Google Chrome OS updates are causing CPU usage and heating problems

Google Play Store does not work properly after Chrome OS updates

Google Chrome OS bug causes 100% CPU usage and other problems for Chromebooks users.

The new Google Chrome OS bug causes Google Play Store to use 100% of the CPU. The devices not only heat up very quickly but also experience operating issues. Applications are running erratically and the battery is drained too quickly because fans are running at high speed trying to cool off a hot device. Users started having problems after updating ChromeOS to 85.0.4183.108 or later versions.

Victims tried to investigate this issue, and they found out that it was caused by Google Play's “com.android.vending:download_service” service, which is needed to download updates from Google Play Store. Instead of running silently in the background, it is now using 95-100% of the CPU all the time. This problem occurs even if there are no new updates available in the Store.

It seems like this issue only affects Acer Chromebooks, Acer Chromebooks ASUS, and Chromebook Flip devices, as there were no reports from consumers of other brands.

Users have found two temporary solutions to the problem

After the issue occurred, users tried to fix it themselves. Some of them decided to kill “com.android.vending:download_service” in the Chrome Task Manager. But sadly, such a step does not help everyone.^[1]

Also, one user on Reddit explained that he managed to resolve the issue by going back to the older version of the Google Play Store. He said:^[2]

As a workaround for now, I rolled back to older Play Store version before it started to mess up and it works, also I disabled background WiFi and data to prevent it from self update. Hopefully this will be fixed in the upcoming release.

The Google developers know about this bug and will probably fix this with a new update. In a bug report,^[3] Google engineer stated that the problem occurred on September 19 and spiked on September 24. It was also explained that the problem revolves around missing files in ChromeOS.

Researchers detected adware in Google Play Store and App Store apps with 2.4 million downloads

Play Store bugs is not the only issue that that Google has to deal with, as adware scams continue.^[4] After the tip of the young girl, researchers discovered adware^[5] and exorbitant prices in Android and iOS smartphone applications. These apps were downloaded 2.4 million times from Google Play Store and App Store together.

Some of the scam apps were showing intrusive ads and hid their icon to prevent from uninstalling them or identifying from where annoying ads are coming from. Others charged $2-$10 and generated a profit of more than $500,000. All apps were promoted by one of three TikTok app users and one user of Instagram. The young girl saw one of these users promoting the abusive app and decided to report it to the “Be Safe Online” project that educates children on how to be safe on the internet.

Researchers from Avast, the cybersecurity firm, decided to look into it and found 11 apps that were engaged in similar scams. In the statement Avast threat analyst Jakub Vávra said:^[6]

We thank the young girl who reported the TikTok profile to us, her awareness and responsible action is the kind of commitment we should all show to make the cyberworld a safer place.

Google said that the company has removed all applications. However, it is still possible that such threats will occur in the future.