To later update Chrome, the executable's name must be restored to GoogleUpdate.exe. Any new name will do, say, GoogleUpdate_disabled.exe.Īfter restarting Chrome, any attempt, whether automatic on the part of the browser or manual by the user, will fail. The simplest way is to locate the file GoogleUpdate.exe - it should be in the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update - and rename it. Individuals can disrupt automatic updates on Windows PCs, however, by nixing the executable the browser relies on for its connection to Google's servers. In plainer English, that means attempts to turn off auto updates, including by setting a Windows Registry key - a cornerstone of many of the techniques available on the web - will fail as the time between update checks reverts to 77 hours, or about 3.2 days. "To prevent abuse of this policy, if a device is not joined to an Active Directory domain, and if this policy has been set to 0 or to a value greater than 77 hours, this setting will not be honored and replaced by 77 hours after August 2014," a Chrome support document reads, referring to a group policy that allows enterprise IT staffers to disable the feature. They're futile because Chrome's updating mechanism cannot be permanently switched off without the business infrastructure of Active Directory. ( This spring's WannaCry attacks starkly illustrated the differences between quickly-patched and unpatched Windows systems.) Removing the responsibility for updates, particularly security updates, from the user has been a decades-long theme in software for a good reason, as it results in a higher percentage of up-to-date devices. They're misguided because the goal of all auto-updating is a sterling one: More secure browsing and a lessened chance of malware hijacking the application and planting itself on a PC. For the individual: How to disrupt Chrome updatesĪlthough there have been numerous Internet-posted instruction sets that purport to show individuals how to shut down Chrome's automatic updates, those efforts are mostly misguided, and in some cases, ultimately futile. Future updates in 2017 should appear the weeks of Sept. "These dates are subject to change without advance notice and provided here only for rough planning purposes," Google's Chromium team states there.Ĭhrome 59 should update to Chrome 60 shortly, during the week of July 23-29. Unofficially, users can view Chrome's estimated release schedule here, to get an idea of when the next version will be distributed. Officially, Google recommends that users frequent this blog to track just-issued updates, including the security-only fixes that pop up at irregular intervals between each polished edition's arrival. The company does not keep to a set schedule - as does, for example, Mozilla with its Firefox - nor does Google do much to trumpet each release. Google issues a new version of Chrome approximately every six weeks, although so far this year the average time between releases has been 47 days, or closer to seven weeks. How to know when Google will next update Chrome The ensuing page either reports "Google Chrome is up to date" or displays the updating process before presenting a "Relaunch" button. To manually trigger an update - to get the security fixes pronto when news of active attacks circulate, say - users simply select "About Google Chrome" from the Help menu under the vertical ellipsis at the upper right. Instead, the company spreads out the distribution over days, or sometimes even weeks. When Chrome does detect an available update, it downloads the new code and preps it for installation, although that latter step doesn't begin until the user starts or restarts the browser.īut not every copy of Chrome receives an update as soon as Google issues one. The browser periodically checks for updates Google's own documentation, which is often left long out of date on the firm's site, says in one place it does so every 23 hours and 20 minutes. Automatic updates, or manual triggerīecause Chrome does updates automatically, most users need do nothing but relaunch the browser once in a while to stay current. We've dug into Chrome's updates, from their frequency and schedule to how to manage them as an individual or as an IT professional.
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