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Chrome 64 Released With Stronger Popup Blocker, Spectre Mitigations (bleepingcomputer.com)

Google on Thursday pushed an update to its marquee Web browser Chrome, now at v64, which offers a handful of new features including an improved ad blocker. From a report: Most of the new features included with Chrome 64 are meant to improve the browser's support for the ever-changing web standards that drive the modern Internet. For example, Chrome 64 is choke full of support for new browser APIs, new CSS properties, new JavaScript (ECMAScript) features, and changes to Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. [...] Other big changes that shipped with Chrome 64 are on the browser's security side. For starters, Chrome 64 includes mitigations against the web-exploitable Spectre flaw. Further, Chrome 64 also comes with a bolstered popup blocker that can now block tab-under behavior, being much more efficient at blocking malvertising redirects.

51 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And still... by sirber · · Score: 1

    Be happy on Safari ;)

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    Be or ben't
  2. Choke full of support? by Khyber · · Score: 4, Informative

    Chock-full. Editors go back to school, please.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    1. Re:Choke full of support? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      You mean like the lack of unicode support? For a nerds-oriented website, it's a shame this problem still hasnâ(TM)t been fixed after so long.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:Choke full of support? by Guybrush_T · · Score: 1

      I learned an english expression today.

  3. Re:Chrome keeps improving. Firefox keeps stagnatin by phantomfive · · Score: 1

    For years we've had Firefox users saying that they just want a fast, extensible, secure browser.

    That's what Firefox is now, it's really great and just getting better.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  4. stopping video autoplay? by hemna · · Score: 1

    The single biggest annoyance for web today (to me) is all the damn sites that autoplay video just because you view a page.
    I want a setting that stops all media, video/audio from autoplaying.

    1. Re:stopping video autoplay? by OYAHHH · · Score: 1

      YES! YES! YES!

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      Caution: Contents under pressure
    2. Re:stopping video autoplay? by tepples · · Score: 1

      Disable the fucking plugins.

      I too have had Flash and other plug-ins on click-to-play for over a decade, but HTML5 video is not "fucking plugins."

      Install something like HTTP Switchboard to block shit you don't want.

      HTTP Switchboard is no longer maintained. Its replacement is an ad blocker. Is there an ad blocker that blocks only ads that aren't self-hosted (like Firefox tracking protection does) and autoplaying videos?

    3. Re:stopping video autoplay? by schwit1 · · Score: 1

      What plugin? This is an html5 issue.

    4. Re:stopping video autoplay? by malikto · · Score: 1

      I wish Chrome would offer a "click to activate" button for autoplay crap. It gets annoying, so much that I wind up just using a VM [1] for all my Web browsing which ensures that any sound played never is heard. Sites like C-Net are notorious for this. It also wouldn't hurt to have a bandwidth guard. If the item is bigger than a certain size, don't download it. [1]: A VM also gives some additional niceties like containing damage done by malware, and the ability to restore to a previous snapshot very quickly, so if a browser or add-on has a hole in it, things are mitigated.

  5. Now if only they had adblock on Android by phantomfive · · Score: 1

    Now if Chrome had adblock on Android, it might actually be a usable browser. I sure don't want to pay for downloading all those ads.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  6. I don't need a popup blocker anymore by OYAHHH · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I need something that blocks those overlays (whatever it is called) that ask you to sign up for a website.... etc.

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    Caution: Contents under pressure
    1. Re:I don't need a popup blocker anymore by sn0wflake · · Score: 1

      I use Quick JavaScript Switcher to kill off those kind of messages. If disabling JavaScript breaks the website I simply stop visiting that website. Disabling JavaScript is also useful for websites that spawn new windows.

    2. Re:I don't need a popup blocker anymore by ortholattice · · Score: 1

      I don't know about Chrome, but in FIrefox, Nuke Anything 2.4 often works for this - you right-click on the object, select Nuke Anything, and it's gone, exposing the text underneath. Sometimes you have to do it twice because they have 2 layers.

    3. Re:I don't need a popup blocker anymore by crtreece · · Score: 1

      I use a chrome plugin called BehindTheOverlay to nuke those.

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      file: .signature not found
    4. Re:I don't need a popup blocker anymore by tepples · · Score: 1

      That doesn't help when the anti-adblock script doesn't insert the article's text into the DOM at all until the ad is deemed viewable.

  7. Re:Chrome keeps improving. Firefox keeps stagnatin by OYAHHH · · Score: 2

    I gave up on it after the 5,000,000th time that needlessly altered the UI on their browser. Just this last release they decided to ignore the user's MS Windows preferences per window colors. Idiots are what they are. Apparently they can't understand I set up my desktop environment in a certain manner for a specific purpose.

