Google has also released the Chrome update nearly two days after the company recently patched a zero-day vulnerability in the Chrome browser. Google’s monthly update of its web browser comes amid increasing concerns of cyberattacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s users who rely on the browser day in, day out, will benefit from the update.
The update comes with some 83 vulnerabilities, with Google confirming that five of them have been deemed critical. ‘Critical’ is a designation indicating the flaw could potentially allow attackers to compromise browser security if successfully exploited. However, Google hasn’t necessarily said all of the flaws fixed by the update were exploited in the wild – meaning it has no way of knowing whether criminals used those bugs to break into systems.
This latest rollout comes shortly after a previous emergency update had patched a zero-day flaw. A zero-day vulnerability is a bug in a software security method that is exploited by hackers prior to the program developer releasing a patch to fix the weak point. Such issues leave users vulnerable until security updates are provided.
Chrome is updated to the latest version. Desktop user: Launch Google Chrome, go to Settings, About Chrome and wait for the browser to check for updates. You might have to relaunch to complete the update installation.
The suite of security updates highlights how security has become even more important as browsers continue to be the main gateway to the online experience. Users need to keep on top of installing security updates, exercise caution when clicking on links that may be fishy, and only download extensions from trusted sources. Updating and patching is one of the easiest things for users to do to protect themselves.
