Chrome issues (possible malware)

For the last few days, my PC has been crawling whenever I open Chrome. Task Manager shows CPU usage hitting 100% constantly until I shut down the browser, at which point everything returns to normal.
If I just kill the specific Chrome process hogging all the resources via Task Manager, the system stabilizes without me having to close the entire browser.
I did some digging using Process Explorer and searched for that specific process, which led me to several different results (link), including this one.
According to the site, a legitimate Google Chrome installation should be located in C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application. However, when I check the file location for that process, it’s exactly where it’s supposed to be...
I've already run scans with several antivirus tools and found nothing (Malwarebytes, AVG, AdwCleaner, CCleaner, HitmanPro...).

I followed the four steps suggested on that second link, and while HitmanPro flagged something and restarted my computer to complete the cleanup, the issue persists.
So, the only thing that actually works is manually killing that process in Task Manager after I launch Chrome.
And this is happening even after a fresh reinstall of Chrome.

I'm running Windows 7 32-bit.

🤷

Looks like nobody has any ideas.

Anyway, it fixed itself somehow. 🤷

Chrome definitely isn't exactly known for being "lightweight," right? If you're running on an older machine or a less powerful laptop, it can really start to struggle. But hey, I'm just glad the issue is sorted out—otherwise, if this keeps happening
you might want to try a clean reinstall of Chrome, or honestly, just grab Firefox Quantum. It tends to be a bit snappier than Chrome and is a solid browser all around.

My PC is pretty old, but this was definitely part of that process I was trying to shut down—except now, it’s just gone.
I even tried reinstalling Chrome, but that didn't fix anything either.