Google gets kudos for tossing older Chrome Plug-in API

Google’s decision to phase out a late 1990s plug-in technology from Chrome was praised by experts as the right move to bolster browser security.

Google announced this week that by the end of 2014 it will end all support for the Netscape Plug-in Application Programming Interface (API), which third parties have used for 15 years to extend the capabilities of web browsers.

While the API developed by browser pioneer Netscape has served the industry well, its age is showing through the security headaches and browser instability caused by the technology, Google said.

“NPAPI’s 90s-era architecture has become a leading cause of hangs, crashes, security incidents, and code complexity,” Justin Schuh, security engineer for Google, said in The Chromium Blog.

Experts agreed Tuesday that the time was right to dump the NPAPI, now that newer and more secure technologies are available with similar functionality.

SOURCE: csoonline.com