It’s time to update your Chrome browser ASAP. There’s not one, but three big ol’ security bugs in the latest versions of Chrome, one of which is being actively exploited by hackers. Here’s what you need to know.
You can read the technical details of the bug in Google blog post, but it basically affects Chrome’s ability to properly check and run JavaScript, leaving the browser open to malicious code.
Google hasn’t said exactly how the attacks are being carried out, but the company has confirmed that the vulnerability is being used to target users, so you’ll want to patch Chrome as soon as possible. Here’s the bad news: only the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of Chrome have been updated so far. Android, iOS, and Chromebook users will have to wait for their patches.
It’s pretty easy to see if there’s a Chrome update available—the menu icon in the upper-right corner (the one next to your Google profile icon) will have a notification dot. Click it the icon, and then click “Update Chrome” to install the patch.
You can confirm that you’re already safe by checking your browser version. Click the three-dot “Menu” icon, then go to Settings > About Chrome. The bugs are patched on version 80.0.3987.122 or higher. If Chrome is not up to date and there was no update notification over the menu icon, that might mean that Chrome hasn’t fully finished updating—but fear not, the “About Chrome” screen will also let you know if there’s an update waiting to be installed and will ask you to relaunch the browser to complete it.
If you’ve checked all those options and you’re still not up to date, you can also try downloading and installing the latest version of Chrome manually.
[ZDNet]
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