Google rushes out emergency alert for millions of gadget users – you could be hacked today if you ignore it

GOOGLE has released an urgent warning to update your Chrome browser as soon as possible.

The tech giant says that a dangerous bug is already being exploited by hackers – and you’re at risk until you update.

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A security alert put out by Google warns over a “high severity” bug.

High is the second-most severe kind of vulnerability – only behind Critical.

Worse still, it’s already being abused by cybercriminals, so you risk being hacked today unless you fix your Google Chrome app.

“Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2023-7024 exists in the wild,” Google warned.

Bug hunting

The exact details of the hack haven’t been revealed.

Google does this intentionally to prevent more crooks from taking advantage of the bug.

“Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix,” Google said.

Given the severity of the bug, it’s important that all users update their browsers as soon as possible.

It was discovered by Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which is a crack squad of cyber-experts who focus on very dangerous cyber-threats.

“Our Threat Analysis Group, or TAG, is dedicated to protecting users from threats posed by state-sponsored malware attacks and other advanced persistent threats,” said Shane Huntley, Google’s Senior Director for the Threat Analysis Group.

“TAG actively monitors threat actors and the evolution of their tactics and techniques.”

We also know it was a “zero day” bug, which means Google found out about it when it was already being exploited – and had to rush out a fix as soon as possible.

How to update Google Chrome

Updating your Google Chrome app is very simple.

In fact, updates will typically take place in the background without you having to do anything.

But there are ways to check your update – and force it too.

Launch the Google Chrome browser on your computer then choose More in the top-right (it’s three dots stacked vertically).

Then if an update is available, you’ll see an option like:

• “Relaunch to update”
• “Finish update”
• “New Chrome available”

Alternatively, you can click More > Help > About Google Chrome and then choose Update Google Chrome if the option is available.

You’ll need to reload your browser to do this.

A third way is to simply type in chrome://settings/help into your browser’s address bar, and you can update from there.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk