Tech scammers have long used a technique where they bombard your web browser with multiple downloads to freeze it to a specific webpage and “lock” your browsing session. Known as the “download bomb” exploit, this has now come back to impact Chrome, but Microsoft Edge is immune (via Bleeping Computer.)
Google confirms that they originally patched this exploit in Chrome Version 65, but it has since returned in Chrome version 67. Bleeping Computer also finds that Firefox and Opera are impacted, though Opera allowed them to switch away from the misbehaving exploit tab.
It’s not clear why Edge is immune to the “download bomb,” as the report does not dive into many details. Anyway, if you so happen to end up on one of these websites, it is best to close the tab as soon as possible. The reason being is that the website will only load the downloads once the page has loaded.
This is a nice win for Microsoft’s Edge browser, which many have often joked about. Unfortunately, there is another unrelated issue ongoing with all major web browsers on Windows where malware hijacks your clipboard and changes it to cryptocurrency addresses. It is definitely a dangerous time to be on the web, and more reason to keep your virus protection up to date.
