You should update Google Chrome now

[Daniel Sims]

PSA: Last Friday, Google released an update for the stable branch of the desktop versions of Chrome which fixes a high-priority vulnerability. Users who haven't updated it in the last few days should probably do so now.

If you use Google Chrome, you should probably update to the latest version as soon as possible. Go to Settings (three stacked dots)->Help->About Google Chrome. Here you will find your browser version of the browser you currently have installed while also automatically updating Chrome to the latest version.

Google released version 99.0.4844.84 late last week to address a severe zero-day security exploit. It's already going out to users, but Google's security advisory says it will likely take days or weeks to reach everyone. We got an "Update failed (error: 12)" when trying to update, but refreshing fixed the problem.

The company notified users it was aware of an exploit labeled CVE-2022-1096. Google doesn't say much about it, only that an anonymous tip reported a Type Confusion bug in V8 — Chrome's JavaScript engine. Type Confusion vulnerabilities emerge when the code calls an object without type-checking it. Microsoft notes that this is dangerous because it can allow unauthorized code execution.

Chrome, along with Firefox and Microsoft Edge, are steadily approaching version 100. While this is a milestone to be celebrated, it could also cause problems because some websites may have trouble reading the user agents of browsers with triple-digit version numbers. Google and Mozilla are working to mitigate the issue before Chrome reaches version 100 this week and Firefox reaches it in May.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/93955-you-update-google-chrome-now.html

 

[Dunkerton]

No thanks, I only use Brave now. edit: See below for more educated responses, I was unaware that Brave may still be susceptible. Looks like my browser is version 1.36.122 Chromium 99.0.4844.88. Thanks

 

[antiproduct]

No thanks, I only use Brave now.

That's nice. Brave uses Chromium, so probably still vulnerable to this, so you might want to update it too.

 

[seeprime]

That's nice. Brave uses Chromium, so probably still vulnerable to this, so you might want to update it too.

Absolutely right. The issue is from Chromium, not just Chrome, I patched Brave, Edge, and Chrome ASAP.

 

[Aaron Fox]

I don't have Google's spyware on my systems.

Oh, that's right. I have Firefox, which is Google's spyware.

Oops!

There I go again... believing for a split second that there's some escape from the Google hegemony.

 

[Godel]

No thanks, I only use Brave now.

https://brave.com/latest/ has information on Brave's latest releases. Lately most new versions have mostly been garbage changes to their crypto wallets.

 

[psycros]

I don't have Google's spyware on my systems.

Oh, that's right. I have Firefox, which is Google's spyware.

Oops!

There I go again... believing for a split second that there's some escape from the Google hegemony.

www.waterfox.com
www.palemoon.org

 

[Aaron Fox]

www.waterfox.com
www.palemoon.org

Out of date and closed source? The Pale Moon forum is fascinating since there is someone very much out of control there who is allowed to dominate everyone. Strange operation.

Then... what to do about search? Bing is bad and it's MS (no better than Google). DDG is the Bing index and lacks credibility in terms of its claims about respecting privacy.

Google owns the Internet via search and it controls the browsers rather thoroughly, too. It also controls Android (most phones) and most educational computers. Only people like **** Cheney get their home erased from Google's online showcase.

 

[slappySlapSlap]

Wait, what? You using chromium browsers?
I am using Internet Explorer in my Windows XP machine. Should I update also?
XD

 

[Dunkerton]

That's nice. Brave uses Chromium, so probably still vulnerable to this, so you might want to update it too.

Ah crap. Thanks for the heads up....

 

[Avro Arrow]

This only makes me more glad that I use Firefox. AFAIK, Firefox is the only browser left that DOESN'T lazily use Chromium as its base program. That's a big reason that I continue to use it. I'm not supporting the evil Empire and I don't have to worry about things like this.

Firefox is almost exclusively the domain of the tech-savvy so any kind of exploit that hackers can try to create will only affect a small percentage of people and that small percent are the most likely to find a way to counteract it. Therefore, the hackers will focus exclusively on Chrome.

 

[antiproduct]

This only makes me more glad that I use Firefox. AFAIK, Firefox is the only browser left that DOESN'T lazily use Chromium as its base program. That's a big reason that I continue to use it. I'm not supporting the evil Empire and I don't have to worry about things like this.

I'd still be using it if they didn't break all the awesome extensions that used to work with it. Now it's just super frustrating to use with 20+ tabs open. So I've switched to Vivaldi, chrome based which makes me sad, but great tab management and other functionality.

 

[BobHome]

Okay... I go into About and find: Version 99.0.4844.84 (Official Build) (64-bit)
AND, it updates!
Now it's: Version 100.0.4896.60 (Official Build) (64-bit)

 

[Aaron Fox]

This only makes me more glad that I use Firefox. AFAIK, Firefox is the only browser left that DOESN'T lazily use Chromium as its base program. That's a big reason that I continue to use it. I'm not supporting the evil Empire and I don't have to worry about things like this.

Firefox is almost exclusively the domain of the tech-savvy so any kind of exploit that hackers can try to create will only affect a small percentage of people and that small percent are the most likely to find a way to counteract it. Therefore, the hackers will focus exclusively on Chrome.

Firefox is bankrolled primary by Google and is loaded with Google hooks. Check out all the 'goog' stuff in about:config. And, that's just what you're allowed to see. Functionality has steadily been removed from about:config.

 

[yeeeeman]

I'm on chrome 100

 

[Avro Arrow]

Firefox is bankrolled primary by Google and is loaded with Google hooks. Check out all the 'goog' stuff in about:config. And, that's just what you're allowed to see. Functionality has steadily been removed from about:config.

I wonder why Google would bankroll Mozilla. I'm not saying that it's not true, I just don't understand it. I will take a look at the about.config to see what you're talking about. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[Avro Arrow]

Firefox is bankrolled primary by Google and is loaded with Google hooks. Check out all the 'goog' stuff in about:config. And, that's just what you're allowed to see. Functionality has steadily been removed from about:config.

Ok so I checked it out and Google is paying Mozilla a lot of money but it's because Mozilla is a "search engine partner" which means that Firefox's default search engine is Google. As a matter of fact, Google had been sabotaging Firefox for years:

Former Mozilla exec: Google has sabotaged Firefox for years

Former and current Mozilla engineers are reaching their boiling points.

www.zdnet.com

Google also funds Firefox to prevent their position from becoming a monopoly. All the 'goog' stuff in about.config might be things that Firefox has done to make it more compatible with Google sites like YouTube. They could also be "search engine partner"-related.

 

[Aaron Fox]

And the bottom line is that Google controls Firefox (including information passing through it) like it controls the Internet via search. It was also reported quite a few years back — the allegation that MS has a gentleman's agreement with Google to keep the Bing index and search quality algorithms inferior to Google's. Even if that allegation isn't true, there is hardly adequate competition in search and search shouldn't be controlled by corporations. The Internet is supposed to be about information being more freely available. It is not supposed to be about advertising.