The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued a fresh advisory urging users of Google Chrome to update the web browser on their laptops or desktops immediately. This is the second update in as many weeks to plug nine security exploits.
CERT-In — the cybersecurity watchdog under the information technology ministry — warned that those using Google Chrome versions older than 103.0.5060.53 stand the risk of having their systems targeted by a remote attacker, who could "execute arbitrary code, disclose sensitive information and bypass security restriction on the targeted system".
In other words, hackers can make use of any of the nine vulnerabilities, which CERT-IN rated "high" on the severity scale, to run programs without the user's knowledge, gain access to and leak security information, and potentially even take over the device by bypassing the security authentication system.
These vulnerabilities were caused by improper execution of codes on the system level, CERT-In said. CERT-In has asked users to immediately update to version 103.0.5060.53, which Google rolled out two days ago.
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How to update Google Chrome
1. Open Google Chrome on your computer
2. At the top right, click the "More" menu, represented as three vertical dots.
3. Next, click on "Settings", then select "About Chrome"
4. This will show your browser's current version and automatically install the latest version.
5. Once the update is installed, a button named "Relaunch" will appear in the menu. Click on it.
6. Chrome will shut down and relaunch, completing the update process.
Not just security, there are new features, too
Google rolled out the latest update two days ago to the Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. In
the official release notes, Google said the latest version has several bug fixes and improvements.
The update also has features like faster page load times, local font support for web applications, and using Machine Learning to block unwanted notification prompts and detect malicious websites, among others.
Google has also rolled out the beta of the next version of Google Chrome, which brings in a privacy sandbox that replaces third-party web cookies, and full-screen multi-window placement, which could be useful to keep tabs on, well, multiple tabs.