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    Caution: Contents under pressure
  8. SPECTRE by pahles · · Score: 1

    For starters, Chrome 64 includes mitigations against the web-exploitable Spectre flaw.

    Where other browser were updated last week...

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    Sig?
    1. Re:SPECTRE by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Funny

      You laugh, but everyone knows that Chrome 64 > ZX SPECTRE.

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      Ezekiel 23:20
  9. Re:Chrome keeps improving. Firefox keeps stagnatin by phantomfive · · Score: 1

    Firefox 57 replaced a rather powerful extension system with one that's very limited and crippled. Not only were pretty much all existing extensions broken by Firefox 57, but the new extension system is so limited that there are critical Firefox extensions that couldn't even be reimplemented properly due to missing extension system functionality!

    What functionality are you missing? All the plugins I want still work.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  10. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

    There's also Safari, but you'd have to buy a Mac, iPad or iPhone to be able to use it.

    If you think Safari is not a valid option because it requires macOS, then Edge is also not a valid option because it requires Windows.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  11. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

    The vast majority of plugins are available for FF57+ now.

    57 also boosted performance significantly, but 58 took it to a whole new level. It's way beyond Chrome now.

    --
    Eat the rich.
  12. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by not+flu · · Score: 1

    Vivaldi, Brave, and modern versions of Opera are all basically just Blink

    But that's the good part of Chrome. I switched to Vivaldi from Firefox personally.

    Firefox is no good, especially after Firefox 57 totally ruined its formerly-rich extension ecosystem. In my opinion its UI and performance are also terrible. So it's not an option.

    Performance of Firefox is actually alright again, better than Vivaldi is for me now even though Vivaldi was faster when I jumped ship. The most critical extensions for me do have versions for current Firefox also. The problem with Firefox for me now is that I have lost trust in Mozilla having the users' best interest in mind and by extension in Firefox.

  13. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by not+flu · · Score: 1

    Safari is a good vanilla browser, but the extension ecosystem is relatively weak.

  14. Re:And still... by DarkRookie · · Score: 1

    Yesyesyes. Lets use a browser worse than Chrome. Safari is just Apples version of IE.

    --
    The millennial that doesn't like most of the stuff designed for millennials.
  15. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by DarkRookie · · Score: 1

    Except for the ones I use.

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    The millennial that doesn't like most of the stuff designed for millennials.
  16. Re:Chrome keeps improving. Firefox keeps stagnatin by DarkRookie · · Score: 1

    Classic Theme Restorer and Download Status Bar.
    No add ons replace the functionally of these. I am not using their new shit UI.

    --
    The millennial that doesn't like most of the stuff designed for millennials.
  17. C64 by Ded+Bob · · Score: 1, Funny

    I saw the headline as Commodore 64.

    I never had one but did have a VIC-20.

  18. Must disable autoplay video by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1
    It does not matter if they mute the audio.

    I don't want autoplay video on any tab.

    I hate auto play video that relocates the frame as I scroll it off to keep off my view.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  19. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    57 also boosted performance significantly, but 58 took it to a whole new level. It's way beyond Chrome now.

    I keep hearing this, but I have yet to actually find a Firefox installation where this is true in practice.

    When it comes to Firefox 57, I've tried a variety of combinations of upgraded installations, fresh installations, no extensions, ad-blocking extensions, on OSes like Windows, Linux and macOS.

    I can't think of a single instance where Firefox 57 was noticeably faster than Chrome on the same system. And that's what I'm comparing it against: Chrome. I don't care if Firefox 57 is faster than Firefox 56.

    Chrome is responsive. It fetches and renders pages quickly. It can handle many tabs being open at once. It does this while using comparatively little memory.

    Firefox 57 has been the opposite, in my experiences with it. I find its UI to be slow and lagging. Pages feel like they take so much longer to load. I've seen it use multiple GBs of resident memory after limited browsing.

    I haven't tried Firefox 58, but I find it hard to believe that it fixes the significant gap I've experienced between Firefox 57 and Chrome.

    As far as I'm concerned, it has become a boy-who-cried-wolf situation with Firefox's advocates. Every release they tell me that Firefox is supposedly "faster", but then it has always been slower than Chrome each time I've tried it.

  20. Dear Editor -- please read your titles. by SeaFox · · Score: 2

    Google on Thursday pushed an update to its marquee Web browser Chrome, now at v64, which offers a handful of new features including an improved ad blocker.

    Chrome has an ad blocker? I think given Google is also an advertising company, bundling something that blocks other companies' ads would raise some FTC eyebrows. How about a pop-up blocker, like it says in the title?

