The temporary halt of the Chrome browser update announced by Google was a rather unexpected measure. Despite the fact that the company promised to freeze the release of only new functions, while continuing to systematically launch security patches with fixes, this led to even more negative consequences than one could imagine. This situation was exploited by hackers who began distributing fake updates for the desktop version of Chrome, which in fact turned out to be an application for remote control of the TeamViewer computer and a program that records keyboard strokes.
Google Chrome won't update and that's ok
The spread of fake updates was reported by the experts of the anti-virus company Doctor Web. According to them, they found several sites that cybercriminals used to distribute, and counted a total of more than 2,000 downloads. That is, it turns out that now there are about two thousand people who are under threat. Indeed, unlike Trojans posing as other applications, fake updates have a much higher conversion rate because users don't expect a catch.
Updating Google Chrome will fail
No need to download updates from third-party sources. Generally. Never
According to Doctor Web experts, fake updates are distributed by Russian hackers and are also targeted at the Russian-speaking audience. Therefore, it should be expected that the instructions accompanying the installation will be fully translated into Russian, which can further mislead users about its origin and purpose. But does this mean that you cannot protect yourself from fake updates? Of course not.
First, you need to make it a rule not to download updates from third-party sources, even if this is an official site. Today developers quite regularly distribute updates through applications, without forcing users to search for them on their own. When the latest version becomes available, the program installs itself, or allows you to check for their availability manually. In the case of Chrome, everything happens automatically, sometimes the user is only required to confirm the restart.
How to protect yourself from viruses
Second, keep a close eye on what you install. Chrome often blocks dangerous downloads by itself. But if this did not happen, pay attention to the composition in which the update that you downloaded gets to the computer. If it is an archive with several components, do not start the installation process, but what if you did? see how the installer is decorated. As a rule, attackers do not bother too much about this and do not try to repeat the original design of the application that they are faking.
Third, stay tuned. We report situations like this regularly and in a timely manner. For example, the news about the suspension of the Chrome update came out earlier than most news outlets, so by reading Android Insider.ru, you will not only learn about the changes in the world of technology before anyone else, but also find actionable advice to prevent infection and self-defense against malware.
What if you weren't lucky enough to download a fake update that turned out to be malware? Most likely, a banal deletion is unlikely to help, but it's worth a try, especially since TeamViewer is a completely ordinary program, not a virus. If you have Windows, go to the 'Programs and Features' section and uninstall it, if any. But with keyloggers that reads keystrokes, everything is much more complicated. Therefore, to remove it, I would advise you to use an antivirus – it will definitely cope with it.