Browsers and extensions

Add tabs to Windows Explorer with QTTabBar

A little Internet Explorer shell named Netcaptor introduced tabbed browsing, and major players like Opera and Mozilla Firefox (and then Google Chrome) made the feature a default tool for surfing the Web. Even though Microsoft eventually added tabbed browsing to its own browser with Internet Explorer 7, the idea of tabs never really translated to Windows Explorer ... until QTTabBar.

QTTabBar is an extension that brings tab functionality to the Windows Explorer file browser. Began as a project by a Japanese developer known as Quizo, QTTabBar (which also goes by QT TabBar) added tabs to Window Explorer during the many years … Read more

IE keeps firm grip on half of the browser market

Microsoft's Internet Explorer still grabs more than half of all traffic among browsers, at least as viewed by Web tracker Net Applications.

Leading the desktop browser market for September, IE took home a share of 53.6 percent. That left Firefox in second place with 20 percent and Chrome in third with almost 19 percent.

Trailing the top five were Apple's Safari with 5.2 percent and Opera with just 1.6 percent.

IE's lead has dipped over the past few years. A high of 79 percent in November 2007 fell to a low of 51.8 … Read more

Safeguard your online Persona with Mozilla ID system

If you've ever struggled with remembering your Facebook password, or felt uncomfortable using your Google ID to log in to a non-Google Web site, Mozilla has a solution for you -- one it calls Persona.

This first beta of Persona, which used to be called Mozilla's BrowserID project, is designed to compete with Web site login systems like the ones offered by Twitter, Facebook, and Google. Whether this open source alternative can hold its own against those other login heavy-hitters, though, is another story.

Persona essentially aims to give you a cross-platform, cross-browser way to log into a … Read more

Safari on iOS favored among 85 percent of users

Apple's iOS users seem more willing to try new things than those running Android.

Advertising network Chitika yesterday released the results of a report on browser usage across mobile platforms. The company found that Safari, the default browser in iOS, is used by 85 percent of the folks running that operating system. Chrome, which sat atop the App Store's listing of free applications for several weeks over the summer, took 3 percent of the iOS market. All other browsers, including Dolphin and Atomic, combined for 11.9 percent share.

Interestingly, Android users are less likely to branch out. … Read more

Google pays bug hunters for finding Windows flaw

You might think Microsoft would be the one handing out awards to those who report security vulnerabilities in Windows, but yesterday it was Google that paid $5,000 to a pair who found one such problem.

Along with the release of the final, stable version of Chrome 22, Google announced that it's paying the bug bounty to Eetu Luodemaa and Joni Vahamaki of Documill for finding a memory corruption issue in Windows.

The award is part of a revised Chrome bug bounty policy in which Google pays for more than just Chrome bugs. "Occasionally, we issue special rewards … Read more

Life beyond JavaScript: Google's abuzz over RoboHornet test

Google last night unveiled an early version of RoboHornet, a general-purpose browser speed test that company engineers hope will shed light on something besides just JavaScript.

But Microsoft, maker of Internet Explorer, has derided the tests as not useful.

There are plenty of JavaScript speed tests, Google's new Octane among them, and for good reason: the programming language is used to turn static Web pages into interactive Web apps. But there's more to fast browsing, and Google hopes others will get involved to flesh out RoboHornet with a full suite of tests.

"It's a living, dynamic … Read more

Android's Opera Mini gets a socially networked Smart Page

A single new feature called Smart Page is the capstone to Opera Mini 7.5 for Android (download), finally bringing to Android Mini fans a feature that iOS Mini got back at Mobile World Congress in February.

Launching today, the Smart Page is a single-serving site from which people can check their social networking feeds, news sites, and recommended links based on their region. The social networking feature works with Twitter, Facebook, and the European social networking vKontakte.

Opera Mini is best known as a cross-platform browser that offers "Turbo," a compression option that can reduce bandwidth use … Read more

Behind the curtain at Google's Cirque du Soleil show

Google Chrome and Cirque du Soleil have partnered to show off the potential of the modern Web with an all-HTML5 Cirque performance that's unique to the Web, called Movi.Kanti.Revo.

The name comes from the Esperanto terms for moving, singing, and dreaming, according to the official Movi.Kanti.Revo Google announcement, and the experience does go to great lengths to create a dreamlike world on the Web. During different scenes of Movi .Kanti.Revo (pronounced MOOV-ee CANT-ee REEV-oh), you can interact with the site by moving your body or speaking to your computer. If that sounds a lot … Read more

Microsoft offers advice to deal with IE security bug

Users of Internet Explorer versions 6 through 9 are grappling with another security flaw without a fix, but Microsoft has a few suggestions to help shore up protection.

Uncovered this past weekend, the security hole could compromise the PCs of IE users who surf to a malicious Web site. Microsoft said it's already aware of attacks that have tried to take advantage of this weakness.

Since no fix is yet available, it's up to users of IE to protect themselves. A new Microsoft Security Advisory offers several recommendations.

To start, the usual advice always applies. Make sure you'… Read more