Chrome and Firefox fix big security bugs — how to update now

Chrome and Firefox fix large security bugs — how to update now

The Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox logos against a teal-blue background.

(Image credit: Google/Mozilla Foundation)

Google and Mozilla each upgraded their Chrome and Firefox browsers this week, squashing a number of security issues. Make sure your browsers are up to date.

Several of the flaws allow remote code execution — i.due east., hacking — past malicious websites, although the details are being kept under wraps so that actual crooks and spies don't use them until near users have patched their browsers.

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Chrome's update to version 85.0.4183.121 on the desktop fixes ten security flaws, 5 of which were categorized equally "high" severity, according to the official Chrome blog.

Three of those permit remote hacking by a specially designed malicious website, according to the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Database; the other two make Chrome vulnerable to malicious browser extensions.

How to update Chrome

Your desktop Google Chrome browser will generally update itself in Windows, Mac and Linux as long as yous periodically close and relaunch the browser. Updates to version 85.0.4183.121 will be rolled out to all users "over the coming/days weeks," the Chrome weblog said.

To strength a Google Chrome browser update, click the three vertical dots at the top right of your Chrome browser window, scroll down to help, and so select Virtually Google Chrome in the wing-out menu that appears.

A new tab will open that will bank check to run across if yous're on the latest version, and update you if you're not. (Some Linux distributions will instead button out updates through their normal software-update channels).

Firefox security flaws

Firefox 81.0, released yesterday (Sept. 22), patches six security flaws and applies to Android as well as the desktop OS'southward. 3 of them are described as having "loftier" potential impact, all of which involve retentivity abuse, i of the primary reasons vulnerabilities happen in whatsoever form of software.

"We presume that with enough effort some of these could take been exploited to run arbitrary lawmaking," Mozilla wrote in its security informational.

Firefox 81 besides adds some new usability features, such as the ability to suspension and play audio and video from a keyboard or headphones, salve and auto-fill credit-card numbers and fill in PDF forms. Information technology too adds a pink-and-regal "Alpenglow" theme.

How to update Firefox

Like Chrome, Firefox should automatically update itself when you launch the browser.

To strength a transmission update, become to the three stacked lines at the superlative right of the desktop browser window, then scroll down to and select Help at the bottom of the menu. Select "About Firefox" in the wing-out menu, and a pop-up window will appear that checks to run across whether your installation of Firefox is up-to-appointment.

Yous can also download total builds of Firefox 81 for all supported desktop platforms from the Firefox FTP website.

Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has besides been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul commuter, code monkey and video editor. He's been rooting around in the data-security space for more than fifteen years at FoxNews.com, SecurityNewsDaily, TechNewsDaily and Tom's Guide, has presented talks at the ShmooCon, DerbyCon and BSides Las Vegas hacker conferences, shown upwardly in random TV news spots and even moderated a panel discussion at the CEDIA home-engineering science briefing. Y'all can follow his rants on Twitter at @snd_wagenseil.