OS support ending for my Chromebook - cause for concern?
Discussion
I'm getting pop-ups saying the OS support is ending for my Chromebook in June this year - it's an Acer R11 I bought in 2017 so I've had a good few years' use out of it.
Do you think I'll be losing much when I stop getting updates? Obviously security updates are a concern but it's not a device that is on for very long at a time and there aren't any important files stored on it...
Do you think I'll be losing much when I stop getting updates? Obviously security updates are a concern but it's not a device that is on for very long at a time and there aren't any important files stored on it...
I'd avoid using it for the likes of banking, online shopping and the likes etc - basically anything where security is vital.
You can continue using the device. Below are a few options;
(A)
If the Play Store isn't enabled then open Settings and enable it. Google will continue to push security patches and updates out for the android subsystem for many years to come. This means you can install the likes of the android version of Chrome onto the machine and proceed to use that instead. An easy solution. As long as the Play Store is receiving updates via Google Play Services and the apps you use are being updated it's as secure as any android device can be.
(B)
In the URL address bar of the browser go to chrome://flags and search for lacros in the search box at the top.
You'll see #lacros-support (Lacros support) listed as one of the options. Change that to enabled and click the Restart button which will appear. (This may take a while, so don't worry if you only see a dead black screen).
This will enable a separate Linux-based version of the Chrome browser which will continue to receive regular browser updates even after the OS itself no longer receives updates. The Lacros browser will have a different icon colour so you'll easily recognise it.
Once the OS has passed AUE there is another flag which you can enable which will make the Lacros browser the standard browser for the entire OS; #lacros-primary (Lacros as the primary browser).
Chrome OS itself is read-only, so there are far fewer risks associated with the OS itself than other more traditional desktop operating systems.
You can continue using the device. Below are a few options;
(A)
If the Play Store isn't enabled then open Settings and enable it. Google will continue to push security patches and updates out for the android subsystem for many years to come. This means you can install the likes of the android version of Chrome onto the machine and proceed to use that instead. An easy solution. As long as the Play Store is receiving updates via Google Play Services and the apps you use are being updated it's as secure as any android device can be.
(B)
In the URL address bar of the browser go to chrome://flags and search for lacros in the search box at the top.
You'll see #lacros-support (Lacros support) listed as one of the options. Change that to enabled and click the Restart button which will appear. (This may take a while, so don't worry if you only see a dead black screen).
This will enable a separate Linux-based version of the Chrome browser which will continue to receive regular browser updates even after the OS itself no longer receives updates. The Lacros browser will have a different icon colour so you'll easily recognise it.
Once the OS has passed AUE there is another flag which you can enable which will make the Lacros browser the standard browser for the entire OS; #lacros-primary (Lacros as the primary browser).
Chrome OS itself is read-only, so there are far fewer risks associated with the OS itself than other more traditional desktop operating systems.
Edited by Corso Marche on Thursday 20th January 14:22
Consider CloudReady: https://www.neverware.com/freedownload
You can probably replace your ChromeOS with that ChromeOS and they were bought by the Big G last year so ...... it could be an option.
You can probably replace your ChromeOS with that ChromeOS and they were bought by the Big G last year so ...... it could be an option.
Yes, Cloudready and Project Brunch are both viable options if you want to invest some time.
Check https://mrchromebox.tech/ to confirm you can flash a modded firmware to it before considering either option.
Or you could just flash the firmware and install some other lightweight Linux distro on it.
But we're entering the land of diminishing returns here if the machine only ever gets light use.
Check https://mrchromebox.tech/ to confirm you can flash a modded firmware to it before considering either option.
Or you could just flash the firmware and install some other lightweight Linux distro on it.
But we're entering the land of diminishing returns here if the machine only ever gets light use.
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