Chrome has a new way to stop Specter hackers. It's a shame that it involves more memory

Since Google launched Chrome publicly in 2008, the web browser has shared work across multiple IT processes. This approach prevents the interference of one tab with the other. Google is testing a strict variation of this type of partitioning to protect against Specter, a new type of attack that Google and other researchers unveiled in January.

Google has released the new security feature called site isolation for a limited number of Chrome users, starting with Chrome 67 in May. Now, this feature is "enabled for 99% of Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS users," said Charlie Reis, a blog member on Wednesday.

The measure shows how complicated the Specter and Meltdown attacks are. Technology companies that produce processors, operating systems, and browsers try to prevent hackers from using vulnerabilities to steal sensitive data such as passwords or encryption keys. The problem is serious enough to be raised before the US Congress, where senators said Wednesday that they had not heard of Spectrum.

Also shows a new way in which spectrum affects the performance of your computer. The initial low-level solutions from Intel have affected the speed of the computer and Chrome now affects the amount of memory used.

But the isolation of the site will help future versions of Chrome on other issues, not just on Spectrum.

"The best part comes in a few launches when the site's isolation will provide general protection" against two classes of computer attacks, remote code execution and cross-site universal scripting In a key part of the browser, Justin Schuh, head of the Chrome security team, wrote on Twitter.

The Google site isolation feature is a major change in Chrome. This affects an essential part of the browser, called the rendering engine, which turns the site's programming code into pixels on the screen of the phone or the laptop. With site isolation, Chrome shares renderings in separate IT processes.

Unfortunately, this means that Chrome will need more memory. The increase is about 10 to 13% for people with many tabs open, Google said in a project document. The good news is, however, that the site's isolation allows Google to relax previous restrictions on the precise monitoring of browser actions that it has adopted to deal with severe spectrum attacks.

"Our team continues to strive to optimize this behavior and keep Chrome fast and secure," Reis said in a post-blog post. It also works to bring site isolation to Chrome for Android.