Update Chrome 135 Now — Mysterious Emergency Security Fix Confirmed
Google Chrome Emergency Security Update — Act Now By Davey Winder, Senior Contributor
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Davey Winder is a veteran cybersecurity writer, hacker and analyst.
Update Chrome now as emergency security fix drops. In the same way that there are seemingly never-ending stories about Windows being under attack from threat actors, so Google's Chrome browser is constantly being poked with the "you are being tracked" privacy stick, as well as the inevitable stream of "browser hacked" articles.
Google’s Mysterious Emergency Chrome Security Update
I do my best to bring you meaningful warnings to alert you to real-world threats, such as Google emails being used to hack Gmail accounts, 2FA cookie-stealer attacks and drive-by threats targeting Chrome app downloads.
I also regularly publish advisory articles when Google has fixed new security issues in Chrome, usually as a result of external researchers' discovery of vulnerabilities. This is such an article, but with a twist: I don't know what the security issue that has been confirmed actually is, I only know it must be critical for Google to issue an emergency fix dealing with just this single, mysterious issue.
In an April 22 statement, Google's Prudhvi Kumar confirmed that the Chrome browser is vulnerable to a single new issue. That's it. There's no hint whether this was found by external researchers or Google's own internal security teams. There's no Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures CVE number. There's no information at all.
"And that, dear reader, is as worrying as it is unusual," says Davey Winder, a veteran cybersecurity writer and hacker. "I recall ever coming across such a security update from Google before."
Why You Should Update Chrome Now
"What I do know is that, as the issue is obviously serious enough to roll out a security update now rather than wait until the next Patch Tuesday, it's serious enough for you to install and activate immediately," says Winder.
How to Update Google Chrome 135 Immediately
The latest Google Chrome security update will take your browser to the following version number, depending upon the operating system platform:
- Windows: Version 135.0.0.0
- MacOS: Version 135.0.0.0
- Linux: Version 135.0.0.0
To kickstart the process and get the necessary protection against this mysterious security issue, follow these steps:
- Head for Settings|About Chrome.
- Chrome will automatically start checking to determine if you already have the latest version. If you do not, then Chrome will initiate a download, followed by installation of the patched version.
- This is critical, though: your patched version of Chrome will only provide the protection you need if it has been properly activated.
- Ensure you hit the relaunch button to complete the installation.
"The security issue that Google's mysterious emergency fix aims to address remains unknown. But one thing is clear: taking action now is crucial for protecting your data and accounts," concludes Winder.