Your Google Chrome Browser Might be Making You Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

The Google Chrome browser has established itself as the go-to for most people. It is surprising to know that the browser is popular on the Windows platform as much as the iOS. That is on top of being offered on every Android device as the default browser.

Seeing such large followership, though, Google might not be tightening the grip on the browser’s security as much as they should. This has led to a series of security flaws and vulnerabilities over time.

Here are some of the most recent issues:

Internal Vulnerabilities

This is not the first time that Google confirms a severe bug in the browser’s OS. This is undoubtedly not the last time it will happen, too, as we only have to wait out sometime before we see such thing to happen again. For a company this big, we should not be getting such issues from them.

Many might not be much concerned about a flaw like this, but we believe that you have every reason to be.

If you believe that the browser is not a threat to you, think about the passwords that you have saved on the browser. Think about all of your login and accounts registered via the browser too. We do not know what kind of data the browser has been collecting – all of which could fall into the wrong hands.

Malware Extensions

Google Chrome browser shines brightly in how its extensions can boost the functionality of the basic browser. To make things better, Google has even created an official extensions store for users of their browser. Much like they do with the Google Play Store on Android units, the search engine giant does not take the time to screen all extensions before publication.

These extensions might sometimes be screened in the future, but there is no telling how much damage they would have done by then. This is the case with a ton of malicious cryptocurrency wallet apps and extensions popping up on the store.

These extensions are made to look like the official thing too. When users download and try to restore their account on such extensions, some or all of their crypto is stolen.

Protecting Yourself

The above are just a tip of the iceberg into how your Google Chrome browser could be engineered against you. That said, though, we cannot deny the blending of functionality and fantastic UI, which has made this app the favorite of many internet surfers. This is why we won’t advise you about leaving it altogether when you can just make it better instead.

Addressing the problems above first is an excellent place to start. Thus, never download an extension if you do not know its sources. Better to go with extensions from trusted vendors rather than fall into the trap of these poor picks.

Likewise, stop saving your login and password information on the browser. Get a password manager for that instead. The upside here is that some password managers will help create strong passwords for your online accounts too.

The network over which you browse could also compromise your data. While this is not a Google Chrome-specific problem, the thin security framework of Google Chroma accelerates any attack that would happen in this sense.

This is why many internet users prefer to download a VPN over which they layer their connection for better network encryption. The VPN will also keep you safe from the many dangers of public and free Wi-Fi networks.

Finally, always update the app whenever you get the notification to do so. That’s the only way to stay safe against being the victim of bugs that have already been quashed by the parent company.

(Please note that this is a guest post on Michael Storm’s blog.)