Google has officially released a stable version of Chrome 63, the latest update for its browser, making it even more of a memory hog than before.
Chrome is by far the most used internet browser in the whole world, be it on desktop or mobile, but that comes with a nasty reputation for being a memory hog. That's not about to change anytime soon with Chrome 63's release, which includes a feature called Site Isolation that increases memory usage.
Chrome 63: Isolation
Since it was first released, Chrome has implemented a multi-process architecture, which works by dedicating a single process for each tab to contain crashes and bugs within the individual session, as Chrome Unboxed points out. This way, the whole browser doesn't crash when a single tab does.
Site Isolation is an upgrade of that architecture, meant to improve stability and at the same time make Chrome more resistant to exploits. This is how the current one works: Suppose that a tab is open on Chrome. It has a dedicated process. Then imagine that while browsing on this tab, it causes a new one to open. When this happens, the original tab and the newly opened one will share the same singular process.
With Site Isolation, this won't be the case anymore. Each new page or tab will all be given a dedicated process, which is an excellent way of preventing malware or hackers from accessing multiple pages or exploiting extensions. Then again, this will use up to 20 percent more RAM.
Even still, there's no need to worry, as the feature will be turned off by default. Site Isolation is actually meant for enterprise users who wish to have a more secure infrastructure.
Make sure to read more about it on the documentation page.
Chrome 63: Extension Blocking
Aside from Site Isolation, the updated browser also has something called Extension Blocking, which gives administrators the ability to block Chrome extensions depending on the features those extensions need to use. For instance, an extension may be blocked if it tries to use file system access.
Other changes include an updated Transport Layer Security, which makes Chrome even more secure. There's a full list of patches and bug fixes available on the Chrome Release page.
Thoughts on Chrome 63? Would you personally turn on Site Isolation at the cost of the browser using even more memory? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
