Google will release weekly security updates for Chrome as it wants to pick up the pace with things. The tech and search giant company starting things off with Chrome 116 will be releasing weekly security updates to the stable channel, thus getting patches that could easily block major exploits to people faster.
Google Security Updates for Chrome
The “milestone” Chrome releases of Google in the stable channel that used to come every four weeks will now be accompanied by weekly security updates (prior to this was biweekly) to help close the “patch gap” that is between fixes appearing in Canary / Beta releases and when they eventually go out to most users.
Bad actors as you know could potentially see what changes are made in beta builds and can then confirm and even exploit vulnerable users just before the stable channel sees an update due to the existing gap which is a real problem for a platform with billions of users who would reportedly be vulnerable.
The Google Security Blog in question states that the new weekly updates, which will kick things off with Chrome 116, will not be changing just how Chrome is used or even updated, and milestone releases just as reported will still arrive at the same expected timing. Prior to this, patch gaps were around 35 days long for Chrome versions that are older than 77 and were then reduced to about 15 days with the implementation of a biweekly patch cycle. And right now, the new weekly updates in question help to address this very gap.
Apple Tried Something Similar Recently
Apple has already similarly adjusted its approach just recently, thus adding rapid security updates that can easily roll out between major iOS and macOS releases in a bid to keep up with increasing security threats.
What This New Update Mean for Users
However, this does mean that users will now get to see more updates in general. Google also made mention of a new update notification experience that gets to add an update status message right inside the green banner on the top right corner of the Chrome window. (Previously it just stated “update.”) Users can now click on it and then select “relaunch to update,” and it kindly states that your tabs will reopen so you have nothing to worry about. It is in testing at the moment for 1 percent of users on the stable channel.
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