Security & Privacy + Software & Apps

Google’s Chrome browser has added a built-in check for plugins to determine which are out of date. If it finds out-of-date plugins, the browser displays a graphic inviting users to update them. The out-of-date plugin will not run by default, though users will have the option to use it if they wish. A button will allow users to update the plugin, though it’s not clear whether this button will take users to the appropriate web pages for all plugins.

This is a valuable initiative that can protect users from vulnerabilities in common plugins, such as Flash, Java and others. Since these plugins don’t always alert users to new versions, this may prevent them being attacked by zero-day exploits.

You can, of course, follow the Mac Security Blog to be alerted to security updates for the most common plugins.