Meltdown and Spectre by researchers. They take advantage of a flaw in almost every computer processor built since 1995, which is (as of this day) 100% of all computers, tablets, smartphones, laptops - and anything else that uses a processor.
The flaw is in regard to a processor feature, which is designed to speed up a computer's response time. It works by using spare capacity to guess what tasks are likely to be asked by the user (or programs) to perform next, and then carries out the calculations in advance. This is referred to as speculative computation, or speculative execution.
Unfortunately this process meant some data that's meant to be kept completely isolated could be seen by rogue software - including information such as passwords or personal details. One such threat came from an open web page in a browser, which was then able to access data from another open page.
Site Isolation Limits Risk
After tests among business users, Google is now rolling out a Chrome security feature named Site Isolation. It deals with what happens when two open tabs in Chrome share information, for example when one page opens up a new tab through a pop-up window.
Until now, Chrome has allowed two tabs connected in this way to share the same "process", meaning the computer's processor treats them as a single task to which it can allocate resources.
With Site Isolation, this will now only happen if Chrome is absolutely certain that both tabs are from the same website, removing the risk of a rogue site accessing data from a legitimate one. (Source: chromium.org)
Read More: Slow Chrome Browser
