Starting with Chrome 116, Google will increase the speed of its browser security updates. This is now becoming a weekly event.

To make it even harder for potential attackers, Google is increasing the pace of its Chrome security updates. The browser is now updated weekly instead of every two weeks.

Practical

The updates in question have been fully tested and approved and are always released immediately to the stable channel. This will not affect the four-weekly milestone updates or daily Chrome usage.

Typically, security updates were released every four weeks between these milestones. The only thing that changes now is that you will receive a notification for an update more often: every week instead of every two weeks. That’s all.

Chromium, open up

Chrome is a browser based on Chromium open source. This means developers can change code and view and evaluate changes made by others. Through the beta and canary testing channels, testers can identify any bugs and report them to Google. The company can then improve any updates before releasing them to the general public via Stable.

That’s just the positive side of open source, though. It can also be used by people or organizations with bad intentions. For example, high visibility within open source ensures that potential attackers can see which vulnerabilities are being fixed and then actively seek out users who haven’t already to exploit the same vulnerabilities.

safety above all

In order to keep the time between a vulnerability and a necessary patch as short as possible, Google is now increasing its update rate in terms of security. Of course, the risks have not completely disappeared from the digital table, but according to Google, this rhythm means that patches reach users on average 3.5 days earlier.

This weekly update doesn’t mean urgent patches won’t be released sooner. Of course, if a priority vulnerability has been discovered and the necessary measures have been taken, Google does not wait for the next scheduled update. In this case, an additional patch will be released immediately when a patch is created.

So keep an eye on your notifications. Like us, Google attaches great importance to implementing an available update immediately or as soon as possible. Also interesting is the mention that Google is experimenting with new notifications. These are currently active with one percent of users.

Please note that this security update acceleration only applies to Chrome. Google has no control over updates to other Chromium browsers.

It’s not for nothing that Google is proactively working on Chrome’s security; Recently there was another dangerous new zero-day vulnerability. If you want to take additional measures yourself, you can always refer to the five tips for using Chrome safely that Google published earlier this year.