Chrome: Bookolio customizes the new tab page to make it more useful. The extension gives you instant access to all your bookmarks and sites you visit the most, as well as quick switching between all types of search engines. More »

2011 was a big year for Google Chrome and all of its users. There are more Chrome users out there than ever before, and tons of great Chrome extensions to add functionality, privacy, and other services to your browser. Here are the most popular Google Chrome-related posts, extensions, and add-ons at Lifehacker during 2011. More »

Google funded study confirms.

Accuvant, the US based research, firm has published a new study, which compared security features of the three most popular web browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Firefox.

As it turns out, the search giant funded study has made a conclusion that Google Chrome is the most secure browser out there, followed by Internet Explorer and Firefox.

After such claims, Mozilla has decided to respond with the following statement:

“Firefox includes a broad array of technologies to eliminate or reduce security threats, from platform level features like address space randomization to internal systems like our layout frame poisoning system. Sandboxing is a useful addition to that toolbox that we are investigating, but no technology is a silver bullet. We invest in security throughout the development process with internal and external code reviews, constant testing and analysis of running code, and rapid response to security issues when they emerge. We’re proud of our reputation on security, and it remains a central priority for Firefox.”

So here you have it folks. Despite continuous IE bashing in various communities, it still managed to beat Firefox in a non-biased study.

What do you think?

We've shown you how to turn your netbook into a Chromebook with Chromium OS, but if you found that your laptop's Wi-Fi or graphics card wasn't supported, there's a good chance Chromium Lime—Hexxeh's new build of Chromium OS—could work. More »

With just one month left before the end of 2011, it’s time to check the latest stats for the browsers market share.

Falling below 50% last time, Internet Explorer is now down from 49.58% to 48.95% (0.63 point decrease).

Despite regaining some of its market share on October, Firefox is nearing towards 20% level, down from 21.20% to 20.58% (0.62 point decrease).

Soon to cross paths with Firefox, Google Chrome continues its dominant uptrend, up from 16.59% to 16.90% (0.31 point increase).

Gaining market share for many months, this time Safari has lost some of it, climbing down from 8.54% to 8.35% (0.19 point decrease).

Just like Firefox, it looks like Opera is stuck in the never ending downtrend as its share has also decreased from 1.49% to 1.45% (0.04 point decrease).

With the growing popularity of HTML5 games and applications, it looks like Google has a vision of its own.

According to the EDGE, during the Develop Liverpool conference in London, Google’s developer Paul Kinlan has announced that Google Chrome will receive gamepad support tin the first quarter of 2012. In addition to that, it will feature a support for cameras and microphones that don’t have to be plugged in.

While not many details were revealed, it is known that the search giant is already working on the next instance of its Google TV service, with the hardware set to debut sometime next year.

Why add gamepad support anyway? If our speculation stands correct (and only time will tell), we guess that Google Chrome will be an essential part of Google TV, offering its users an ability to play HTML5 games on their TV with a gamepad attached. Think about it as Google’s version of a gaming console.

In the world where most people block ads and want to get everything for free, Google has decided to try a different approach: in-browser advertising.

Technology blog Ghacks has found an interesting screenshot in the Google’s Plus group, which shows and ad in the Google Chrome web browser, which says: “Get a Chromebook for the holidays: the computer powered by Chrome.“

How did users respond? Opinions appear to be mixed; some people suggest switching to Firefox while others don’t see anything wrong with that, after all, Google Chrome is free.

Whether or not this trend continues, it remains to be seen although we don’t expect for Google to continue running such promotions more than few times a year.

What do you think about in browser advertising?

If you are not a big fan of recently introduced Facebook News Ticker feature, then here is a simple way to remove it.

Arik Fraimovich has created a Google Chrome extension which does exactly that: removes the Facebook news ticker.

Go ahead, try it.

Here come the price cuts and updates.

With the introduction of Chrome OS back in 2009, Google has unveiled the very first Chromebooks a year later.

Now, with holidays just around the corner, the search giant has decided to slash Chromebooks price by 15%. Previously sold at around $350, Samsung and Acer laptops can now be bought for as low as $299.

In addition to special deals, Google has also updated its OS, which now has a cleaner user interface and all the goodies from the Google Chrome 15 release, such as: revamped New Tab page.

Now that Google Music is available to everyone (in the US), you have it set up, and you're bobbing your head to music wherever you are, it's time to accent those experiences with better listening tips, from beginner to advanced. More »

As Google Chrome 16 has already reached Beta status, it’s only natural for Google to start working on the Chrome 17 release, which is now in Dev channel. Are there any changes or features worth checking out? Yes, there are.