    1. Re:Dear Editor -- please read your titles. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Chrome has an ad blocker? I think given Google is also an advertising company

      Google's advertising adheres to some basic form of standards. Chrome has always attempted to block outright malicious and exceedingly annoying adverts. It doesn't block any ads which would be allowed on adsense which is why the FTC would have no basis to take any action.

      As for pop-up blocker, that has existed since long before Chrome jumped to the update major version on every release bandwagon. In fact I think it was there from day one and it has been fine tuned many times over the years to defeat an ever changing malicious profile. E.g. opening something in a new window has always been blocked. Preventing a site from opening content in a new tab and then re-directing a previous tab to an advert on a click is something far more recent.

  21. 63.0.3239.108 - good for 340 tabs by jasonharrop · · Score: 1

    I like my current 63.0.3239.108 It is responsive with 340 tabs (on Linux anyway), just like the good old days. Though those 340 tabs used 20GB RAM... Hope 64 is as good in this respect.

  22. Edge doesn't need a particular brand of computer by tepples · · Score: 1

    If you think Safari is not a valid option because it requires macOS, then Edge is also not a valid option because it requires Windows.

    I don't see the equivalence. Edge can be thought of as a $119.99 browser that runs on almost any x86-64 PC (and comes with an operating system called Windows at no additional charge). Safari requires specifically an Apple brand computer.

  23. Ubufox and Keybinder by tepples · · Score: 1

    Two extensions that I have used have not been ported. One was not ported because it depends on legacy APIs known to lack a counterpart in WebExtensions.

    Keybinder This allows disabling the Ctrl+Q keyboard shortcut for Quit, which is too easy for a user to hit accidentally while reaching for Ctrl+W or Ctrl+Tab. Restore Previous Session fails to restore some forms, particularly Slashdot D2 comment forms. A replacement for Keybinder is pending the resolution of bug 1325692 in BMO. The README file in its source code states that its maintainer abandoned the project over the lack of a counterpart to XUL keysets. Ubufox This notifies the user when the APT package manager has upgraded Firefox, so that the user can plan a restart for when no unrestorable forms remain open. In theory, bug 1364978 in BMO and bug 1711778 in Launchpad would track porting Ubufox to WebExtensions, but I don't see 1364978 depending on other bugs.
  24. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by Qzukk · · Score: 1

    I use Cookie Clicker as my benchmark. Set it to Christmas and turn on audio. Does the reindeer sound play before the reindeer leaves the screen? On Chrome the deer was gone by the time the jingle quit and almost gone by the time it started. On Firefox, the deer was halfway across the screen. Click a wrinkler. Does it respond to every click? Triple click one. Did it pop? It should, but on Chrome it sometimes takes four-five clicks. Get a cookie storm. Does it even react to you clicking the cookies before they disappear?

    I'm on Linux with a 4k monitor so maybe there's something with Chrome in that environment, but Firefox does reasonably well.

    --
    If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  25. Blocks only ads in annoying formats by tepples · · Score: 1

    As I understand Google's announced plan for Chrome, the eventual intent is to block ads on all sites that use ad formats that the Coalition for Better Ads has determined annoy viewers. Currently the Better Ads Standards deem the following formats annoying:

    • Pop-up ads triggered other than through inactivity or tab invisibility
    • Automatically playing ads with audio
    • Prestitial ads with a countdown before close
    • All prestitial ads (on mobile)
    • All ads with a countdown before close (on mobile)
    • Sticky ads covering more than 30 percent of the viewport
    • Ads making up more than 30 percent of the document's vertical height
    • Ads whose animation includes a flashing element
    • Ads that the user must explicitly drag out of the way, interrupting inertial scrolling

    If Chrome doesn't block Google's own ads, it's because Google doesn't offer inventory in any of the annoying formats.

    Tab-unders aren't listed on the Coalition's website, but I find them worse than some of the listed formats because the act of closing such an ad destroys the back button stack.

    I was disappointed that the standards didn't list the practice of "retargeting" or "remarketing" on sites with unrelated subject matter, a practice that many users claim to find creepy. But then I guess that's Google's bread and butter.

  26. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by Quantum+gravity · · Score: 1

    In 58 they put the graphics in a separate thread so rendering can potentially be done by a separate CPU. Here are the details: https://mozillagfx.wordpress.c...

    One thing that some might have missed is that with 57 one can enable tracking protection (not just for private browsing) and that can have a significant impact on real world performance.

  27. Re:Chrome keeps improving. Firefox keeps stagnatin by theweatherelectric · · Score: 1

    Then there's the Firefox of today.

