ID: IRCNE2012041449
Date: 2012-04-02
According to "computerworld", Google patched nine vulnerabilities in Chrome and boosted the speed and reach of the browser's hardware acceleration with the launch of version 18.
According to the company, Chrome 18 enables accelerated Canvas 2D on Windows and Mac machines with compatible graphics processor units (GPUs), and expands support for the WebGL 3D standard to older systems.
Canvas 2D acceleration has been part of earlier builds of Chrome, but this is the first time that Google has turned it on in a "stable" version of the browser.
Google last refreshed Chrome seven weeks ago on Feb. 8. 2012. Google generates an update to its stable channel about every six to eight weeks.
Three of the nine vulnerabilities patched today were rated "high," the second-most dire ranking in Google's threat system. Five were marked "medium" and one was tagged "low."
Chrome 18 also included the new Adobe Flash Player 11.2, which featured patches for two critical vulnerabilities in the popular media software. Chrome is the only browser to bundle Flash Player.
WebGL support has been extended to systems with older GPUs and drivers in Chrome 18, said Google.
Chrome 18 can be downloaded for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux from Google's website. Users running the browser will be updated automatically through its silent service.
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