On Tuesday, Google’s browser users automatically began receiving a new major upgrade to Chrome 10, which incorporates 24 security fixes, based on bug reports from third party security experts. Google’s rollout came just one day before Pwn2Own contestants attempt to win a $20,000 cash prize from Google by breaching Chrome’s security defenses at the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver.
On the other hand, many third-party security experts have already demonstrated that you don’t have to go to Vancouver to win cash prizes from Google. Russian security expert Sergey Glazunov, for example, is receiving $6,500 in awards from Google for the bug reports behind five of the security fixes released in Chrome 10.
As a result, Pwn2Own contestants are expected to have a much tougher time cracking Chrome’s defenses Wednesday. At stake is the $20,000 cash prize that Google has agreed to pay any contestant who can breach the browser’s security sandbox using vulnerabilities that are purely present in Google-written code.
Faster, Safer and Simpler
However, Google’s improvements to Chrome 10 are not limited to security issues, observed Google software engineer Tim Steele. “With today’s stable release, even your most complex web apps will run more quickly and responsively in the browser,” Steele wrote in a blog. “This boost corresponds to a 66 percent improvement in JavaScript performance on the V8 benchmark suite.”
Chrome 10 also features a streamlined settings interface that vastly simplifies the process of import bookmarks as well as changing the browser’s homepage. “We’ve added a search box that shows you the settings you’re looking for, as you type,” Steele wrote. “On top of that, you can also copy and paste a direct link into Chrome’s address bar to jump to a specific settings page.”
Users who save their passwords directly in the browser are now able to synchronize…