Has your Google Chrome ever opened up of its own will and started opening different tabs and downloading things you never told it to? This occurrence was experienced by many people who had Google Chrome before the 1.0.154.59 version. It turned out that there was a huge security hole that allowed these types of attacks before the new version.

But you won’t have to worry about it anymore, because anyone who has Google Chrome gets automatic updates. Just make sure that you restart the software so that you can receive the new version. Without it your computer would be open to unlimited attacks from harmful websites that are taking advantage of this hole.

It really is surprising that a security problem as big as this wasn’t discovered sooner. What basically happens is an attacking website has the ability to control your computer and force it to go to whatever websites it wants. It can also make your computer start downloading things you never approved, including any number of viruses or worms. A website is able to gather information on your computer that can be used for advertising and spam.

Not only does this jeopardize your information security, it also puts the computer itself at risk. After downloading a virus you may find that your computer has crashed or has frozen. A website intending to do a great deal of damage has all the tools it needs to do just about whatever it wants. But like I said, this should have stopped happening after you received the 1.0.154.59 update.

One of the curious aspects of this security breach was that it only worked if you didn’t have Google Chrome open. To get an attack you had to be using another internet browser and click on a link to a harmful website. After you did this the sequence would open in the Google Chrome browser and start abusing your computer security. Hopefully computer security won’t ever be jeopardized as much as it was with this accident.

Source: CNET