Google has unveiled the latest edition of its Chrome internet browser, namely Chrome 123.0, featuring a blend of novel functionalities and security enhancements.
Concerning security, Google has rectified 12 security flaws in this upgrade, with the most critical one marked as high severity. Presently, there have been no indications of these issues being exploited in the wild.
The update is readily available for most unmanaged systems and is set to install automatically for users. Should you wish to trigger the update manually, you can do so by navigating to chrome://settings/help or by going to Menu > Help > About Google Chrome.
Android users, on the other hand, will receive the update as soon as Google rolls it out for their devices. Unfortunately, there is no means of hastening the installation process on Android devices.
Chrome 123.0: Fresh Features and Adjustments
One noteworthy alteration in Chrome 123 specifically impacts Windows users. Google has amended the name and file path of the Google Update executable to updater.exe, situated under a dynamic path in C:Program Files (x86)GoogleGoogleUpdaterVERSIONupdater.exe. This modification may pose challenges for users aiming to prevent the updater from launching automatically by adjusting its permissions.
This transition is being introduced gradually, so if you have not encountered the new directory structure yet, you might have to await its deployment on your system.
Innovative AI-Powered Functions
Chrome 123 rolls out groundbreaking AI-powered features like Tab Organizer and Create Themes, initially available solely to adult users in the US. Even though primarily targeted at US adult users, Chrome 123 might enable these features by default for specific users.
Tab Organizer, for instance, streamlines tab management by proposing groupings based on your open tabs. Since this functionality is AI-driven, it involves remote processing, implying that Chrome sends tab data to Google servers. If you prioritize privacy, you can opt to manually organize tabs instead.
Subtle Modifications in Chrome 123
Here are a few slight adjustments debuting in this update, with some updates potentially rolling out gradually:
- Restore Tabs — Facilitates tab restoration from other synchronized devices on the new tab page. This feature necessitates the activation of Chrome Sync. Additionally, Chrome on iOS now offers a swift shortcut to the URL of the last open tab from any device within the last 24 hours.
- Chrome Sync — No longer supports Chrome versions 81 or older, necessitating an upgrade to a more recent version.
- Advanced Password Re-use Detection — Extends the previous identification of password recycling with corporate credentials to non-corporate profiles in Chrome 123.
- Enhanced Safe Browsing Telemetry — When Enhanced Protection is enabled, Chrome may collect supplementary telemetry when users grant notification permissions on specific pages.
- Warnings for Private Network Access — Chrome’s monitoring of private network access, presently in alert mode, will transition to protected mode in Chrome 130 at the earliest, exhibiting alerts within the browser’s Developer Tools.
Developers keen on Chrome’s updates can refer to the Chrome Status website for further insights.
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