Google Chrome 17 Hits Stable Channel

by Andrew Cunningham on 2/8/2012 8:30:00 PM
Posted in Chrome , Browsers , Google

It's been a busy week for Google Chrome - Google today posted Chrome 17 to the stable channel, two days after releasing the first Chrome beta for Android 4.0 tablets and phones. Chrome version 17.0.963.46 patches a number of security holes and adds some small new features and cosmetic tweaks.

Chrome 17 adds a feature called Download Scanning Protection to the browser, which compares downloaded .exes and .msi files to a Google-maintained list and lets the user know if the file has been downloaded from a known malicious site. Users can still click through the warning messages, but it's an extra level of security that may occasionally prevent infection.

The other major innovation is more aggressive Omnibox Prerendering - the browser will begin to load search results and webpages in the background before you finish typing them in an attempt to make page loading seem faster. There are also some new APIs for Extensions and "other small changes," including the fact that the new tab button no longer has a plus sign in it. For a complete list of bug and security fixes, the release notes are linked for your convenience below.

The new version of Chrome is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and most flavors of Linux.

Source: Google

Print This Article 14 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment 1st by dado023 on Wednesday, February 08, 2012 will it update itself?

FIRST POST dado023 Reply enzofx by EnzoFX on Wednesday, February 08, 2012 Should, I guess mine did last time I restarted. It's already @ 17 haha. EnzoFX Reply RE: enzofx by V-Money on Wednesday, February 08, 2012 You're right, I went to check and see if mine did. I was disappointed when it said still said 16, then I realized it was just finishing the install. V-Money Reply RE: enzofx by EnzoFX on Wednesday, February 08, 2012 Mine hasn't rendered pages in the background for a good while now. I really liked this. Made loading favorites so great. The only thing it renders as you type is google search results =/. EnzoFX Reply RE: enzofx by Ankou on Thursday, February 09, 2012 So if you type "do " with the space in Google search even without pressing enter, the new more aggressive prerendering will load "do a barrel roll" and spin your display. :/ Ankou Reply RE: enzofx by emilemil1 on Thursday, February 09, 2012 Chrome doesn't display the prerendered page until you confirm your selection. Google Search is an exception for some reason. This is most likely because it would be very annoying if your screen flashed between multiple websites as you type a long address.

You can see the difference in loading speed with a simple test. For example by copying the address of a website that is known to load slowly, restarting the browser, and then pasting the address into the Omnibar and press enter in quick succession, giving Chrome no time to prerender. Compare that to typing the address (until Chrome guesses the one you want) and then waiting a while before pressing enter. The page should appear with virtually no delay, as you have given Chrome time to load everything by waiting before confirming your selection. emilemil1 Reply Biggest Feature Everyone Misses Including This Article! by diennguyen on Thursday, February 09, 2012 Touch Support! Finally - no more third party extension! There is minor bug with scoll bar though. diennguyen Reply New Tab + icon disappeared by FiveO on Thursday, February 09, 2012 why did they removed the + icon for creating a new tab. Older or non-power users will never again click there (also CTRL & T doesn't get into many heads) FiveO Reply RE: New Tab + icon disappeared by tlbj6142 on Thursday, February 09, 2012 I wish they'd get rid of the little button entirely and have it work like Firefox, just click on the space next to the tabs to start a new tab. tlbj6142 Reply RE: New Tab + icon disappeared by Bateluer on Thursday, February 09, 2012 FireFox has a button, its a Plus sign. Bateluer Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
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