Google Chrome hacked in five minutes...........>

WASHINGTON: Hackers have defeated Google Chrome for the first time in an annual competition to test the security of the most popular web browser.

A group of French hackers were able to bypass Google security features to gain control of a Windows PC in less than five minutes at the Pwn2own competition in Canada.

Chrome had stood undefeated in the 2011 competition but a French firm, Vupen defeated it this time.

"We wanted to show that Chrome was not unbreakable. Last year, we saw a lot of headlines that no one could hack Chrome. We wanted to make sure it was the first to fall this year," The Telegraph quoted firm's research head Chaouki Bekrar, as saying.

Bekrar said his team had worked for six weeks ahead of the competition to explore vulnerabilities.

He added that his company had also devised a procedure to hack into Firefox and Internet Explorer, but wanted to first demonstrate that Chrome was not invincible.

Vupen had earlier used two previously unknown vulnerabilities to beat Chrome's security, which is perceived to be stronger than rivals Firefox and Internet Explorer because of its use of "sandboxing".

Vupen said it would keep details of how it bypassed Google's sandbox technology private "for our customers".

Google's open offer: Hack Chrome browser, get $1m.........>

NEW YORK: Internet search giant Google has announced that it would pay up to one million dollars in prizes to hackers who can expose bugs and vulnerabilities in their Chrome browser.

Calling it a "big learning opportunity," Google staffers Chris Evans and Justin Schuh unveiled three ways in which hackers can win the cash by finding flaws in their technology.

A top prize of 60,000 dollars will go to each hacker who can find a "Full Chrome exploit", a flaw that exists exclusively in Chrome.

The next prize of 40,000 dollars will be paid to those who can find a "Partial Chrome exploit", a bug or flaw in Chrome that may also exist in other programs.

Lastly, Google will give 20,000 dollars "Consolation rewards" to hackers who expose bugs of "exploits" that are not specific to Chrome, but affect users of all Internet browsers, The New York Daily News reports.

"We will issue multiple rewards per category, up to the 1 million dollar limit, on a first-come-first served basis," the Google Chrome Security Team said in a blog post.

Each winner will also score a Chromebook, the report said.

The social networking giant began giving out "White Hat Bug Bounty Program" Visa cards last year, doling out thousands of dollars to hackers who found flaws and paying them on an exclusive debit card, which can be used just like a credit or ATM card.