Google Chrome has a four layered mechanism for rolling out the updates. And, they only release overhauls to the public users after bringing them to other three channels (beta, dev, and canary). Nonetheless, things may go out of hands sometimes.

Failure to load HTTPS sites on macOS, breaking hovering over variables in Chrome DevTools, crashing on Linux with ESET NOD32 installed, and disrupting revamped profile/people menu are a few that we came across this month.
google chrome crashing feat

Guess what? Another bug has hooked our attention today that isn’t letting Linux users to browse the web on Google Chrome. Chances are you might be having this issue in case you are using Debian, Ubuntu or any other Linux destro.

Same Problem on Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS running in VirtualBox 6.0.14
Chrome Version 79.0.3945.88 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Some observations..

  • It doesn’t appear to matter what is on the page. It happens with text or tons of gifs on the page.
  • All tabs seem to freeze around the same time.
  • Chrome itself continues to respond for me, i can switch tabs or press the menu button.
  • Pressing the menu button seems to snap the chrome out of its frozen state temporarily, but it goes back to freezing shortly there after usually.
  • This freezing is happening anywhere from every few seconds to once every 30 seconds.
  • I’ve tried uninstalling chrome from my system completely and purging all .config/google-chrome data, and then reinstalling, no luck.
    (Source)

    chrome support forum linux crash

    In the same thread given above, you can see dozens of concerns from Linux users. But, do note that what we are talking about here is quite different from the Chrome bug related to antivirus applications. Here, the freezing happens even without such interferences.

    There are people worrying about the same issue on Linux Mint support forum too. Apparently, it has infected numerous users. Despite having a separate thread on the Chromium forum, it doesn’t seem to have acknowledged.

    linux mint google chrome freezing 1
    Source

    Moreover, you can reproduce this issue on almost all the Chromium-based browsers because version 79 already reached them. Interestingly, Flashpeak/Slimjet browsers don’t exhibit this problem as of now as they run on an older iteration.

    Note:- Have a look at our Google section for similar stories.

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    Rahul Krishnan
    282 Posts

    Rahul Krishnan, a wordsmith from Kerala, India is always in lookout for his next article idea. He is a fanatic reader. And, the rumour is that his mom has recently hidden his debit card so that he won't buy books anymore. She doesn't know he has a spare one.

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