Google released the stable version of its Chrome browser today, bringing its release number up to 17. It has some nifty new features for end users, but also plenty of security tweaks behind the scenes. One of the newest features is pre-rendering when you type in the Omnibox with predictive technology. Say for example you frequent Amazon’s site. As soon as you type “Ama” in the omnibox, Chrome recognizes that you will probably go to Amazon and pre-renders the page for you.
As for security, Chrome has upped the ante in helping protect you against malicious downloads. Chrome now checks downloads against a list of known malicious files, especially for executables like .exe and .msi file types. For files that are not on the whitelist, Chrome then checks Google’s database to determine whether or not the file originates from a high threat website.
Chrome OS updates are on the way as well, with an image editor in the works that will allow users to quickly view and edit photos directly on the web.
If you want to try the latest version of Chrome, you can download it here. If you currently have Chrome installed, you don’t have to do anything as Chrome will auto-update for you. Let us know what you think about these new features in the comments!
