Google Chrome 4.1 Beta Speaks in Tongues, Privately

By Nick Mokey March 2, 2010

Opera 10.5 may challenge Google Chrome’s claim to perkiest Windows browser out there, but the latest version of Chrome includes a clever new feature yet unmatched in the browser wars: automatic site translation, plus beefed up privacy controls.

Much like the “translate this page” feature Google already offers when foreign-language pages show up in search results, Chrome will now automatically detect which language a page is in and offer to translate it for you. The main benefit: you won’t have to make a trip to Google Translate to copy and paste in a URL whenever you stumble upon a jumble of Cyrillic characters anymore, and you can ditch the annoying top frame that accompanies translated sites.

Chrome Beta 4.1 also introduces a new Privacy control panel under Chrome’s options, allowing users to set specific options for how Chrome should handle cookies, images, JavaScript, plug-ins, and pop-ups, all on a granular site-by-site basis. These features join the existing “incognito mode,” which prevents downloads and history from being recorded as you browse.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Google Chrome 4.1 download is available as a free download immediately.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Managing Editor

As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…

Computing

Google has a great idea to fix your tab chaos in Chrome

Google Drive in Chrome on a MacBook.

If you use Google Chrome and are sick of managing an unruly mass of tabs in your web browser, help may soon be at hand. That’s because Google is testing a new feature that could bring order to your tab chaos.

As spotted by Leopeva64 on X (formerly Twitter), a new edition of Google Chrome Canary (a version of Chrome that lets users test out experimental features) contains a new tool called Organize Tabs nestled in the top-left corner of the browser.

Computing

I found a Chrome extension that makes web browsing bearable again

Google Drive in Chrome on a MacBook.

GDPR cookie consent notices were meant to hand privacy control back to ordinary internet denizens. Instead, they’ve unleashed a tidal wave of deception, with unscrupulous website owners using any means necessary to trick you into letting them harvest your private data for resale and profit.

It wasn’t meant to be like this. But while things might have not gone so well for GDPR, there’s still a way to protect your privacy and banish those annoying pop-ups in one fell swoop. Instead of rage-clicking Accept just to get the damned pop-ups to go away, I’ve found a much better way: the Consent-O-Matic browser extension.

Computing

Chrome is making a key change to protect you from phishing

Google Chrome with pinned tabs on a MacBook on a table.

Phishing campaigns -- where a fraudulent website or email is made to look like it comes from a legitimate source -- have caused a huge amount of destruction, leading to untold numbers of virus infections and money lost through scams. Google has just rolled out a powerful way to fight phishing in its Chrome browser, however, and it could help you avoid falling victim.

As part of Chrome’s 15th-anniversary update, Google will be pushing its Enhanced Safe Browsing feature to all users in the coming weeks. This checks website URLs against a list of malicious sites stored on Google’s cloud servers, all in real time. If a match is found, the website is blocked and a warning is displayed to users.