Latest news with #Firefox
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Yes, Chrome Really Can Survive Without Google
An estimated 4 billion people around the world use Chrome. But what if Google didn't control the world's most-used web browser? There's a chance this question might no longer be hypothetical. In the U.S. government's landmark antitrust case against Google for illegally monopolizing the online search market, one of the most consequential and hotly debated remedies on the table is the proposed spin-off of Chrome—a browser that drives more than a third of Google's search traffic and acts as a powerful gatekeeper to the internet. In court, Google cast doubt on the idea that any other company could successfully run Chrome. But it's simply not true that Google alone is capable of running Chrome. A new report from the Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI)—co-authored by the two of us, KGI's executive director and Firefox web browser's former chief technology officer—shows that it is technically feasible for Chrome to be divested. Our report concludes that an independent Chrome browser could stand on its own without Google, and could still compete with rivals like Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. Google Chrome logos are displayed on a cell phone. Google Chrome logos are displayed on a cell start with the basics about Chrome. Chrome is built on Chromium, an open-source software project with 35 million lines of code that are publicly accessible. Any company or developer can build a functional browser from Chromium today—and many already do, including Microsoft, Brave, and Perplexity. The new owner of Chrome would build on the underlying Chromium code base. If Chrome were spun off, the new owner would need to replace certain Google-owned components and services. Consider Safe Browsing, a feature that alerts users when they visit a suspicious website or encounter harmful downloads. It's run by Google, but it's also already used by competing browsers. Chrome's new owner could continue using it—and Google may well have reasons to continue running it—or adopt alternative approaches, like partnering with another company. Similarly, technical blueprints exist for how to run services like bookmark syncing and software updates. However, we shouldn't expect the new owner to replicate or recreate everything Google does—nor should it. Any buyer willing to front the resources to buy Chrome is not likely to be interested in perfectly copying everything Google has done, and would rather compete on its own terms according to its own business interests. It will be key for Chrome's new owner to recruit and retain the engineering talent needed to build and maintain Chrome. A well-resourced new owner—one committed to the future of an independent Chrome—could build a top-tier team with the right mission and incentives, drawing from a talent pool that exists both inside and outside of Google. A successful divestiture would also require court-ordered guardrails and transitional support from Google. With the above in place, Chrome's 4 billion users should continue to enjoy the same high-quality browser experience they've come to expect from a major browser, and perhaps even benefit from new browser innovations that are no longer tied to Google's corporate priorities. Some features would surely change as the new owner crafts the product according to its own goals, but the key components of a fast, secure browsing experience are all within reach for an independently operated Chrome. Concerns about the potential Chrome spin-off sometimes exhibit a sort of Stockholm syndrome: fear of a world without the monopolist's resources. We often get asked how an independent Chrome could possibly make money—as if a product with 4 billion global users would not be an attractive asset with many monetization options. Possible business models could draw on search, advertising, artificial intelligence (AI), enterprise use, and other services. If the court adopts some of the government's other proposed remedies as well—for example, requiring Google to syndicate its search results or search ads—many new potential business opportunities could open up. Breaking Chrome away from Google wouldn't break the browser. An independent Chrome browser can successfully compete should Google be forced to sell off Chrome. Alissa Cooper is executive director of the Knight-Georgetown Institute. She is a recognized leader in the development of global internet standards, policy, and governance. Prior to joining KGI, Alissa spent a decade at Cisco Systems in senior engineering and executive roles, including vice president of technology standards and vice president and chief technology officer for technology policy. Eric Rescorla is a senior research fellow at the Knight-Georgetown Institute. He is the former chief technology officer, Firefox, at Mozilla, where he was responsible for setting the overall technical strategy for the Firefox browser. Eric has contributed extensively to many of the core security protocols used in the internet, including TLS, DTLS, WebRTC, ACME, and QUIC. Most recently, he served as chief technologist for the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Engadget
2 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
1Password subscriptions are on sale for 50 percent off right now
A password manager is a crucial tool for anyone, really, but especially students going back to school in the fall. If you're one of them, you probably have more logins to remember now than ever before. 1Password is having a notable back-to-school sale right now that can take the anxiety out of remembering all your credentials. Both Individual and Families plans have been discounted: the former is down to just $18 for a year, while the latter will run you $30 for the year. The plans are nearly identical in terms of features, but the Families plan accommodates five additional people. Just note that only new 1Password customers can get this deal, and the sale price only applies to the first year of access. The deal runs through September 12. The Families plan is also on sale. $18 at 1Password This provider actually topped our list of the best password managers, and for good reason. We appreciated the intuitive interface and the fact that it's available on most platforms, so you'll never be left out in the cold. These include Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, macOS, iOS, Windows, Android and more. Subscriptions include industry standard encryption and a "secret key" that only you know on top of a master password. There's also two-factor authentication and the platform issues alerts when credentials have potentially been compromised. The only downside here is the one that accompanies many password managers. There is no free version. Obviously, this won't be an issue for the year, but it could once the plan runs out. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice .
