TL;DR
- Persistent pop-ups urging you to update Chrome may actually be malware pushed by compromised browser extensions.
- The issue affects Chromium-based browsers like Chrome, Brave, and Opera, attempting to trick users into running potentially malicious scripts.
- Identifying and removing suspicious or newly acquired extensions is currently the primary way to stop the pop-ups.
We all have our favorite Chrome extensions that make daily web browsing effortless, whether it’s a quick screen snip tool, a right-click unlocker, or a simple tab manager. But what happens when one of those trusty add-ons quietly turns against you? Over the past few days, an increasing number of web users have fallen victim to a frustratingly convincing browser scam that tricks people into downloading harmful malware disguised as routine system updates.
The issue manifests as an aggressive pop-up claiming a “Critical Update Required” or “Update available” to keep using your browser. If you click to proceed, instead of a standard browser update, it downloads a suspicious .vbs or .exe script directly to your machine.
