Chrome just got the biggest upgrade in years - 3 reasons you need to update
Google Chrome is infamous for how much it can bog down your device’s performance. The app is a resource hog, but users are getting a major reprieve thanks to the browser’s latest update.
Google Chrome version 87.0.4280.6 has completely changed how it handles your tabs to speed up the browser and reduce its bloat. It also fixes several critical security issues that can put you in danger. Tap or click to see Chrome’s last major security update.
The new update doesn’t just improve Chrome’s performance and security. It also includes new features that make browsing the web more comfortable and more productive. Here’s what you can expect when you update your browser.
Google updates Chrome with better performance and tab searching
Google promises a significant speed boost to Chrome users with the release of its latest update. The company outlined its plans in a new blog post, calling it “the largest gain in Chrome performance in years.”
The biggest change happens under the hood, thanks to Google’s reworking of browser tabs. Previously, Chrome treated tabs like individual system processes rather than part of a single program. The new update eliminates this feature.
Instead, Chrome will prioritize performance in your active tab and keep the rest running in the background. Google claims that most of the work will be handled by JavaScript timers and once-per-minute refreshes. This should improve Chrome’s resource demands on your system.
According to Google, the new way that Chrome handles tabs reduces CPU use up to five times. Plus, laptop users will see a battery boost of up to 1.25 hours, and the browser opens 25% faster and loads pages 7% faster.
Mobile Chrome users on Android will see an even larger boost in performance thanks to how the operating system integrates Chrome into its processes. Pages will supposedly load even faster than before.
Tab searches come to Chrome
Chrome 87.0.4280.66 fixes 33 security flaws among other improvements, but the most notable comes in the form of tab searches — a new way to find what you’re looking for in the pages you have open.
This popular video editing app tried to scam $25 million from users
Are you careful when downloading apps? Installing the wrong apps, especially on open-source platforms like Android, can cause serious harm to your device.
But it’s not just downloading that you need to be wary of. You also need to make sure that you’re keeping your apps up to date. Developers don’t just release new features with updates. They also send patches or fixes for bugs.
Google, WhatsApp, Flash and other copycat apps are hiding malware
As of March 2020, the amount of new Android malware in circulation spiked to 482,579 per month. Trojans, which disguise themselves as other programs, are the most common of these threats facing Android users as the year drags on.
How to spot red light and speed cameras with this new map feature
When you’re mapping out a destination, which app do you use? Most likely, it’s either Google Maps or Apple maps, depending on your device loyalty.
While iPhones have Apple Maps already installed, it seems to take a backseat to the more popular Google Maps. That’s because Google Maps offers a ton of cool features that make it enticing. There are still some really cool tricks you should try in Apple Maps, but they tend to get overlooked.
Google Meet adds another free feature to take on Zoom
There are plenty of services to choose from when it comes to video calls. Zoom, Skype, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams all have their own unique strengths and drawbacks — but some of their most popular features are starting to cross over between them.
Study reveals the apps that grab the most personal data
Let’s face it: Our data is up for grabs when we use apps on our phones. Programs like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others are in the business of selling ads — and our data makes it easy for them to pinpoint their targets.
Whoops! Social networking app that promises privacy exposed private messages
Data security is one of the most important aspects of any social network. Without it, personal data like names, phone numbers and email addresses can easily leak online. And when this data leaks, you can bet scammers and hackers will make the most of it.
21 game and puzzle apps infected with malware - check the list
There are plenty of reasons to be nervous when downloading apps for Android devices. Not only is Android malware on the rise, but people are also finding it in unsuspecting places like email attachments and Google Play — Google’s very own app store!
How long will you live? Researchers create new life expectancy calculator
Have you ever wondered how long you’ll live? The question of your mortality is bound to come up at some point or another — it’s just part of being human.
Maybe you’ve even asked the Magic 8-Ball a few times or consulted the all-knowing Zoltar to find out how long you have left on Earth. While fun, these methods aren’t exactly fact-based and can’t take into account important factors like your overall health or family history. Tap or click here to find out if men are programmed to have shorter life spans?
Deepfake bot 'undresses' 100K women with fake nude photos on messaging app
Deepfakes have been a topic of controversy ever since they first emerged on the web. To make a deepfake, creators will take ordinary photos and digitally stitch them to videos with the help of machine-learning AI. The result: an uncanny clip of someone who was never filmed.
Track the weather with this powerful, free live map
Weather. Before you say “boring,” you haven’t seen this site.
There are countless weather apps and websites out there, and most of us know the defaults that come loaded to our smartphones aren’t all that good. And one of the best options out there, Dark Sky, left Android for good this year. Tap or click here to find out why this user favorite is going away.
17 apps you need to delete: File converter, PDF scanners and more
Finding decent apps for your Android can be tricky. On one hand, you have tons of apps to choose from thanks to Google’s open-ended app store. On the other, a good portion of apps you’ll find on Google Play are buggy, ad-filled or downright malicious.
Fitness app could lead a stranger right to your home — change this setting
If you’re worried about privacy breaches on your mobile devices you should be. Hackers and snoops are everywhere looking to find as much information about you as possible for many reasons. And none of them are good.
There are tons of issues that can stem from using certain apps on your devices, like your personal data being shared or sold. Some apps, like a popular free VPN, have even exposed to selling out its users. Tap or click here to find out why free VPNs are bad news.
This app pays people to spy on their neighbors
Ever wish you could be in two places at once? It’s hard enough keeping track of our kids and pets, let alone the wait at the corner store or our favorite restaurants. An extra set of eyes would make it much easier to manage our busy schedules.
Check your phone! 7 scam apps with millions of downloads
Malicious apps are a plague that people have been dealing with for years now. But as bad as these apps are, they tend to have one saving grace: You usually have to go out of your way to find them.
Sure, sometimes malicious apps will disguise themselves as legitimate ones in order to trick people into downloading them. But more often than not, the most dangerous scam apps are found on third-party app stores. Tap or click here to see why this third-party app store should be avoided at all costs.
Privacy-minded? 3 apps you need to download
Your privacy is at risk every time you are online. Hackers and snoops are constantly looking for personal information for a multitude of reasons and none of them are good. Identity theft, hijacked online accounts and draining bank accounts to name a few.
Make your video calls better with this comic book add-on
If you’re like many of us, your average workday has been chock full of cameras and screens. We’re talking, of course, about Zoom — the video conferencing service used by companies everywhere.
Zoom and similar video chat services have helped businesses keep their operations running smoothly during the COVID-19 pandemic. And since so many people are using it, a new industry has emerged for Zoom add-ons and extras. Tap or click here to see some of our favorite Zoom add-ons.
Screen your calls with an app that shows why a business is phoning you
Most of us avoid calls from businesses that we aren’t expecting to receive — especially when we don’t recognize what the business is or why they’re calling. Dodging phone calls can get old, though, considering so many come in each day. Incessant spam calls can bury legitimate ones and make it tough to tell what is what.
Forget eBay and Facebook Marketplace - Try this app to buy and sell
Have you ever heard of the popular online marketplace apps OfferUp and letgo? If you haven’t, they’re competitors of eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. Recently, OfferUp purchased letgo and has integrated it into its platform.
See your hometown on a map hundreds of millions of years ago
If you’ve ever gone on a hike in a remote area or taken a long walk in your hometown, you may have come across some artifacts that point to what life looked like before humans roamed the Earth. Perhaps you’ve found some fossils in an old shale outcropping or stumbled across the cliff drawings left behind from an ancient civilization.