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I just tried Perplexity's new Comet AI browser — and now I don't think I can go back to Chrome
As I open up the link to get started on Perplexity's new Comet browser, I'm greeted with a mysterious sound, graphics of spinning planets and a sense of grandeur. Is it over-the-top? Yes. But at the same time, it feels right. Perplexity recently took arguably its biggest step as a company, launching its own internet browser. Think Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. The big difference is this is an entirely AI-powered browser. What does that mean exactly? Well, along with the usual Perplexity function of being both a chatbot and an internet search tool, blending search results and summaries, this new tool also includes your very own AI assistant. This is essentially an AI feature that does the heavy lifting for you. It can find and book restaurants, track down the best prices on a new laptop, or scan through your emails and compile a report of everything you've been sent over the last month. The Perplexity team gave me access to the new Comet browser to try out. I've spent some time using it, with one real question in mind: Is AI-powered browsing really the future or just a gimmick? After the theatrics of logging in, complete with choosing my planet design (I went with Mars, but I'm not really sure what that means), putting it into Dark Mode, and installing the new browser, I was in. Comet looks almost completely identical to the existing Perplexity experience. There's a box to type your searches and questions, the discover and spaces tabs to the left and your account settings. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. However, this is now a complete browser. It is built on the Chrome system so it will look very familiar to any Google Chrome users. I logged in using my Chrome account and all of my bookmarks carried over. Just like any browser you've used before, there are tabs at the top and you can even set Comet as your default browser. All of this is interesting, but right now it is essentially Chrome with a few extra AI tricks. It's the assistant that really puts Comet in a space of its own. I tried using it on a variety of tasks to see how it would handle them. Going out to eat is a lovely experience. Finding and booking a restaurant, on the other hand, is not. With this in mind, I set Comet to work, saying: 'Find me a well-reviewed vegetarian restaurant in Bristol that is relatively affordable and book me a table for next Thursday at 7 pm'. I then went and made a coffee. I came back to my laptop to find a long string of actions from Comet. It had tracked down a variety of restaurants that fit all of my requirements and was desperately scrolling through each one to find a table. When you use the assistant, Perplexity lists out every single step it takes. It is painfully granular, but when it is handling your finances, calendar, and accounts, this is exactly what you want. When you use the assistant, Perplexity lists out every single step it takes. It is painfully granular, but when it is handling your finances, calendar, and accounts, this is exactly what you want. I scrolled through its steps, seeing it run each restaurant against my requirements, then trying to book each one in order of which best fit what I was after. It finally found a table that would fit what I had asked for and asked if I would like to book it. I said yes, gave it my phone number and email, and voila! I had a booking confirmation sent to my email. Where I normally would have had to research restaurants and check each one's booking availability, all I had to do was prompt Perplexity, go get a drink, and come back to say yes. An incredibly reassuring feature is that Perplexity never completes the process without checking first. In other words, even if you prompt it to find and buy you a new pair of shoes, it will ask at the end if you're still sure. It can also just add something to your basket or save the item if you're not actually ready to buy yet. While I made my coffee, waiting for my table to be booked, I noticed I was running low on coffee beans. In the thrall of my new AI browser power, I instantly made my next prompt request: 'Find me a 500g bag of Lavazza coffee beans at their lowest price and put them in my basket'. A short period of time later and Comet had searched the internet, found a deal on at Amazon UK, and added the beans to my basket. It's a very small request, and realistically would have taken me no time at all to do myself, but it's amazing how quickly it can be completed on these kinds of requests. I was once young and cool (I wasn't really), but now I am having to book multiple tips to my local recycling centre to dispose of garden waste. Annoyingly, the form to book an appointment takes a long time, especially when you do it quite often in one week. I instead handed the work over to Comet. I gave it the details it needed and told it to go and book an appointment. Other than checking a few times if I still wanted to finish the booking, it powered through the forms, filling in all of my information. I then