Google Kills Gmail Support in Chrome 53 and Earlier

[straycat19]

Some Gmail users may soon find themselves at a higher risk for security problems and without access to updates and new features. Google recently announced via a blog post that Gmail will no longer support Chrome Browser version 53 and earlier.

 

Beginning on February 8, 2017, a banner will appear at the top of the page in Gmail for users who access it from Chrome version 53 or earlier encouraging them to upgrade their browser, the post said. At the time of this writing, Chrome is on version 55, which contains several key security features, the post noted.

 

It's important to note that Gmail is only ending support for these Chrome versions. So, users on Chrome 53 will still be able to access Gmail, and it will function properly, but it will be more vulnerable to security risks and users will not have access to updates or bug fixes, the post said.

 

Gmail will function properly on these Chrome versions until the end of the year. However, the post noted, some users who don't update their browser may be "redirected to the basic HTML version of Gmail as early as Dec. 2017."

 

Users on the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems are those who are most likely to be affected by the news, as Chrome version 49 was the last version that included support for those particular Windows systems. The post encouraged users who may be using these operating systems to switch to "more secure and supported systems."

In the enterprise, administrators are encouraged to update users to the latest version of Chrome. However, if you rely on legacy apps or operating systems that require an older version of Chrome, that might not be an immediate possibility.

 

Google isn't known for announcing discontinued support for Chrome versions, the post said, as the company's policy is to only support the current version of Chrome. The post said that Google intentionally called this out to minimize the impact on specific Windows XP and Windows Vista users.

Google has also taken other steps to secure Gmail recently, including new warnings against potential phishing campaigns and more.
 

Source

[steven36]

Cant they just change  there User agent  and get around it ?  i know i can change mine  and  Google thinks I'm  on a different  OS .. People that use Palemoon  have been doing this for years now too bypass  restrictions.

 

When I change my User agent  to Linux browsers they try  too give me  Chrome  for Linux  even though I'm on Windows and when on Linux vice versa ..So i know I can bypass Google.

 

 

Looks like all they would have too do is set there User agent up to the latest and they would be fine.

[steven36]

 

Quote

 

How Google Chrome May Help Windows 10 Achieve Higher 2017 Adoption Rates

 

Google has announced that, effective tomorrow (February 8, 2017), it will show a support stoppage notification for Gmail users who are on Google Chrome 53 and lower. In a blog post earlier this month, Google said that Gmail support would no longer be available for versions lower than Google Chrome 54.

In a notice to the public, Google said:

 

 

“Starting February 8, 2017, we will show a banner at the top of the Gmail interface for users who are still on Google Chrome Browser v53 and below to encourage upgrading to the latest version of Chrome, currently on version 55.

 

 

“Gmail users that are still on Windows XP and Windows Vista are the most likely to be affected, because v49 was the last released version which supported those operating systems.

 

“Chrome Browser v55 contains several important security updates.”

 

 

Google wants everyone to move to the most current version, but here’s where I’d like to deviate and talk about an “inadvertent event” that may arise from this warning – something that could immensely benefit Microsoft and the sluggish adoption rates that Windows 10 has been seeing.

 

 

Google Chrome is the most popular browser in the world, and Microsoft Windows is the most popular desktop operating system. How are those two things connected?

 

 

Every Chrome user on Windows XP or Windows Vista is necessarily on Google Chrome 49, with no options to upgrade because that’s the highest version that they support. That comprises about 10% of desktop market share, possibly numbering tens of millions of desktop users around the world.

 

 

If they do not upgrade their Chrome browser, their Gmail account will be facing a huge security risk because Google won’t be pushing any updates, bug fixes or security patches ever again.

If these users want their Gmail to be safe, they will have no choice but to upgrade to Google Chrome’s latest version. That’s a problem, as we said, because Windows Vista and Windows XP do not support anything higher than Google Chrome 49.

 

What does that mean?

That means, if users want the latest Google Chrome, they must upgrade to a higher Windows version. Now, the only option they have is to upgrade to Windows 10.

 

 

And that’s how Google Chrome is going to help Windows 10 adoption numbers this year. Google has ceased Gmail support for Chrome browsers that haven’t been upgraded to the latest version, and if XP and Vista users still want their Gmail to be secured with regular updates and patches, they’ll have to move to Windows 10.

 

 

That could see Windows 10 jump from its current 25.3% desktop OS market share to nearly 35% (if all XP and Vista users upgrade to Windows 10.) At the very least we should see higher than 5% increase in Windows 10’s market share in the desktop OS space, which will be the case if even half of all Windows XP and Vista users upgrade to Windows 10.

 

 

But there are several factors that may stop this from happening. For one, many XP users might just switch browsers and start using IE or Firefox just to keep their existing OS. Others might not even see the security risk as being important.

 

Nevertheless, there is sure to be a swathe of Gmail users on XP and Vista that will definitely use this opportunity to upgrade their devices, their OS or both, and that’s good news for Windows 10.

 

 

By Shudeep Chandrasekhar

http://1reddrop.com/2017/02/08/google-chrome-may-help-windows-10-achieve-higher-adoption-rates-2017/