In an update to the development build of Chrome, Google on Thursday introduced a rough version of the native HTML5 geolocation API. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Google Chrome dev 5.0.342.1 comes with the geolocation API that Mozilla has supported since it introduced it in last summer's Firefox 3.5.

However, geolocation in Chrome is turned off by default. To activate it, users must go to their Chrome shortcut and add --enable-geolocation to the end of the target line, under the Shortcut tab. To test if it's working, you can go to this browser geolocation Web site. If the browser asks for you to approve sending your location data, you know it's working.

I found that on Windows 7, launching Chrome from the taskbar did not allow it to recognize the geolocation activation command. It worked fine, though, when launched from the Start menu.

This update to Chrome dev also includes a few other minor improvements, mostly to the Mac and Linux versions. Along with the geolocation support, users on those platforms should see improved plug-in stability and better implementation of autofill preferences. Mac users only should see favicons in the history menu, and HTML5 databases have been added to the cookie manager. The full list of changes can be read here.

As if keeping the differences straight between Opera's Mobile and Mini browsers weren't tricky enough already, Opera has added another twist by releasing Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows phones, a mobile platform that has previously only run the Opera Mobile app.

Until now, Opera's mobile browsers boiled down to this: Opera Mini (stable|beta) is the proxy browser for Java-based phones that feeds Web content through Opera's servers. And Opera Mobile (stable|beta), is the full Web experience for Symbian and Windows phones that's written with Web code.

The "Mini" browser doesn't render Web sites as faithfully as Opera Mobile's true Web client (and it still won't for Windows phones) but it does return key content faster.

We loaded CNET.com and other graphics-heavy sites using both Opera Mobile 10 beta 2 and the brand-new Opera Mini 5 beta on an HTC Touch Diamond 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5 (got all that?). Opera Mobile took more than 15 seconds to load over Wi-Fi, but it rendered the page in desktop view and displayed CNET's Flash. Opera Mini loaded CNET's mobile-optimized site in a fraction of the time, but we missed out on the landing page.

Introducing Opera Mini for Windows phones is a big deal. First, Opera had to write a separate version of Opera Mini that runs on Windows phones using the compatible C-based programming language instead of Java (which is incompatible or inconsistent, depending on the phone model). Second, making a speedier browser for a platform that's already capable of running its own full Web browser hints that for many, Opera Mobile wasn't fast enough.

Not that Opera Mobile isn't already equipped with a way to turn on the gas. The Opera Turbo compression engine (also found in Opera's desktop browser) can hasten page-load times while (knowingly) sacrificing image clarity. But Opera Software claims that running Mini on Windows Mobile can compress traffic by up to 90 percent, making pages load faster still.

As far as the feature sets go, the latest beta versions of Mini and Mobile share an identical interface that includes tabbed browsing and Opera's Speed Dial start screen (video tour). According to Opera, the company's goal is not to cannibalize Opera Mobile with Opera Mini 5 beta, but software makers tend to follow users' leads when the tide turns for unused products. What we're banking on is for browser technology to improve enough to make Opera Mobile, and not Mini, the better choice for Opera loyalists on any mobile platform.

The presence of Opera Mini on a Windows phone presents at least a short-term answer to the ever-important question of speed. It's telling us that a standalone mobile browser that's fast enough to deliver the Web without a proxy server go-between isn't here yet.

Opera Mini 5 beta is free for Windows Mobile 5 and 6. Download it by pointing the mobile browser to m.opera.com/next/ or visit http://www.opera.com/mini/next/ from the desktop.

Long considered the other alternative browser, Opera 10.50 debuts a new interface, a blazing new JavaScript engine to compete with Chrome, and detachable widgets. See what new features Opera offers in this slideshow.

There are any number of ways to childproof your PC, to rope off the objectionable areas of the Internet. But what about the kids' iPhones and iPod Touches? Safari offers no parental controls to speak of, no filtering or monitoring or search guards.

Enter Mobicip Safe Browser ($4.99), which offers a familiar Web interface, but with a raft of protections designed to keep kids safe.

The app looks and functions almost exactly like Safari, so there's almost no learning curve for kids already accustomed to the built-in browser (which, FYI, you can lock out by venturing into Settings > General > Restrictions). One small gripe: it can't import any existing bookmarks.

Mobicip does, however, offer a convenient, kid-friendly home page with quick links to sites like Britannica, Google, HowStuffWorks, and Wikipedia.

The browser relies on Mobicip's servers to filter inappropriate URLs and search results. Parents can choose from three predefined filtering levels: elementary, middle, and high school.

If you want more granular control, consider signing up for a Premium account, which for $9.99 annually lets you blacklist/whitelist specific sites, block specific categories (chat, shopping, violence, etc.), view activity reports, and manage multiple users and devices.

Even with the free account, Mobicip offers more than enough protection that parents can rest easy. For a mere $5, you can keep your kids from accidentally (or intentionally) wandering into the Web's red-light districts. I'm sold.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

An updated study has found that when it comes to blocking Web sites used in efforts to trick people into installing malware, Internet Explorer has widened its lead over the four other most-used browsers.

NSS Labs, a product analysis company, issued a third installment of an ongoing study of how well browsers avert socially engineered attacks that try to exploit a person's trust with a Web address that actually installs and runs malware. The upshot: "Windows Internet Explorer 8 provided the best protection against socially engineered malware," stopping 85 percent of the attacks at 562 sites.

In contrast, Mozilla Firefox 3.5.7 and Apple Safari 4.0.4 stopped 29 percent, Google Chrome 4.0.249.78 stopped 17 percent, and Opera 10.10 stopped less than 1 percent. All the browsers, except for Opera, showed better results now than on versions of the test conducted six months and a year ago.

Microsoft funded the study, but NSS Labs led its design, a Microsoft representative said. NSS Labs released the study this week in conjunction with the 2010 RSA security conference.

Those curious about detailed methodology of the test, which was conducted over an 18-day period in January, can check appendix five of the study on page 15. Here's a summary: NSS Labs collects malware sites from partners and from its own lists harvested via spam traps and honeypots; of the 12,000 sites collected, 562 were validated to work and to meet its definition of socially engineered malware: "a Web page link that directly leads to a download that delivers a malicious payload whose content type would lead to execution."

Bear in mind that there are several other aspects to browser security, including plug-ins, the ability to shut off JavaScript or run security-oriented add-ons, resistance to drive-by exploits that work without people actively downloading malware, vulnerability response time, and other matters.

Originally posted at Deep Tech