GOOGLE Chrome users have been warned over fake ‘pop-ups’ to update their browser.
All 3.2billion users have been urged not to update their browser on websites, and instead stick to the Google landing page for software downloads.
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These fake browser updates look like pop-ups that appear in front of a legitimate website’s real page.
However, there is actually nothing else to the website.
They are designed to look that way to lure unsuspecting web surfers into clicking on them and downloading malware onto their device.
Experts at cybersecurity firm Proofpoint raised the alarm on the growing scam campaign.
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“Fake browser updates refer to compromised websites that display what appears to be a notification from the browser developer such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, informing them that their browser software needs to be updated,” experts wrote in a recent report.
“When a user clicks on the link, they do not download a legitimate browser update but rather harmful malware.”
And even the more security savvy Chrome users could fall for the trick, according to experts.
“In security awareness training, users are told to only accept updates or click on links from known and trusted sites, or individuals, and to verify sites are legitimate,” they said.
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“The fake browser updates abuse this training because they compromise trusted sites and use JavaScript requests to quietly make checks in the background and overwrite the existing, website with a browser update lure.
“To an end user, it still appears to be the same website they were intending to visit and is now asking them to update their browser.”
The scam used to be peddled by one hacker group in particular, known as TA569.
This gang has used fake browser updates to deliver SocGholish malware for more than five years.
But there has been a concerning rise in copycat schemes from different threat actors emerging, experts warned.
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