Zero-Day Exploit Found Affecting Chrome and Edge Browsers

If you use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on your computer, stop what you're doing and update your browser. As reported by security blog Sophos Security, Google announced that a zero-day exploit has been found in Google Chrome that could allow hackers to perform malicious activities on your computer. Today, Microsoft announced Edge has also been affected. Zero-day exploits are particularly worrisome because the bug has already been identified by hackers and is being used in the wild. Fortunately, fixing the bug is as easy as updating your browser. 

How to see if your Chrome browser has been updated

Chrome typically downloads updates automatically, but they won't get installed until you close and reopen your browser. This can be a problem for anyone who tends to just leave their browser open, thus accidentally leaving themselves open to threats like this one.

To see if your Chrome browser is up to date, look at the upper right corner of your Chrome browser. If you see a red, orange, or green "update" button where you usually see the triple dots, you need to update Chrome. Green means the update was released less than 2 days ago, orange means the update was released less than 4 days ago and red means the update was released 4 or more days ago. Click on the "update" button and then select Update Google Chrome. Your Chrome browser will restart. If you don't close your open tabs, Chrome will reopen them for you when it restarts.

Even if you don't see the button, you may not be protected if you haven't restarted your browser since you initiated the update. To double check: 

1. Click the three vertical dots upper right corner of your browser.
2. Click "Help" at the bottom of the menu that pops up
3. Select "About Google Chrome."
4. Chrome will automatically check for updates. 
5. If you need to restart to install the updates, you'll see a "Relaunch" button.
6. If you have already applied the patch, it will tell you “Google Chrome is up to date," and show Chrome running version 98.0.4758.102. 

How to see if your Edge browser has been updated

To see if your Edge browser is up to date, look at the upper right corner of your Edge browser. If you see a red, orange, or green dot with an arrow next to the triple dots, you need to update Edge. Green means the update was released less than 2 days ago, orange means the update was released less than 4 days ago and red means the update was released 4 or more days ago. Click on the arrow and then click on "Update Available" (or "Update Recommended" if it's yellow). Then click on the "Restart" button. Your Edge browser will restart. If you don't close your open tabs, Edge will reopen them for you when it restarts.

Even if you don't see the button, you may not be protected if you haven't restarted your browser since you initiated the update. To double check: 

1. Click the three horizontal dots upper right corner of your browser.
2. Click "Help and feedback" at the bottom of the menu that pops up
3. Select "About Microsoft Edge."
4. Edge will automatically check for updates.
5. If you need to restart to install the updates, you'll see a "Restart" button.
6. If you have already applied the patch, it will tell you “Microsoft Edge is up to date," and show Edge running version 98.0.1108.55. 

It's good to get in the habit of keeping your software up to date at all times, so all of the latest security patches are installed. And don't forget to make sure your operating system is up to date (see our story How to Update Windows 11).

[Image credit: Screenshot via Techlicious with Smartmockups]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

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