Update on Google Chrome...

The new browser made by Google is out. And as one of Google's most outspoken and dedicated supporters, I downloaded and installed it immediately.  Having been using it (almost) exclusively for the past few weeks I've had few complaints.  Here's my summary of the up- and down-sides of the new software package:

The Good: Stable, user-friendly, and LIGHTNING FAST! Creating a new tab is instantaneous, and the default new tab info is TOTALLY AWESOME.  Being an avid user of tabbed browsing for some time now (since IE first introduced it, before Mozilla), I find it extremely useful that Google Chrome new tabs start with a big pic of nine websites you frequent and a quick link to your history list, as well as a list of recently closed tabs!!! I don't know about you, but I always hated searching thru my history for something in the sidebar or even worse in the menu bar. Moving this to the new tab was another Google stroke-of-genius.  Another great feature is the integrated search. If you prefer to use Google for searching the web (like the majority of the world), then just typing the words in the address bar brings you there. IE has had this feature for awhile, but I just couldn't stomach the MSN search results page...

The Bad: Not as "independent-window" as Google claims.  The website for Chrome advertises enhanced stability such that if one window crashes, the others remain functional and open.  NOT TRUE! At least not always... I did have this experience a few times, opening pages with suspected adware and other risque sites. This was great because then I kept my crucial windows open and didn't have to relogin, etc.  However, I managed to crash the whole damn thing today with about 10 tabs open in one window (including 1 java app, Facebook, gmail) and a second window popped out from Google chat. Lame, to say the least... but its only happened once. I'm not quite ready to condemn Google Chrome for crashing when Mozilla probably would've crashed anyway, but I let's say I'm reserving judgment.

The Ugly: As with any new software, it is unfortunately not supported by certain things. Some brand-spanking new fancy java apps and other websites still won't work in Chrome (although the only one I use is to play games online at king.com, which STILL only supports IE).  And there's no integration with popular anti-virus / internet security software. I use Norton 360 because I absolutely LOVE the fact that Norton (not my browser) holds all my passwords in one place, protected by a single Master password.  Unfortunately its not supported by Chrome, even though it supports both Mozilla and IE (but not Safari).  The solution, unfortunately, is up to Norton I believe. So I'm sure their decision will be predicated on Chrome's success in the general public... so do me a favor and GO DOWNLOAD IT NOW!

Gmail Security Settings

A (potentially major) security issue has been demonstrated several months ago at DefCon, but not being a security professional I've only just heard about it. This issue is a vulnerability in many websites which utilize cookies to maintain active logins, such as gmail and I would guess facebook and myspace as well... The hacker can pick your cookies out of the air (when you're using wireless) and "slide" into your logged in account to do their damage. Of course they won't learn your password (though once logged in they can obviously change it!), but the potential damage is nonetheless limitless...

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/gmail-https-doe.html

Why hasn't Google dealt with this yet? Maybe because they're too busy worrying about the anti-trust suit shaping up against them...  Is Google really too big already?  No! (But the deal with Yahoo would afford them 80% of web advertising...)

My solution is like Biden's partition solution: Spin-off a smaller company (or companies) which focuses only on one type of advertising (e.g.,  fastclick-style) to keep the competition up in the advertising arena.  I'd really hate to see Google get busted up over something so stupid as the Yahoo buyout, which in my (optimistic) opinion was more about shutting down Yahoo than gaining a bigger market share...