Google Chrome, the most popular web browser in the U.S., lets you save passwords for websites, so that every time you want to visit Facebook, Tumblr or any other password-secure page, you don't have to type them out again. But as one software developer discovered on Tuesday, that convenience comes at a cost.
Whenever someone uses your computer and opens Chrome, he or she has complete access to all your saved passwords with a few clicks of the mouse. Elliott Kember, a developer at design and development studio Riot,first pointed out the lax security on Chrome in a blog post on Tuesday.
To get a sense of how open your passwords are in Chrome, copy and paste "chrome://settings/passwords" into Chrome and hit "Enter," to see Chrome's page for managing passwords. This window will pop up:
Without entering a master password from Chrome or jumping though any other security loops, you can see the passwords just by clicking "Show." This means that any random Joe you let borrow your computer can memorize your login creditials with a few keystrokes.
It's compelling evidence to never let anyone you don't completely trust use your computer. It should be noted that someone using Chrome can always choose not to save passwords and delete saved passwords in the window above. But most people are unaware of just how accessible their most private information could become if they loan out their laptop for even a minute.
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Whenever someone uses your computer and opens Chrome, he or she has complete access to all your saved passwords with a few clicks of the mouse. Elliott Kember, a developer at design and development studio Riot,first pointed out the lax security on Chrome in a blog post on Tuesday.
To get a sense of how open your passwords are in Chrome, copy and paste "chrome://settings/passwords" into Chrome and hit "Enter," to see Chrome's page for managing passwords. This window will pop up:
Without entering a master password from Chrome or jumping though any other security loops, you can see the passwords just by clicking "Show." This means that any random Joe you let borrow your computer can memorize your login creditials with a few keystrokes.
It's compelling evidence to never let anyone you don't completely trust use your computer. It should be noted that someone using Chrome can always choose not to save passwords and delete saved passwords in the window above. But most people are unaware of just how accessible their most private information could become if they loan out their laptop for even a minute.
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