    Oh good. Another pointless, content-free "Firefox kicks puppies!" post from an anonymous coward.

    Yet breaking nearly all extensions

    All the extensions I use continue to work, and so do over 8,000 other extensions. Your experience is not universal.

    For years we've had Firefox users saying that they just want a fast, extensible, secure browser.

    And that's what Firefox is. Maybe get outside a bit more and get some perspective.

  28. Re:Chrome keeps improving. Firefox keeps stagnatin by theweatherelectric · · Score: 1

    Firefox is somehow "faster"

    It sure is. Try turning on Firefox's Tracking Protection. Set it to "always" and you will halve your average page load time.

  29. Re: Chrome keeps improving. Firefox keeps stagnati by theweatherelectric · · Score: 1

    NoScript for one

    NoScript works in Firefox 57+. Giorgio Maone, the author of NoScript, says Firefox's add-ons API is the best of any current browser. So that one's solved for you.

  30. NoScript works in Firefox current by Medievalist · · Score: 1

    I've got NoScript running in Firefox right now.

    It was broken for a day or two, and had UI issues for a couple days after that, but now I like it even better than I did before FF57's plugin apocalypse. Change was good for it.

    Of course, I gave the author useful feedback and paypal'd him a donation to support the work, so I'm not surprised that the tool works fine for me.

  31. How to find advertisers that allow self-hosting? by tepples · · Score: 1

    I'm interested in switching my blog to hosting its own ads. How would I go about finding sponsors? Last I checked, well-known advertisers preferred to buy inventory from ad networks and ad exchanges so that they could reach multiple publishers' sites with one buy, target very specific inferred demographics regardless of correlation with a particular site's subject matter, and benefit from economies of scale in click fraud detection. If you have operated a site that hosts its own ads, how did you overcome these obstacles? I know Daring Fireball does, but I don't have quite his scale yet.

  32. It doesn't stop them by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

    I was all ready to install that but it doesn't do what it claims. It says click to close those overlays? You already have to click them to close them. I don't want to fucking see them in the first place. I know its some css bullshit so can't we have a plugin that blocks that call?

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  33. Close some tabs by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

    You don't need to have 340 tabs open. That is the equivalent of having a house filled to the ceiling with junk mail on the off chance you might need to refer back to it one day.

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    1. Re:Close some tabs by jasonharrop · · Score: 1

      Well, I happen to be researching about 10 things right now, so I end up with a lot of tabs. When I'm finished with something - after an hour, a day, or a month - I'll close those tabs. This is how I like to work. You might be different. You might have an empty desk? I'm glad I have a browser version which supports this style of work.

    2. Re:Close some tabs by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Oh that wasn't condescending at all. Of those 340 tabs how many contained worthwhile content to your research? I'm guessing >90% do not.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  34. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Except Edge on iOS is only a program wrapped around webkit.

    But I did forget Edge was also on Android, so +1 informative to you.

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    #DeleteFacebook
  35. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

    I can't think of a single instance where Firefox 57 was noticeably faster than Chrome on the same system. And that's what I'm comparing it against: Chrome. I don't care if Firefox 57 is faster than Firefox 56.

    Chrome is responsive. It fetches and renders pages quickly. It can handle many tabs being open at once. It does this while using comparatively little memory.

    Firefox 57 has been the opposite, in my experiences with it. I find its UI to be slow and lagging. Pages feel like they take so much longer to load. I've seen it use multiple GBs of resident memory after limited browsing.

    Well, I don't know your specific setups, but FF57/58 are definitely faster on all of the machines I've tried it on, including my 2011-era Phenom II desktop (Linux Mint), my Thinkcentre M72e (i5-based, Linux Mint) media PC, my Thinkpad T440 (Win7/Linux Mint), and my girlfriend's Latitude 6430 (Win7). None of these machines are monsters by any metric (the desktop and the T440 have SSDs, though), but FF runs amazing on them, while using less memory than Chrome. And it feels faster.

    --
    Eat the rich.
  36. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by not+flu · · Score: 1

    Chrome constantly crashes all my tabs, has since it came out and it still hasn't been fixed. When it does work I don't find it faster than the alternatives, but even if it was I don't care how fast a browser is if it doesn't actually work.

  37. Re:What's a good browser for 2018? by not+flu · · Score: 1

    Of course, Firefox always fails the one and only web browser benchmark that actually matters: how fast users find the browser to be when browsing web sites.

    This is bollocks, it is Chrome that fails the one and only web browser benchmark that ACTUALLY matters: not crashing all or at least a large portion of your tabs multiple times a day. I switched away from Firefox before 57 because of how buggy it got but it was still better than Chrome.