Dec. 28 – Chrome’s latest version includes a ‘safety check’ tool, which is designed to notify users of malicious activity and to help free up the browser’s memory.

When a user’s stored passwords have been compromised in a known breach, the tool offers up an alert. It also scans recently installed extensions to identify any software that may be malicious.

The safety check tool was available in the past, however, its previous configuration meant that users had to run it manually. Now, the tool will automatically run in the background.

Chrome’s new features

The safety check tool also provides users with the option to withdraw permissions for specific websites that haven’t been used in a while. For instance, a user can deactivate a no-longer-used website’s capacity to monitor their location or access a microphone.

When it comes to browser performance, Google has also upgraded the memory saver tool. This reduces the amount of system memory and the resources required to operate Chrome.

Update to avoid a bug

Looking for another reason to update Chrome to the latest version? A new security fix resolves a critical bug that’s been spotted in the wild.

Identified as CVE-2023-7024, a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) component in earlier Chrome versions could be manipulated by a remote attacker using a carefully crafted HTML page.

In simpler terms, this technical flaw could be exploited by a malicious actor to deceive the browser into crashing or executing harmful code.

Wait, there’s more…

Chrome currently provides a feature known as Tab groups. The feature is intended to enhance the organization of users’ tabs. An upcoming update, likely to roll out in the next few weeks, will give users the ability to save Tab groups and to access them on other computers and devices running Chrome.

Additionally, Google has hinted at the arrival of more intelligent and useful Chrome features in 2024, as powered by the company’s Gemini model.