You might want to update Google Chrome as soon as you can, as Google has discovered some severe vulnerabilities in the web browser.
Google just issued a total of nine security fixes, covering all desktop versions of Chrome on all operating systems, with Chrome version 92.0.4515.159. The fixes were contributed by activists and external researchers.
Access to the actual details of the security vulnerabilities is currently being limited by Google, and TechRadar claims this is so cyber criminals do not exploit them. However, there are links to all nine of the vulnerabilities. Among the topics they cover are “type confusion in V8,” “use after free in printing,” “use after free in Extensions API,” “use after free in WebRTC,” “race in WebAudio,” and “use after free in ANGLE.”
Google will provide more information once “a majority of users are updated with a fix.”
If you’re not the technical type, then you should be aware that all these vulnerabilities cover core areas of the web browser. V8 is what’s behind the Javascript engine in the web browser, and WebRTC has a lot to do with video and audio data transfers. ANGLE, meanwhile pertains to graphics in Chrome and is yet another important area of the browser. Google will provide more information about these issues once “a majority of users are updated with a fix.”
Updating Chrome to avoid being vulnerable to these security flaws is quite easy. Usually, the browser auto updates itself, but you can manually trigger an update if you’re not getting the latest version. To do so, just click on the three dots at the top-right of your screen and then choose Help followed by About Google Chrome. You should then see a notification that an update is downloading, and you’ll be prompted to restart the web browser.
It’s not very uncommon for Google to issue updates for Chrome to patch security issues like these. Google often pays rewards out to those who find issues in Chrome and its other products. This is often referred to as “bounty hunting.” It is standard practice for other technology giants like Apple, Facebook, and even Microsoft to pay hacktivists and white hat hackers for discovering these bugs and not using them for bad purposes.
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