Software:CM Browser

From HandWiki
Short description: Chromium-based web browser with WebKit and Trident engines
CM Browser
猎豹安全浏览器
Liebao-logo.png
Cheetah browser.png
Running on Windows 11
Developer(s)Cheetah Mobile(Browser)
Rigo Design(Exterior)
Initial releaseMay 2, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-05-02)(1.0.0.2096)
Stable release(s)
; Windows

8.0 (August 12, 2021; 2 years ago (2021-08-12)[1])

iOS

4.20 (January 1, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-01-01)[2])

Android

5.22.21.0051 (June 5, 2019; 4 years ago (2019-06-05)[3]) [±]

Written inC++、Assembly languageJavaScript
EngineWebKit/Trident
Operating systemWindows 7Android4.0、iOS 5.0
Size5-6MB
Available inSimplified Chinese
TypeWeb browser
LicenseFreeware
Website

CM Browser (Chinese: 猎豹安全浏览器) was a web browser developed by Cheetah Mobile. The browser is based on Chromium and supports both the WebKit and Trident browser engines. Jinshan Network claims that CM Browser is the first secure dual-engine browser with a "browser intrusion prevention system".[4]

On June 3, 2013, CM Browser was released on Android and iOS.[5]

Controversies

Version 1 of CM Browser used version 17 of Chromium, which was much lower than the official version of Chromium. This prevented the use of the Chrome Web Store on CM Browser.[citation needed]

On September 21, 2014, Jinshan was ordered to pay Youku ¥300,000 for violating Chinese competition laws by allowing CM Browser to filter video ads on Youku's website. In the preceding trial, Youku claimed to suffer an economic loss as a result of CM Browser's ad filtering, as the company earned revenue from ads and premium subscriptions that allowed users to skip ads. Jinshan stated that CM Browser's ad filtering feature was vendor-neutral and that users must opt-in to activate the feature.[6]

In November 2018, the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee commissioned an evaluation of the application permissions of 18 popular mobile apps, including CM Browser. The study found that CM Browser requested sensitive phone- and SMS-related permissions that allowed the browser to monitor the phone's outbound calls. A representative for CM Browser responded that the browser needed to determine whether a phone call is active in order to prevent interference when the browser is playing audio. The representative indicated that CM Browser would be updated to address the privacy concerns.[7][8]

In February 2020 all of Cheetah's applications have been pulled from the Play Store. Following that, the company had been accused of spying on its users based on a unofficial report published by Gabriel Cirlig, an unknown proclaimed security researcher. The report suggestively conspired that CM Browser was sending encrypted data to its Chinese servers exfiltrating the URLs visited by all its users and selling them to various third parties.[9]

Ban in India

In June 2020, the Government of India banned CM Browser along with 58 other Chinese origin apps, citing data and privacy concerns. The border tensions in 2020 between India and China might have also played a role in the ban.[10][11]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. "【79核】猎豹安全浏览器8.0论坛版 它来了!" (in zh). 2021-08-12. http://bbs.duba.net/thread-4191274760-1-2.html. 
  2. "猎豹浏览器-能抢火车票、能看片的极速浏览器" (in zh). 2018-01-01. https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/id641522896. 
  3. "CM Browser - Ad Blocker, Fast Download, Privacy". 2019-06-05. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ksmobile.cb&hl=en_US. 
  4. (in Chinese)Cheetah safe browsing organ network promotion
  5. 【Cheetah mobile version is coming! !】(in Chinese)
  6. "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in zh). http://it.people.com.cn/n/2014/0923/c1009-25713814.html. 
  7. "直击|消保委通报猎豹自动开隐私权限 猎豹:立即整改" (in zh). 28 November 2018. https://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2018-11-28/doc-ihmutuec4500253.shtml. 
  8. "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in zh). http://newsxmwb.xinmin.cn/chengsh/2018/11/28/31459491.html. 
  9. "Warning: An Android Security App With 1 Billion Downloads Is Recording Users' Web Browsing". Forbes. March 3, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/03/03/warning-an-android-security-app-with-1-billion-downloads-is-recording-users-web-browsing. But the research, carried out by Gabi Cirlig, a researcher at cybersecurity company White Ops, comes after previous allegations of potential privacy issues with Cheetah’s apps.
  10. "India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Helo, WeChat". The Economic Times. July 3, 2020. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/india-bans-59-chinese-apps-including-tiktok-helo-wechat/articleshow/76694814.cms. 
  11. "Full list of 59 Chinese apps banned by Indian govt". ThePrint. June 29, 2020. https://theprint.in/india/full-list-of-59-chinese-apps-banned-by-indian-govt/451254/. 

External links