NoScript Might Come To Google Chrome: Eventually

If you search the Internet, e.g. on Google Search or Bing, for requested extensions for the Google Browser you notice that NoScript next to an effective ad blocker tops those listings most of the time.

NoScript is a Firefox extension that blocks all scripts by default from being loaded when the page is requested. It is then up to the user to keep it that way or enable (whitelist) some scripts for the session or even permanently (so that they are always loaded when the page is accessed).

NoScript is primarily a security add-on but it also provides other benefits like ad blocking since most advertisement on the Internet relies on scripts. Since scripts are blocked by default, most ads are too.

Google Chrome has made leaps forward with Chrome 4 stable being released to the public and Chrome 5 in active development.

Extensions are now supported out of the box in Chrome 4 and users are asking (again) why NoScript has not been ported or copied yet.

The developer of NoScript, Giorgio Maone, gives us the answer on December 10, 2009.

Chrome is still lacking the required infrastructure for selective script disablement and object blocking. Maybe Google plans to implement the missing stuff later, maybe they’re still trying to figure out whether it can be done without enabling effective ad blocking, but in the meanwhile the pale AdBlock and FlashBlock imitations which have been hacked together by overwhelming popular demand, are forced to use a very fragile CSS-based hiding approach, ridiculously easy to circumvent.

The developer posted an update on January 28, 2010 in the Informaction forum:

It means the the technology infrastructure to make it possible is not there yet (so "now be possible" does not makes much sense), but I'm in talks with good will Google people who say they want it to happen.

Talks are underway which is good to hear although Google had contacted the developer previously (as early as April 2009) and nothing seemed to have changed since then.

Google Chrome 5 on the other hand might deliver exactly the functions needed to port NoScript to Google Chrome. If you remember yesterday's review you know that JavaScript and Plugin blocking with whitelisting resources was shown in the new Content Settings menu. It would be interesting to hear what the NoScript developer thinks of this development.

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