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Google brings more secure, sandboxed Flash plugin to Chrome for Mac

Google brings more secure, sandboxed Flash plugin to Chrome for Mac

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Nearly three months after delivering a more secure, modernized Flash plugin to Chrome users on Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS, Google has extended those safeguards to Mac OS X. The update was actually packed into the version of Chrome that saw release last week (with Do Not Track functionality), but the company is only today highlighting the added security measures. Flash, frequently targeted as a backdoor for malware, is now fully sandboxed within the browser with isolation Google says is as strong as Chrome's own native sandboxing. In theory, that means should you come across a malicious website or script, the harmful code would be relegated to a single browser window and thus be prevented from accessing to your computer or personal files.

While others in the tech industry (namely Apple) have chosen to do away with Flash entirely, Google seems to think adoption of the plugin remains too high to give Adobe the boot — at least in the near term. Thus the two companies have collaborated to build a stronger solution for Chrome users. "Ultimately, this means a safer experience for you as you browse the web," writes software engineer Scott Hess.