Google Chrome ALERT: Fans warned about this SHOCK security threat

Google Chrome users are being warned about a new security threat which could leave your computer filled with malware.

Google Chrome is without a doubt the most popular internet browser in the world right now.

NetMarketShare stats for the first ten months of 2018 give the search engine giant’s browser a huge 63.61 per cent market share.

Its nearest challenger is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer with a 11.29 per cent chunk of the market, followed by Firefox on 10.05 per cent.

Whereas Microsoft’s newer Edge browser, which is the default choice on Windows 10, lags behind on 4.33 per cent.

These stats underline how Chrome’s crown as the world’s most popular internet browser is undisputed.

And fans of Google Chrome have been put on alert after a new security threat affecting fans of the browser was discovered.

The security alert was put out after one Google Chrome fan was directed to a fake website by a search engine.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome fans have been warned about a shock security threat (Image: GOOGLE • GETTY • PIC POSED BY MODEL)

Twitter user Gabriel Landau published a video on Twitter showing how Microsoft’s Bing search engine directed him to a fake Chrome download site.

The clip shows Landau type into Bing the search terms ‘download chrome’.

The first result he gets appears to be for an official Google page – the header for the result is ‘Get Chrome | Download Chrome Today | google.com’.

Even the URL for the search result on Bing says the page can be found on www.google.com.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is the world’s most popular browser (Image: GOOGLE)

And when Landau clicks on the result the page he’s taken, which has a download button on it, looks legit.

However, when he scrolls back to the address bar instead of it being a page on the official Google site the URL says ‘www.googleonline2018.com/chrome’.

Landau said on Twitter that he came across the issue when trying to install Chrome on a brand new Windows 10 laptop.

He tweeted: “Brand new Win10 laptop. Attempt to install Chrome. Almost get owned with my very first action. Why is this still happening in 2018, @bing? Please explain.”

Google Chrome

A Google Chrome was directed to a fake download page by Bing (Image: TWITTER GABRIEL LANDAU)

Landau later added: “Yes this is real. Bing lists the scam link without https : //. I can still reproduce it by visiting this link in Edge and hitting F5 a few times. https://www.bing.com/search?q=download+chrome&form=EDGSPH …. I can’t repro with other browsers.”

Landau’s tweet was retweeted almost 2,000 times and liked by just shy of 3,000 Twitter users.

Responding to his post the Bing Ads Twitter account wrote: “Hi Gabriel, protecting customers from malicious content is a top priority and we have removed the ads from Bing and banned the associated account. We encourage users to continue to report this type of content at https://bit.ly/2PZWZ1u so we can take appropriate action.”

In other Chrome news, the security warning comes after Express.co.uk revealed that the market-leading browser has received a handy new feature recently.

A new Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode for the browser that will allow video to be played in a separate window when browsing the web has been announced.

The announcement was made this week on Google+ by Chrome developer Francois Beaufort.

He said: “After months of work, I’m proud to share with all of you that Picture-in-Picture (PiP) is now enabled by default in Chrome for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

“This allows you to watch videos in a floating window (always on top of other windows) so that you can keep an eye on what you’re watching while interacting with other sites, or applications. I love it!”

Google Chrome

The Google Chrome listing on Microsoft’s Bing search engine looks legit (Image: TWITTER GABRIEL LANDAU)

Google Chrome

However, on closer inspection Google Chrome fans are directed to a fake website (Image: TWITTER GABRIEL LANDAU)

Beaufort declared such a feature can be enabled on YouTube by right-clicking twice on a video.

The first right-click will display YouTube’s player menu and the second will present Chrome’s options tab that will appear with a ‘Picture-in-Picture’ toggle.

Content will then be presented in a separate window and allows users to resize it and move it around their desktop.

If you’re looking to run the new feature, you need to have Chrome version 69 or higher.