Cybersecurity experts raise alarm over fake Google Chrome updates that exposes PCs to Malware

Cybersecurity experts have warned Google Chrome users of a scam that infects their computers with malware – all through a simple pop-up window that asks them to download an update.

Mac users are safe (for now). The malware currently targets Windows users only.

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“The compromise starts when a victim innocently navigates to a website that has already been compromised by a hacker. Hackers launch their scam specifically from compromised WordPress web sites,” Scott Schober, cybersecurity expert and author of “Hacked Again” tells us Thursday.

“The script re-writes the compromised website on the victim’s browser, creating an illegible page that is completely fake and prompts the user to download a supposed corrective font.”

The pop-up alert says “The ‘HoeflerText’ font wasn’t found.” If users click on it, executable file “Chrome_Font v7.5.2.exe,” a form of malware, will download to their computers.

Malware, short for malicious software, can have multiple purposes – disrupting a computer’s operations, collecting personal or financial data, displaying unwanted ads or gaining access to entire networks.

 

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