tried this same process with a range of other booking sites and even a questionnaire. Just like the coffee bean purchase, this is entirely unnecessary, but there is something quite satisfying about not having to get stuck in these forms for ages. While I haven't had an opportunity to try this with Comet right now, I would be interested to see if it is able to sit in a digital queue, buying tickets when its space comes up. It's another small but potentially really useful experience from the tool. I was admittedly skeptical about the rise of AI agents and browsers, but Perplexity's Comet has changed my mind. In fact, I think Google is going to face its biggest competition this year to keep its crown as king of the search. Even though Perplexity is piggybacking on the Chrome structure, the addition of the assistant is just so useful. And even outside of that, having such an advanced AI summary built into your browser is pretty neat in absolutely any search. As OpenAI gears up to launch its own AI browser, it seems clear that this is the future of search. Chrome's days could be numbered.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Windows 11's Controversial Recall Feature Will Soon be Turned Off in Brave's Browser
Microsoft's Recall feature which automatically takes screenshots of whatever you're doing on your computer has proven controversial drawing criticism from many privacy experts. Now, a popular privacy-focused web browser has confirmed it's turning the feature off by default. Brave's upcoming version 1.81 of its browser will automatically turn off Recall. Brave said in a blog post, 'We think it's vital that your browsing activity on Brave does not accidentally end up in a persistent database, which is especially ripe for abuse in highly-privacy-sensitive cases such as intimate partner violence.' Brave is the only major web browser to do this with alternatives like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge allowing Recall to work. Even privacy-focused browsers like DuckDuckGo, Firefox, and Tor Browser allow for Recall to work. Brave's move may now inspire some of these other browsers to do similar. If you like the idea of Microsoft's Recall feature, you can still use it within Brave. Once the update has rolled out, you'll be able to turn it back on by heading to Settings > Privacy and security and then finding the toggle called Block Microsoft Recall. Microsoft hasn't made it easy for developers to turn off Recall in applications. Back in May, Signal announced it would be disabling all screenshots within its Microsoft app as a way to stop Recall gaining access to user's conversations. This limitation also meant tools like screen readers stopped working, and you're no longer able to do typical screenshots within the app. Brave's process to make this happen has meant it was able to implement the change without it impacting screenshotting or other tools. Microsoft allows developers to have Recall turned off during private browsing sessions, so Brave has now made all of its sessions appear like that to Windows. Brave said, 'We've extended that logic to apply to all Brave browser windows. We tell the operating system that every Brave tab is 'private', so Recall never captures it.' Brave also used its announcement to ask Microsoft to change its policy for other applications. The brand says, 'While it's heartening that Microsoft recognizes that Web browsers are especially privacy-sensitive applications, we hope they offer the same granular ability to turn off Recall to all privacy-minded application developers."
Engadget
4 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
1Password subscriptions are half off for the back to school season
1Password is running a notable back-to-school sale in the middle of July, but the deals more than make up for the chronological discrepancy. Many subscription plans are half off until September 12. This includes the Individual and Families plans. That brings the price of the Individual plan down to $18 for a year and the Families plan down to $30 for a year. The plans are nearly identical, but the Families plan accommodates five additional people. These discounts are only available to new customers and the prices expire after the year, so set a reminder to cancel or reassess. The Families plan is also on sale. $18 at 1Password This provider actually topped our list of the best password managers , and for good reason. We appreciated the intuitive interface and the fact that it's available on most platforms, so you'll never be left out in the cold. These include Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, macOS, iOS, Windows, Android and more. Subscriptions include industry standard encryption and a "secret key" that only you know on top of a master password. There's also two-factor authentication and the platform issues alerts when credentials have potentially been compromised. The only downside here is the one that accompanies many password managers. There is no free version. Obviously, this won't be an issue for the year, but it could once the plan runs out. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice .
