The Chrome browser differs from Chromium in its use of the Google logos
Google announced the release of the new version of its web browser, "Google Chrome 124," along with a stable update to the open-source Chromium project, which serves as the foundation of Chrome. This release includes a series of updates that bring significant changes and improvements to both the browsing experience and security for users.
In the new version, in addition to introducing innovations and bug fixes , 22 vulnerabilities have been eliminated , and it was noted that no critical issues were found that would allow bypassing the browser's protections and executing code outside the system's sandbox environment. As part of its bug bounty program for discovering vulnerabilities in this version, Google awarded 13 prizes totaling US$65.
What's new in Chrome 124?
The new Chrome version 124 now allows you to install any website as a PWA (Progressive Web App) , even if it doesn't meet all the PWA criteria. With this change, Google has simplified the process of adding PWAs; you only need to visit the website you're interested in, then tap "Settings," go to "Save & share," and select "Install page as app."
In Chrome 124 for Windows, macOS, and Linux, TLS includes default support for the KEM key encapsulation mechanism that uses an X25519Kyber768 algorithm (resistant to brute-force attacks on quantum computers).
Furthermore, in accordance with European DMA requirements , Chrome 124 provides a dialog box for selecting the default search engine. A selection of search engines is available in the settings section " chrome://settings/search ". The search engines in the list are displayed in random order.
Another change is that the Skia library now considers Windows contrast and color settings for ClearType, improving text quality on LCD monitors. In Linux, noticeable changes have been observed in the interface fonts.
A user request has been implemented to grant permissions when accessing the Web MIDI API for interacting with musical devices via MIDI. Previously, permissions were only requested when sending or receiving SysEx messages, but now they are requested on every Web MIDI API access.
In the Android version of Chrome, the bookmarks manager now allows you to save bookmarks and reading lists to Google servers, linked to your user account. Additionally, a new method has been introduced for storing local passwords that aren't synced across devices; these passwords will now be saved in the password storage provided by Google Play Services, instead of in your Chrome profile as before.
The non-standard Web SQL API , which has security issues , has been completely discontinued. It was disabled by default since Chrome 119, and the setting to enable it has now been removed.
Of the other changes that stand out:
- WebSocket Stream API Support: Allows data transfer between the browser and server in streaming mode without using polling, ideal for applications that require constant streaming of data, such as real-time chat implementations.
- View Transitions API extension: Makes it easier to create animation effects between different states of the DOM, adding support for events like "pageswap" and the "render lock" property.
- It is now possible to control the vertical writing direction on web form elements such as selection, meter, progress, button, text area, and input.
- New setHTMLUnsafe() and parseHTMLUnsafe() methods have been added to use JavaScript's Shadow DOM declarative syntax.
- The CSS Style Inspection Panel has improved support for nested styles, making it easier to view and edit complex styles.
- The performance measurement panel now allows you to hide unnecessary features to reduce noise in the graph, while the animation debugging panel offers support for animations linked to scrolling content.
Finally, if you are interested in learning more about it , you can check the details of this new release at the following link.
How to install Google Chrome on Linux?
If you're interested in installing this new version of this web browser and you don't already have it installed, you can visit the following post where we show you how to install it on some Linux distributions.