Chrome 16 brings support for syncing multiple accounts

Google has released version 16 of the Chrome web browser, the company's own extended version of the open source Chromium browser. The stable channel update, labelled version 16.0.912.63, brings several changes to the WebKit-based browser, including enhancements that expand its sync capabilities.

Chrome 16 now allows additional users to sign into a shared computer and access their own data, such as bookmarks, apps and extensions. The new option can be found under Options (Preferences on Mac) ➤ Personal Stuff ➤ Add new user. Once a new user has been added, a 'fresh instance' of the browser will open with all of that user's synchronised data. The Chrome team notes, however, that "adding new users to Chrome isn’t intended to secure your data against other people using your computer". A clickable label in a top corner will show which account is currently in use and clicking on the label enables users to switch between accounts.

Chrome 16 allows additional users to sign into the browser and access all of their bookmarks and add-ons

The update also closes a total of 15 security holes, six of which are rated as "high severity" by Google. These vulnerabilities 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. Other closed holes include seven medium-severity bugs and two low-severity issues. The developers also note that six bugs that were detected using AddressSanitizer have been fixed.

As part of its Chromium Security Rewards programme, Google paid security researchers a total of $6,000 for discovering and reporting the holes. As usual, further details of the vulnerabilities are being withheld until "a majority of users are up-to-date with the fix".

Further information about the stable channel release can be found in a post on the Google Chrome Releases blog. Chrome 16.0.912.63 is available to download for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux from google.com/chrome; users who currently have Chrome installed can use the built-in update function.

See also:

• Study: Chrome the most secure browser, a report from The H.
• Google's Chrome edges past Firefox in global popularity, a report from The H.

(crve)