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Posted on 05/16/2025 6:41:36 AM PDT by Openurmind
Google is making an important change to Chrome on Windows. The browser will no longer run with administrator privileges by default.
This change is designed with the intent to protect users from potentially malicious threats. As Bleeping Computer explains, when Chrome runs with administrator rights, any file that you download can pose a security risk. What that means is a malicious file that a user downloads could run with full system access, and in turn jeopardize the operating system.
Microsoft Edge has a feature which was introduced in 2019 that prevents it from launching with elevated privileges. Edge displays a pop-up warning to inform users that the browser is running with admin rights. It will automatically try to relaunch itself without elevated privileges. Microsoft engineer, Stefan Smolen, had submitted a commit to the Chromium source code to implement a similar automatic de-elevation system in Google Chrome on Windows.
However, this feature will not block Chrome processes that are running in automation mode, to not interfere with automation tools that are used by companies or developers. The commit has already been approved and merged by the Chromium developer team.
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ping
Windows Chrome users are not going to like this... It is a wise move but that whole “what? I have to enter a password?” like we do with Linux is going to be inconvenient for them.
We now live in a world where two mouse clicks is one mouse click too many...
I don’t like everyone insisting on having an active cell phone number in order to log in. What if I don’t WANT you to be able call me? What if I don’t want to carry a phone everywhere?
Check
“I don’t like everyone insisting on having an active cell phone number in order to log in.”
I don’t do it, I refuse to do it... I won’t even use electronic banking because of that. Whatever it is I can live without it just fine.
Exactly!
More hurdles for everyone
“More hurdles for everyone”
?, 95% of all security issues come from website browser scripts. And many of these run automatically and executable as soon as you land on the page.
I never use Chrome, but I do use Brave. I wonder if this will become a thing with Brave users too.
So, uh, why is anyone using GoogleChrome on a Win10/11 OSystem, anyway?
There is an unGoolged Chromium version freely available. I use it on my Win11 systems. It rips out all the Google/CCP spyware and runs faster.
If running in Admin scares you just go in and (re)set the default. You can do most anything in non-Admin anyhoo.
Why would one need admin rights for basic web browser use?
“Why would one need admin rights for basic web browser use?”
That is exactly right. And that is the problem they are fixing with this. Most browsers already default with admin privileges to your system. This is extremely insecure. So what they are now doing is default “without” these privileges and you have to sign in to allow the browser admin privileges if you need them for some reason.
It is actually a good thing, except we know Google will still never block their own backdoor admin access to your system through your browser, just others. But it helps a bit.
Know what man? You and I have been trying to chase that isolation issue for awhile now. and I think the safest way is just to make a second isolated guest user account and use it for all browsing on the net. Set all privileges in that account accordingly so that use privileges and system access are very minimal...
I never use Chrome unless I’m required to (e.g., registering for certain Harvard alumni events!
Ping.
You talking about another account on FR?
In your machine... :)
When you add and run in a guest account it is isolated from the rest and has minimal permissions. The second account is just like running in an isolated VM.
Oh ok, now I’m tracking
:)
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