Google-chrome – Why Chrome 64-bit is installed in 32-bit Program Files

This happened with me as well. Confirm that you downloaded the correct installer (64bit). Then quit Chrome completely and restart it. Go to the settings menu (hamburger icon) > About Chrome (chrome://chrome/). Under the version number, there will be a message about an update and a button that says "Relaunch." Click on that button to update Chrome properly.

When you go on the page after this, the version number should say "Version 37.0.x (64-bit)". I believe this happens because Chrome doesn't really close itself and keeps running in the background, so a manual relaunch is required to make the switch.

This invisible extension could be loaded via a command-line argument. To confirm that this indeed the case, visit chrome://version and look at the line with label "Command Line:".

The "Command Line" SHOULD have the following pattern:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --flag-switches-begin --flag-switches-end

If you have ever visited chrome://flags, then there may be some extra flags between --flag-switches-begin and --flag-switches-end. These flags are usually innocent.

I think that some malware has changed your Google Chrome shortcut, to include additional flags that load the invisible extension. This change will show up at the Command Line at chrome://version:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --[name of flag not shown]=path\to\happysale-adware --flag-switches-begin --flag-switches-end

^{(I've intentionally hidden the actual flag name to prevent abuse by malware writers who come across this answer.)}

To resolve your problem, edit your Chrome shortcut:

1. Right-click on the Google Chrome icon.
2. Choose properties.
3. Click on the Shortcut tab.
4. Edit the Target textfield, and delete every flag, so it ends with chrome.exe, e.g. "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe".