Chrome Crashing or Not Working? Here Are Some Fixes
Chrome is the leading and most popular web browser in 2019, beating Apple Safari, Internet Explorer/Edge, and Firefox, which rank second, third and fourth respectively. Despite being number one, it has its downsides and its malfunctions, too. Many of its users have reported Chrome crashing, freezing, not responding or just not working.
As frustrating as it can be, the good news is there are several fixes to resolving the problem. Before you switch to a different browser, here are some tried and tested solutions you can use to get Chrome back to a stable state.
Preliminary checks
Check the address bar for any typos in the URL
If the page takes too long to load, either your connection is slow or the page is busy.
If you’re using a VPN, a particular website may hinder the browser from connecting
If you’re getting the “Aw Snap!” message, a plugin could be causing Chrome to crash
Refresh the page if any connection was interrupted while loading
Try using an incognito window. If the site works while in incognito, clear your browsing data
Restart Chrome
This is one of the most basic things to do before you try to troubleshoot why Chrome is crashing. It just involves closing Chrome completely and then reopening it, then trying to reload the page again to see if the problem disappears. You can also reopen the tabs you hadn’t closed and see if they all load again.
Try a different browser
If you want to zero in on whether the issue is with your system or the browser itself, try using a different browser. If the page loads in a different browser, the issue is with Chrome. In this case, you can uninstall and reinstall Chrome as well as the extensions, which could be causing problems, and then add them back one at a time.
Restart your computer
A restart helps fix any software glitches that would cause the Google Chrome browser not to work or to crash. Sometimes apps and programs can stop pages from loading properly, so try to restart your computer and load the page or pages you had open on your browser again.
Close extensions, tabs and apps to free up memory
If your computer is low on memory, it may not be able to load sites and still run your apps, programs and extensions on your browser.
You can free up some memory by uninstalling unnecessary extensions, pausing downloads (file or app), quitting other programs or apps running in the background, and closing each tab that’s open except the one with the error message and try to reload the tab.
Having malicious extensions or many extensions can also slow down Chrome. Disable any extensions that may cause problems when using Chrome by going to “Chrome -> Menu -> More tools” and clicking Extensions.
Remove or disable whatever you don’t use and delete any that shouldn’t be there.
Run a virus or malware scan
Viruses or malware on your computer could cause several problems, including Chrome crashing or not working. You can run a malware or virus scan using your system’s security software to spot and remove any resident threats that would be affecting Chrome’s normal operations.
Check for any software conflicts
Sometimes Chrome can conflict with other software or with Chrome itself and cause it not to work or crash altogether. This can be anything from network-related software to malware and any others that interfere with the browser.
To know which software conflicts with Chrome, go to chrome://conflicts on your browser’s address bar, and press Enter. Alternatively, you can go to Google and check for the software that caused Chrome to crash or not work properly.
You’ll also find the steps you can use to resolve any conflicts Chrome has with conflicting software on your system, but at best, you probably want to update your software to the latest version and disable or uninstall the problematic software.
Check for Chrome update
Chrome may crash or refuse to work if the software isn’t updated to the newest version. A new version or update can help patch any software glitches that cause this problem.
To install a new version of update, go to “Chrome -> Menu -> Help” and click “About Google Chrome.”
Fix hardware acceleration issues
Hardware acceleration hands graphical tasks to a different component other than your computer’s CPU, usually the GPU, for Chrome to run better. However, it can sometimes cause Chrome to crash or stop working.
Disabling this feature helps resolve problems with how Chrome and your computer hardware work together. To disable it:
Click More (three vertical dots) at the top right side and select Settings.
Scroll down and click Advanced.
Click System.
Toggle the “Use hardware acceleration when available” to Off if it’s On and then restart the browser.
Fix Network and website issues
Chrome can also crash or stop working due to network or website issues. If the website doesn’t load properly, you can let the website owner know that you’re experiencing issues with it.
On the other hand, if you found that the page didn’t load when you tried a different browser, the issue could be your Internet connection or network. In this case, restart your modem or router.
Fix problematic apps stopping Chrome from working properly
To do this, open “Chrome -> More -> Settings” and click Advanced. Go to the “Reset and Clean Up” section and click Update or remove incompatible applications.
Note: if the option is available, it means there’s a problematic app. If not, there’s no problem app.
You can update the apps from the app store if there’s an available update or check the app developer’s site for more details. You can also remove each app from the list if you prefer.
Reset and reinstall Chrome
If trying a different profile didn’t help, you can reset Chrome by going to “Menu -> Settings -> Advanced” and clicking “Restore settings” to their original defaults.
This resets everything except your history, bookmarks, and saved passwords. If you want to remove Chrome completely, reinstall it by going to “Settings -> Apps -> Apps and Features.”
Hospitals Under Ransomware Attack Can Only See Critical Patients
It’s no surprise that hospitals are under constant cyber-attack. Criminals want to breach these critical places because they know their demands will be better met. We saw a wave of ransomware attacks in 2017 that targeted hospitals, shutting down their systems until their ransom was paid.
Unfortunately, such attacks aren’t a thing of the past. Recently, we’ve seen a wave of new attacks against a hospital that left it unable to take in any patients that aren’t in a critical condition.
What Happened?
Earlier this week, ransomware tore through ten hospitals in total. Three of these hospitals were in Alabama, and seven were in Australia.
In Alabama, the affected hospitals were the DCH Regional Medical Center, Northport Medical Center, and Fayette Medical Center. The breach was so bad, the hospitals could not operate unless the patients were in desperate need of medical care.
Any ambulances responding to calls had to redirect patients to different hospitals, which added time between the 911 call and getting into the emergency room.
Those already within the ER of the affected hospitals had an uncertain future. If they managed to stabilize, they could be moved to another hospital to make room for emergencies.
DCH went on record with the following: “A criminal is limiting our ability to use our computer systems in exchange for an as-yet-unknown payment. Our hospitals have implemented our emergency procedures to ensure safe and efficient operations in the event technology dependent on computers is not available.”
Meanwhile, the seven hospitals in Australia were also performing similar patient transfers. There is no news yet on whether these two attacks are connected, but it’s a reminder on how hospitals come under attack from cyber-criminals.
It may seem cold-blooded for ransomware developers to put lives at risk, and you wouldn’t be wrong. In fact, the fact that ransomware can endanger lives is why malware distributors target hospitals in the first place.
One of the biggest problems ransomware developers have is getting their payout. These days, people are wiser to the effects of ransomware and can even revert their PC back to normal using specialist advice. Even if the ransomware can’t be removed, the victim may be unwilling to pay if all they’re losing are video game save files and their browser bookmarks.
As such, a ransomware developer needs to hit sensitive data centers to force the victims to pay up ASAP. This includes hospitals, who are known for paying the ransom to get things back on track.
How Can Hackers Break into Hospital Systems So Easily?
The problem is, the sensitive nature of hospitals means that they’re less likely to make changes to their systems. For them, if it works, it works; making an upgrade may introduce new bugs into the system, which could cost lives.
Some hospitals still run Windows XP for this reason. Unfortunately, while their critical software runs well, the operating system’s core security is heavily flawed. This makes it hard for hospitals to keep themselves protected.
Holding Lives at Ransom
Hospital-based cyber-attacks are cruel, but it’s that edge that hackers depend on for a huge payout. Combined with the weak security that hospitals typically have, you can see why the healthcare system is a big target for cybercriminals.
