If you use the Chrome browser, you should update it NOW

Craig Johnson | March 15th, 2019

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If Google Chrome is your browser of choice, your computer may be in danger from “previously publicly-unknown vulnerabilities,” according to a recent Google blog post.

Google says the issue is urgent because the flaw is being “actively exploited in targeted attacks.”

To fix the issue, Google released an auto-update to its browser in early March, but the company is encouraging users to verify that their Google Chrome is updated.

‘Serious vulnerability’ affects Google Chrome & Microsoft Windows

To underscore how serious the browser issue is, Google Security & Desktop engineer Justin Schuh tweeted this: “Seriously, update your Chrome installs… like right this minute.”

Another related vulnerability is with the Windows operating system, which Google says Microsoft knows about.

“I compliance with our policy, we are publicly disclosing its existence, because it is a serious vulnerability in Windows that we know was being actively exploited in targeted attacks. The unpatched Windows vulnerability can still be used to elevate privileges or combined with another browser vulnerability to evade security sandboxes. Microsoft have told us they are working on a fix.”

Google says it strongly believes that the exploit is limited to Windows 7, but it can’t be completely sure.

How to find out which version of Google Chrome you have

For your protection, always make sure you’re operating the latest software. To be clear, you should be using Google Chrome version 72.0.3626.121 or later.

To find out which version of Chrome you’re using, type this in the address bar: chrome://version/

It will show you which version you have running on your computer.

How to update Google Chrome browser

If you need to manually update Google Chrome yourself, here’s what you need to do:

1. On your computer, open the Google Chrome browser.
2. At the top right, look for a “More” link.
3. If you don’t see an “Update Google Chrome” link, you already have the latest version.
4. If you do see the above link, Click Relaunch.

As for Windows users, Google says “users should consider upgrading to Windows 10 if they are still running an older version of Windows.”