Google on Tuesday released a stable version of its browser that incorporates the speed and user setting upgrades that hit the browser's beta channel three weeks ago.
The latest version of Chrome 10 includes a speed boost with a 66 percent improvement in JavaScript performance via its V8 benchmark, Google said.
"With today's stable release, even your most complex web apps will run more quickly and responsively in the browser," Google said in a blog post.
On the security front, Google has extended its sandboxing technology to the integrated Flash Player in Chrome (video below).
A sandbox isolates the running code from the rest of the operating system so that its has no access to critical processes or data, thus preventing it from either intentionally or unintentionally doing harm. Google already uses sandboxing for HTML rendering and JavaScript execution, and it first extended that to Adobe's Flash Player in a December Chrome dev build. Adobe and Google integrated the Flash Player plug-in more deeply into Chrome in March 2010.
On the settings front, the update adds a new interface that appears as a Chrome tab rather than a pop-up menu. The interface includes a search box that will surface results as you type and produce direct links to those sections for future reference.
"Chrome's new settings interface will help you get to the right settings quickly so you don't have to dig endlessly to find a way to import your bookmarks or change your browser's homepage," Google said. To access, click the wrench on the top-right corner of the browser and select "Options".
Users also now have the option of syncing their passwords across computers. For the security-conscious, there is the option to encrypt the passwords with your own secret passphrase. To enable, navigate to the "Personal Stuff" section in Chrome's settings (or just type "sync" in the settings search box). Syncing also applies to bookmarks, extensions, preferences, themes, and more.
The news comes days before the fifth annual Pwn2Own competition, a hacking contest that targets Web browsers and mobile phones. This year, Google is offering up $20,000 to the researcher who can topple its Chrome browser. It runs from March 9-11 in Vancouver.