Chrome OS ranks high when it comes to being safe and secure devices. It is emboldened with security layers, making it nearly impossible for malicious content to invade and steal private information. Even if a virus still manages to get inside Chrome OS, all it would take is a mere restart, and the poor contagion would promptly disappear from the face of the Earth.
However, a recent finding has revealed that a certain bug leaves your location history vulnerable on a Chromebook, and anyone who could access your device physically might be able to collect your data deliberately.
The finding comes from the Committee on Liberatory Information Technology, a group of IT developers centered on creating tools that spark liberation. They have proclaimed in a tweet, “Google has known about this for years and has done nothing about it, so we had to say something.” In this tweet, they’ve referenced an article from The Verge that explains the situation in more detail.
Google has known about this for years and has done nothing about it, so we had to say something.
Your safety and security don't matter to them, you are eyeballs for the ad money machine.
For-profit tech is anti-liberatory. Pretty baubles to hide the truth: You are the product. https://t.co/UmcAct6eOV
— Committee on Liberatory Information Technology (@_C_L_I_T_) March 30, 2021
It appears as if the bug was under the tech giant’s knowledge, but it wasn’t given much attention, not until now, at least. A Google employee has reassured that the company is looking into the matter.
The issue pertains to Wi-Fi logs. The problem here is that these are stored in RAM that can also be accessed from the Guest Mode on Chrome OS. The logs can illustrate where the device has been connected to the Internet and do not require a password to be accessed. Also, if these logs present in the local storage are somehow retrieved, the Chromebook’s Wi-Fi connections, apart from the ones of the Guest Mode as well, will become susceptible to being taken.
Anyone with a firm understanding of technical jargon such as this will easily navigate their way to the logs and make sense of them. However, the Wi-Fi logs are just going to be a nonsensical mess for those who aren’t skilled in this respect.
What Can Be Done to Stay Safe?
Except for simply stating that the issue is being taken care of, the Google representative has also told us what to do in the meanwhile. It turns out that disabling the Guest Mode can do the trick for now and is the most recommended method to pursue during this ordeal. Fortunately, doing that is easy and simple.
1) Go to your Chromebook’s “Settings.”
Opening “Settings”
2) When you open the “Settings,” click on “People” in the left column.
Accessing “People” Settings
3) Right after that, you’ll be directed to the “People” section of the “Settings.” Click on “Manage other people” to continue.
Clicking on “Manage other people”
4) Lastly, click on the toggle beside “Enable Guest browsing” to disable it for good.
Disabling the Guest Mode
That’s about it! You’ve just successfully disabled the Guest Mode on your Chromebook and made the device much safer.
For now, we have received no more word from Google on this subject other than they’re fixing it. The fact that the Committee on Liberatory Information Technology called out the tycoon publicly and stated that they’ve known about this for years makes the companies policies questionable. We have yet to see how all this unfolds now.
What do you think of this alarming news? Let us know your thoughts down in the comment section.
