Extending The Life Of 32 Bit Chrome On PCLinuxOS

by Alessandro Ebersol (Agent Smith)

Google ended its support for Chrome on Linux 32-bit. If you try to use it, you can no longer access the services from Google itself (YouTube, Gmail, Google search, etc ...), because SSL certificates are no longer valid. You will have a screen like the one above.

Interestingly, you can access any other site and it is Google's deliberate choice to end Chrome for 32 bit Linux through this kill switch, after all. Today, Google is so inserted in the internet infrastructure that is difficult to avoid it.

Just to illustrate, try to access the settings of your Chrome for Linux 32-bit, and go to the Advanced section, HTTP/SSL, manage certificates. You should see something like the picture below:

Clicking on any of the Google domains will invariably appear as expired, which explains the refusal of access to any of the Google services. However, you can extend the life of Chrome on Linux 32-bit, either to watch Netflix or play a Facebook game in Flash.

How? There is an option to change the security protocol, to TLS 1, in order to make Chrome access sites with SSL certificates. Therefore, it is necessary to invoke Google Chrome with "--ssl-version-max=tls1" .

So, the command would be:

/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable %U --ssl-version-max=tls1

By doing so, Google Chrome will return to work, even with the sites with expired SSL certificates.

Exec=/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable %U

Replace it with:

Exec=/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable %U --ssl-version-max=tls1

Save the file, and watch Google Chrome start to work again.

Note: Take care when using an older version of Google Chrome, as security vulnerabilities will not be patched.

Have fun with your Google Chrome on Linux 32-bit.