News

Google Releases "Stable" Chrome Frame

Forces Microsoft browsers to use Chrome Web browser technologies.

• By Kurt Mackie
• 09/01/2011

Earlier this week, Google released a "stable" plug-in for Internet Explorer that forces Microsoft's browsers to use the technologies found in Google's Chrome Web browser.

The release of Google Chrome Frame can be installed by users without no administrative privileges in their Windows environments. Last month, Google floated a beta version of the then-named "Non-Admin Google Chrome Frame" plug-in. Now, the company says the plug-in is ready for use in the "stable channel," or by the general public, according to a blog post.

End users can install plug-in even if their IT departments curtail admin-level installation rights. The Chrome Frame installer "will now run at Admin level by default and will fall back to Non-Admin mode if the user does not have the necessary permissions on their machine," the blog explains.

Google's plug-in causes Microsoft's browser to use the open source WebKit Web content engine that the Google Chrome browser favors, bypassing Microsoft's Internet Explorer Trident layout engine. The switch only occurs when browsing Web sites that have added some code to enable the feature, according to Google's FAQ.

Frustrated users stuck on earlier "legacy" versions of Internet Explorer by IT departments could use Google Chrome Frame to leverage Google's technologies instead. Google's FAQ points out that Chrome Frame can be used with IE 6 to maintain legacy compatibility on intranet sites while taking advantage of the rendering engine enabled via Chrome Frame. Users of Google Chrome Frame get automatic updates their browsers and provide access to Google's sandbox security technologies.

The Chrome Frame plug-in is designed to work with Internet Explorer versions 6 through 9. It's supported on Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 operating systems. It can be downloaded here.