Chrome Bug Allows Tech Support Scammers To Send You Into a Loop
February 28, 2019
There are a lot of benefits to using Google’s Chrome Browser. One of them; it’s generally pretty efficient at getting you where you want to go. However, a new scam has become a thorn in Chrome’s side in that area. It actually spins the browser into a tizzy and uses all of Chrome’s resources, causing the user to have to shut it down completely by forcing it to quit. But it is relentless. Merely shutting down the browser may not fix it, so don’t get caught out by this one.
In this version of the tech support scam, users see a popup claiming to be a Windows Internet Security Alert. It looks pretty authentic and even gives an alert code. But if you go to the link listed, it will put Chrome into a never-ending loop, use 100% of the computer’s resources, and keep you from closing the browser without using a forced option, such as quitting via Windows Task Manager.
Very important tip follows here: If you do end up in this tech support loop of pain and force the browser to quit, DO NOT restore your browser tabs when it re-opens. Chrome does give you that option and while it’s a very useful feature under most circumstances, this one will just put you right back into that Tilt-O-Whirl. That’s because it also opens up that scammy URL which just send you right back into that never-ending loop.
This does not happen in Firefox. It actually exploits a bug in Chrome that was reported and is being worked by Google. A fix should be out soon, if it isn’t already. If you have an indicator to update the browser, just do it.
Until then, be very careful about clicking on links in email or even those in popups that appear on your computer or mobile screens. Just because a notification states you might have malware or some other problem, doesn’t mean it’s true. Instead of clicking, close that message out and shut down your computer and completely reboot it. Once it comes back up, do a virus scan using your installed and updated anti-virus software.
And just because it’ll save you a lot of time and frustration in case you actually do manage to get some sort of malware on your computer or mobile device, make sure you do regular backups of them. This is pretty quick and simple to do. You can get an external drive to keep the data close to home, or send it to the cloud if you’re comfortable doing that. In any case, having that data backed up will be your savior should you need to restore for any reason.