Hilary Giorgi

Store Your Passwords in Chrome? Bad Idea, Experts Say

One of the most convenient features of Google Chrome is the possibility to store your passwords there. Not only does the browser save you time but syncs your passwords across its instances. Yet it’s a risky business, the experts say.

The problem is not about your password, as you might think (though don’t take it as an indulgence to use your QWERTY or 12345678!) It’s rather a VPN usage. The recent hacker attacks were targeting primarily office workers that because of lockdowns had to work from home yet still use their corporate networks. For that, they often use VPN. And that’s where the vulnerability lies.

The highly popular malware Redline Stealer already has hacked many popular VPN services. Due to this fact, it can access files on computers using these networks, as well as extract sensible private data, including passwords. And it’s the stored passwords that are the most vulnerable, as you don’t even have to enter them for interception.

The worst thing about Redline Stealer is that it can slip through the nets of antivirus software. Developed way earlier, it started spreading in March 2020, as quarantines and lockdowns began in many countries.

So, what should you do if you have reasons to suspect your passwords from Chrome have been compromised? First of all, use another great feature of this browser: take into consideration its reports when it says your passwords have been hacked. Change the compromised passwords as soon as possible and learn them by heart or write them down somewhere safe. But not in your browser again! Well, you can even leave the old password in your Chrome just to confuse the hackers and make their system less trustable.

And do you trust your browsers with your passwords? Have you ever become a victim of hackers’ activity? And how did you handle that? We wait for your stories in the comments!