Google Chrome 90 arrives on desktop, HTTPS becomes the standard protocol for web browsing

The new version of the browser also includes security fixes, search by tab, and more.

Google Chrome 90 is now available on desktop. The new version includes a number of improvements, in particular the modification to make theHTTPS the standard protocol.

There are also a number of security fixes, AV1 encoder support, and a variety of developer tweaks.

HTTPS is now the standard in Chrome 90

As anticipated above, Chrome will now be set to HTTPS when accessing a website via the address bar.

HTTPS is more secure than HTTP because it encrypts traffic. This means that you will be able to send and receive personal information with greater protection.

Previously, when a protocol was not specified, Chrome was set to HTTP by default, redirecting the user to HTTPS only when available.

Chrome will now connect to the HTTPS endpoint first, returning to the HTTP endpoint only if it's unavailable. This also means that sites will load slightly faster.

What else is new in Chrome 90?

Chrome 90 also includes support for a AV1 encoder, which has been specifically optimized for video conferencing with the integration WebRTC.

According to the blog of Chromium, the advantages of the AV1 encoder include:

• Higher compression efficiency than other video encoders, which reduces bandwidth consumption and improves video quality.
• Ability to stream video at 30kbps and below, useful for users on very low-bandwidth networks.
• Screen sharing efficiency on VP9 and codec.

La Google's new tab search function it will be further improved in Chrome 90. This will be very useful for people who surf the web and have a lot of tabs open at the same time.

Additionally, Chrome 90 includes 37 security fixes, many of which were of high priority. Full details are available at this page.

Finally, there are a number of improvements that will benefit the developers. This includes a new value for the property CSS overflow, the renaming of theAPI Feature Policy and new ways to use Shadow DOM directly in HTML.

Pete LePage by Google traces all of these changes in its suitably '90s-inspired update video.

Chrome 90 will be rolling out to all platforms in the next few days. Although you should receive it automatically, you can check if the update is available by going to Settings> Help> About Google Chrome.