Google Chrome 17 Alpha (Dev) Changelog

Although there are usual bug fixes and JavaScript engine updates, which now sits at version 3.7.7.0, Google Chrome 17 has also few new features and tweaks for you to try:

- When using Incognito mode, users are now prompted if they really want to cancel the download
- Panels are now enabled by default. However, they can only be used by extensions and apps. What are Google Chrome panels? Think about them as small windows that pop out when new tab is not really required.
- Adjustable margins in Print Preview

That’s all for now, folks.

Download Google Chrome 17 Alpha (Dev).

Now that Gmail's rolled out its new look and you've learned your way around the changes, it's time to fix the little quirks and annoyances that remain. Here are a few of our favorite userstyles and userscripts for making the best of the Gmail redesign. More »

The latest Google Chrome beta supports multiple sign ins, allowing users to have their own apps, bookmarks, and settings in the browser. This is great for people who do not want to create multiple OS profiles, or for people with separate accounts for business and personal use.

Once you’ve installed the Chrome beta, you can set up multiple profiles in the options menu, under Personal Suff, by clicking “Add New User.” This automatically generates a nickname and an avatar for the user, both of which can be modified. Users can also sign into their Google accounts from the options menu to fetch Chrome settings from the cloud.

Google does not see this as a way to keep your own information secure from other users. There’s no login necessary to access the other accounts, aside from an optional Google sign in to sync with other installations of Chrome. To keep browser information secure, Google recommends maintaining separate operating system profiles instead.

This is a guest post by Mark Subel.

It’s that time of year where the ghosts and goblins come out and we get ready for Halloween night. Kids are making last minute changes to their costume and parents haven’t yet figured out what they’re wearing to the Halloween party. Whatever the case, you won’t run out of options for dressing up your browser this Halloween season. Firefox, IE and Chrome users have a wealth of options for decorating their browsers this year with several amazing Halloween themes available online. Here are our favorite Halloween themes for your browser:

Firefox

Animated Lightning Theme

This creepy theme found in the Firefox personas gallery showcases a spooky haunted house with streaks of animated lightning bolts lighting up the sky. The imagery in this theme is just amazing with a dark sky and full moon to further accentuate the Halloween theme.

Halloween Watching Hour – Animated

Another theme in the Firefox Personas gallery, this Halloween theme displays brilliant imagery of Halloween with black cats, haunted houses, bats, a full moon and cemetery. This theme is animated and you’ll see lights flickering on and off in the house, bats flying and a surprise from a spider right in your browser. We’ll let you try it out to see where the spider appears.

Hello Kitty Halloween Theme

Not all Halloween themes have to be scary. This Hello Kitty theme features your favorite characters in a beautifully designed Halloween scene with happy pumpkins, a bright orange and yellow background, and your favorite Halloween characters like bats, spiders, and witches.

Firefox and Internet Explorer

Halloween 2011 Interactive Personas

This unique Halloween theme developed by Brand Thunder, features Jack-o-Lanterns dipped in a fiery orange molten substance, black and orange background and “Trick or Treat” imagery. Perfect for Halloween lovers. Taking it a step further, this theme is “interactive”, as it provides quick links to Halloween costume websites, Halloween safety tips and a video sidebar showing the spookiest Halloween related videos.

Please note: Brand Thunder themes come with a WebSearch+ toolbar.

Google Chrome

Happy Halloween Chrome Theme

Chrome users will enjoy this “Happy Halloween” theme made specifically for them. A beautifully designed pumpkin graphic with a dark black background and “Happy Halloween” saying displayed underneath. The tabs and bookmarks tab are tinted with light and dark orange to complete this slick theme.

Chrome: If you want to skim through your Facebook news feed without stopping for each YouTube video someone posts, the Facebook Video Player extension will play videos in the upper right-hand corner of your window, allowing you to keep browsing as it plays. More »

With redesigned tab page and other goodies.

Back in September, the search giant has released a beta version of Google Chrome 15 web browser, which introduced a redesigned “Tab Page”.

After a month of testing and bug squashing, Google Chrome 15 has been precisely polished and as of now, can be downloaded from the “Stable Builds” channel.

Thanks to a new, Maxthon like design, users can switch between the recently visited web pages and their favorite apps. In addition to that, a few customizations can be made by simply clicking on the app icon itself (as see in the screenshot below).

It is October already and there’s no time to waste. So, let’s dive into the latest browsers market share results and explore those changes.

Just a couple more months and Internet Explorer will break the 50% market share barrier, this time it lost 0.62 point, down from 51.59% to 50.97%.

With more and more Firefox releases hitting the Internet, Mozilla’s browser has managed to secure 0.03 point of the market share, up from 21.03% to 21.06%.

Google Chrome does not have any plans to stop and has now broken though 15% barrier, up from 14.46% to 15.17% (0.71 point increase).

Continuous sales of Apple devices have helped Safari to increase its market share by another 0.32 point, up from 7.71% to 8.03%.

After 6 months of losses, Opera’s market share stayed flat at 1.58%.