Category Archives: Google

Chrome 73.0.3683.75

The release announcement for Chrome 73.0.3683.75 links to a list of sixty security issues which are fixed in the new version.

Many of the vulnerabilities addressed in Chrome 73.0.3683.75 were discovered by external security researchers, once again demonstrating the value of Google’s open attitude towards bug submissions.

Although Chrome usually updates itself within a few days of a new release, you can expedite this process by checking for available updates. Do that by navigating Chrome’s three-dot menu (by default at the top right), to Help > About Google Chrome. This will trigger an update, if one is available.

Chrome 72.0.3626.121

The latest Chrome browser release is version 72.0.3626.121, and it fixes a security vulnerability for which exploits have been observed ‘in the wild’. So this is an important update.

When I try to look at the full change log using the link provided by Google, I get a blank page. Not sure what’s going on there.

If you use Chrome, it’s almost certainly updating itself on Google’s somewhat mysterious schedule. But you can check your version and initiate an update by navigating its ‘three dot’ menu to Help > About Google Chrome.

Chrome 72.0.3626.96

A single security fix prompted the release of Chrome 72.0.3626.96 last week. The full change log for this release lists forty-one changes in all, but most of them are not significant.

Chrome usually updates itself, but on its own mysterious schedule. So if you want to make sure you’re up to date, navigate its menu to Help > About Google Chrome to see the version you’re running and install any available updates.

Chrome 72.0.3626.81: loads of security fixes

There are at least fifty-eight security fixes in the latest Chrome browser, version 72.0.3626.81. Released on January 29, the new version contains more than fourteen thousand changes in all. If you have a few days to kill, you can read the full change log.

Chrome will generally update itself whether you want it to or not, but if you’re not sure, navigate its menu (three dot icon) to Help > About Google Chrome to see which version you have installed, and trigger an update if one is available.

I’m not sure why Google didn’t see fit to mention any of the changes in this version on the announcement page, but it’s hard to imagine that none of them were at all interesting. Besides listing about thirty of the security fixes, all they’ve done is point to the Chrome blog, which currently doesn’t show any posts related to this new version.

Chrome 71.0.3578.98 fixes one security bug

A lone security vulnerability is addressed in the latest Chrome, version 71.0.3578.98. The full change log documents about twenty changes in all.

Chrome keeps itself up to date, mostly whether you want it to or not. I’ve long since stopped fighting Google’s automatic updates on my own computers, partly because those updates never seem to cause problems, which is refreshingly different from Microsoft’s sad history.

On the other hand, Chrome may not get around to updating itself for a while; Chrome release announcements usually include boilerplate text saying that the new version “will roll out over the coming days/weeks.” You can get it up to date right now by clicking its menu button and choosing Help > About Google Chrome.

Chrome 71.0.3578.80: lots of security fixes

According to the release announcement, Chrome 71.0.3578.80 addresses forty-three distinct security vulnerabilities in earlier versions of the browser.

The full change log for the new version has over twelve thousand entries, none of which are mentioned in the announcement. Many of the changes appear to be fixes for minor bugs.

To check your version of Chrome, click its menu button and navigate to Help > About Google Chrome. If you’re not running the latest version, you’ll be able to update it from there.

Chrome 70.0.3538.110

According to the release announcement for Chrome 70.0.3538.110, the new version fixes a single, High-severity security vulnerability. The change log lists a few additional bug fixes but nothing particularly interesting.

Chrome will update itself automatically on most computers, over the next few days or weeks. If that’s not soon enough for you, click the browser’s menu button at the top right (three vertical dots) and drill down to Help > About Google Chrome. This will show your current version and — usually — offer to install the latest version.

Chrome 70.0.3538.102

Three security issues are fixed in the latest Chrome, released by Google on October 9. The Chrome 70.0.3538.102 change log is relatively brief, and the announcement doesn’t highlight any of the changes.

For most users, Chrome will update itself on its own mysterious schedule. You can regain some control by clicking Chrome’s ‘hamburger’ menu button and navigating to Help > About Google Chrome. This will show the version you’re currently runing and — usually — offer an update if it’s out of date.

Chrome 70.0.3538.67/77

Two new versions of Google’s web browser were released recently. Chrome 70.0.3538.67 includes twenty-three security fixes, as outlined in the release announcement. The log for that version lists over twelve thousand changes.

The release announcement for Chrome 70.0.3538.77 doesn’t highlight any of the thirty-eight changes found in its change log, so presumably none of them are significant, and none are related to security.

By now, most people who like having control over what happens on their computers have probably given up on trying to prevent Google software from updating itself. Still, if you use Chrome, it’s a good idea to make sure it’s up to date, which you can do by clicking its ‘three dots’ menu button at the top right and navigating to Help > About Google Chrome. If a new version is available, this will usually trigger an update.

Latest Google rug-pull: Google+

Google will terminate Google+ for individuals in the near future. The service will continue to exist for organizations, which presumably includes what Google calls ‘brand accounts’. But for anyone who bought into Google’s hype about the social media service, this is a major disappointment.

Just ask Mike Elgan, one of the more prolific Google+ contributors. In two recent posts, Mike expresses his profound disappointment with Google’s tendency to create new services, coerce people into using them, and then kill those services. I know all about this, having been a victim of Google’s rug-pulling shenanigans myself.

The rationale for Google’s decision to kill Google+ is the discovery of a huge hole in one of its programming interfaces (APIs). Apparently any developer using this API had access to Google+ user data beyond what was supposedly allowed. Lucky for Google+ users, hardly anyone was using this API, just as hardly anyone was using Google+. Anyway, Google fixed the hole back in March but didn’t tell anyone about it.

Okay, Google. This one doesn’t hurt me very much, as my use of Google+ is limited to parroting posts from my blogs to associated brand accounts. I’ll keep the brand accounts around, but I won’t be expanding my use of them. Fool me once… actually, I’ve lost track of how many times this has happened.