You may want to check your Chrome browser is running the latest version, as Chrome 101.0.4951.41 plugs a suite of security vulnerabilities.
Some 30 security flaws have been plugged by the update to Chrome and Chromium, the underlying open-source codebase that’s used in the likes of the Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Opera. Google hasn’t gone into much detail about what these flaws are, as it wants to make sure that the majority of users have got the update before it reveals the vulnerabilities. But a handful of these flaws are marked as “High” risk, so they definitely need fixing,
The update is being rolled out now, and there’s a chance that your browser may have already got it, so you can breathe easy. But it’s worth double checking and giving Chrome a nudge to check if it can pull in the update and apply it to the browser.
This is rather easy to do; in Windows, simply click on the three vertical dots in the top right-hand side of the Chrome browser to access the browser’s main menu. From there, head to the Settings option, which is towards the bottom of the list, and click on it.
Under settings, navigate to the Help section, then click on the “About Google Chrome'' option for on the left-hand side. This will then trigger Chrome to check if you are running the latest version of the browser. If you aren't, don’t worry as Chrome will automatically begin updating to the latest version, downloading and installing it for you.
On Mac, it's easier still: simply click on the Chrome menu in the top left of your screen, then click on About Google Chrome and you'll be taken straight to the screen which checks for updates.
After that’s done, all you’ll need to do is relaunch Chrome, which you'll be prompted to do, and the update will be applied. Don’t worry about closing tabs or shutting down Google Docs and other in-browser productivity tools, as Chrome will simply load them up again. And the whole process takes mere moments, as we discovered ourselves when prompting Chrome to sniff out the latest update.
As ever, even if newly discovered security vulnerabilities are not being actively exploited, it’s always worth updating to the latest version of software, operating systems and firmware if you can. Other than the odd shaky patch, pretty much all official full-release updates will not only secure your software or device but also help make it a little more stable.
