Google Chrome 16 is finally here with a couple of updates and bug fixes. We also installed it on our cross-browser testing platform Browserling so that all of you can use it for your testing needs.

Chrome 16 Version

Try it for free here:

What's new in Chrome 16?

The most notable features are as follows:

  • Multiple profiles on by default.
  • Optional permissions in Chrome extensions, so the user can opt-in or opt-out of the optional permissions at installation time.
  • Experimental support for side tabs was removed.

Multiple profiles on by default

Chrome 16 introduces the ability to create and sync multiple profiles for a single instance of Chrome. This feature is particularly useful for people who share their computer with others as they will be able to keep their bookmarks, apps, settings, extensions and history separate from everyone else's. In a post at the official Google Chrome blog, software engineer Tim Steele notes that adding new users to Chrome isn't intended to secure your data against other people using your computer. Profiles aren’t password-protected so it just takes a few clicks to switch between users.

Chrome 16 Users

Bug fixes in Chrome 16

Chrome also addresses 15 high- and medium-risk vulnerabilities. The high-risk security flaws include an URL bar spoofing bug, use-after-free errors, out of bounds writes in the V8 JavaScript engine and a buffer overflow in PDF font handling. As part of its Chromium Security Rewards program, Google paid external researchers a total of $6,000 for reporting the bugs.

This is the list of bug fixes:

  • CVE-2011-3903: Out-of-bounds read in regex matching.
  • CVE-2011-3905: Out-of-bounds reads in libxml.
  • CVE-2011-3906: Out-of-bounds read in PDF parser.
  • CVE-2011-3907: URL bar spoofing with view-source.
  • CVE-2011-3908: Out-of-bounds read in SVG parsing.
  • CVE-2011-3909: [64-bit only] Memory corruption in CSS property array.
  • CVE-2011-3910: Out-of-bounds read in YUV video frame handling.
  • CVE-2011-3911: Out-of-bounds read in PDF.
  • CVE-2011-3912: Use-after-free in SVG filters.
  • CVE-2011-3913: Use-after-free in Range handling.
  • CVE-2011-3914: Out-of-bounds write in v8 i18n handling.
  • CVE-2011-3915: Buffer overflow in PDF font handling.
  • CVE-2011-3916: Out-of-bounds reads in PDF cross references.
  • CVE-2011-3917: Stack-buffer-overflow in FileWatcher.
  • CVE-2011-3904: Use-after-free in bidi handling.

[source]

Have fun cross-browser testing in Chrome 16!