A massive glitch in Google's password manager has affected millions of Windows users, highlighting the vulnerabilities of browser-based credential storage systems.
Password problems
Google massive outage
Last week there was a serious incident that lasted almost 24 hours until Google fixed the problem on July 25th. The malfunction affected owners of Windows devices using Chrome version M127. According to the company, about 2% of users out of the 25% of the total base where the configuration change was implemented encountered this issue. Given the global reach, the number of victims could reach 17 million people.
Technical causes of the incident
Google explained that the technical cause of the failure was “a change in the behavior of the product without proper protection of functions.” This suggests that the company may have accidentally released an untested update. Google Password Manager stores user credentials in their accounts and offers the creation of strong, unique passwords. However, this case showed that even such a large service can unexpectedly go down for an extended period of time due to an erroneous update.
Risks of browser-based password managers
This incident highlights the vulnerability of using browser-based password management systems, even from such giants as Google. An alternative is to use separate password storage apps, such as LastPass or Bitwarden. However, it is worth noting that they are not immune from security problems.
Other Google Security Issues
This is not the only recent security breach at Google. Recently cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs reported an issue with email verification when creating new Google Workspace accounts. This allowed attackers to bypass the verification process and impersonate domain owners in third-party services. Google promptly fixed the vulnerability within 72 hours of its discovery.
Glossary
- Google is an American multinational corporation specializing in Internet services and products
- Chrome - a web browser developed by Google
- LastPass - a popular password manager
- Bitwarden - an open-source encrypted password manager
- Google Workspace - a set of cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools
Links
Answers to questions
What happened to Google Password Manager last week?
What caused the Google Password Manager to crash?
What are the risks associated with using browser-based password managers?
What alternatives are there for storing passwords?
What other security issues has Google had lately?
Hashtags
Save a link to this article
Discussion of the topic – Google Chrome mass amnesia: 17 million Windows users left without passwords
Google Chrome experienced a major outage last week, affecting 17 million Windows users. The browser suddenly “forgot” the saved passwords and refused to recover them for 18 hours. The incident was associated with version M127 of Chrome and affected about 2% of users out of the 25% of the total base where this version was deployed.
Latest comments
8 comments
Write a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are checked *
Olivia
Wow! 17 million users without access to passwords for 18 hours? 😱 Google, are you serious? How could this even happen?
Hans
This shows how vulnerable even large companies are. I always prefer to use a separate password manager like LastPass. At least there's a chance that not all the eggs are in one basket 🥚🧺
Sophie
Hans, I agree with you! I also use a separate password manager. But you know what surprises me? How could Google release an untested update? 🤔 They must have strict testing protocols!
Javier
Guys, have you noticed that this is not the only case? The problem with checking email in Google Workspace is a completely different story 😅 It looks like the giant is having a bad streak
Victor
Ugh, these newfangled things again! Password managers, cloud services... In my time, we just remembered passwords, and there were no problems! All this technology just makes life more difficult! 😤
Olivia
Victor, I understand your dissatisfaction, but now you can’t live without password managers. I have more than 100 different accounts, and it’s simply unrealistic to remember everything 🤯 Although I agree that the reliability of these services is questionable
Anna
But I’m thinking, maybe we should go back to the good old way - writing down passwords in a notepad? 📒 At least it won't be hacked by hackers! 😄
Hans
Anna, not this! 😱 The notebook can be lost or stolen. It's better to use two-factor authentication and change passwords regularly. Safety first! 🔐