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News

• Firesheep not evil, says snooping tool's maker

  The security researcher who created the Firesheep snooping tool defended his work today, saying it's no one's business what software people run on their computers.

• IE9 and Chrome 7 top early HTML5 tests

  The newly released sixth preview of Internet Explorer 9 best handles the forthcoming HTML5 standard, followed by Google's Chrome 7 Web browser, according to recent early tests by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

• Microsoft claims IE8, IE9 outgrew Google's Chrome last month

  Microsoft's claim that Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) and IE9 beat the usage share gains posted by Chrome last month don't hold up, according to the data the company cited Monday.

• Chrome: Switch to new tab

  When you right-click a link in Chrome and select Open link in a new tab -- or if you point to the link and click the wheel rather than one of the buttons--the browser will open that link in a new tab.

• Opera Mini 5.1 beta available for Symbian S60 phones

  Opera has made a beta version of its mobile browser, Opera Mini 5.1, available for mobile phones running the Symbian S60 platform.

• Mozilla delays Firefox 4 release until 2011

  Mozilla today announced that it will delay the release of Firefox 4 until 2011.

• Mozilla: No 'kill switch' for Firesheep add-on

  Mozilla today said it wouldn't -- or couldn't -- pull a "kill switch" to disable the Firesheep add-on that lets anyone steal log-on and account access information to Facebook, Twitter and other major Web services.

• Mozilla warns of unpatched Firefox flaw used in attacks

  Mozilla developers are scrambling to fix a new Firefox browser bug being used by criminals to install malicious software on victims' computers.

• The 30 best Safari extensions -- so far

  Following in the footsteps of Firefox and Chrome, Apple this summer began allowing developers to create extensions for its Safari 5 Web browser and more recently launched its Extensions Gallery. The idea is to allow users to customize Safari in ways that make Web surfing more efficient and fun.

• Build a custom browser with Mozilla Chromeless

  No matter how many choices there are in the Web browser arena, it's a pretty safe bet that many of us would love to tweak some aspect of the interface on our browser of choice, if given the opportunity. After all, no one product can satisfy everyone perfectly.

• Google fixes 11 Chrome flaws, debuts stable version 7

  Google patched 11 vulnerabilities in Chrome on Thursday as it updated the browser to version 7.

• Mozilla quashes 12 Firefox bugs

  Mozilla on Tuesday patched 12 vulnerabilities in Firefox, including a second patch for a "binary planting" problem in Windows that researchers publicized last year.

• New Adobe Reader sandboxed, simplified

  Adobe has released the new version of its Reader PDF viewing software, and with it comes a number of changes: a new Roman-based numbering scheme ("Adobe Reader X"), tightened security and, for the browser version, a substantially reduced user interface. Adobe's flagship PDF creation software, Adobe Acrobat, has been upgraded as well.

• Opera to launch full-fledged Android browser

  Opera has announced a full-fledged Opera Mobile browser for smartphones running the Google Android OS. Opera Mobile for Android, which is slated to arrived within a month, will feature hardware acceleration and pinch-to-zoom functionality.

• SAP executive named Mozilla CEO

  The Mozilla Corporation announced Thursday that SAP executive Gary Kovacs is its new CEO, a move that gives the Firefox Web browser backer a leader with ample experience in mobile software.