Chrome 136 is now available: security fixes and APK download checks on Android

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Google has just released Chrome 136, a new stable version of its web browser for desktop and mobile. The new version is 136.0.7103.59 on Linux, 136.0.7103.60 on Android, and 136.0.7103.48/49 on Windows and Mac devices.

You can check out our coverage of Chrome 135's release here, in case you missed it or want to look at the major changes again.

Chrome 136: security update

The new version of the browser patches eight security issues. Google lists four of those on the official Chrome Releases blog. The aggregate severity rating is high and Google does not mention active exploits.

Security issues are patched in HTML and the Developer Tools. The four unmentioned security issues were discovered internally.

Other changes



Android APK download checks

The big change in Chrome 136 introduces malicious APK checks in Chrome for Android. The feature submits information about APK file downloads to Google to find out if the files include malicious code.

Chrome 136 is set to collect telemetry about the process only at this time. Google notes, however, that future versions will show warnings and block downloads of malicious APK files in Chrome automatically to "protect users against mobile malware".

Furthermore, checks are currently only performed if users have enabled Enhanced Protection in Google Safe Browsing.

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