With security in mind, Google has made some important updates on Chrome’s Safe Browsing feature to improve privacy and fight against phishing. In the recent announcement by Google (via The Verge), the latest version of Chrome will come with real-time protection during browsing thus increasing chances of blocking 25 percent more phishing attempts.
Google Chrome levels up your security, keeping you safer from phishing attempts while you browse
Before this update, Safe Browsing for Chrome relied on a locally stored database that updated every 30-60 minutes allowing potentially unsafe websites to slip through unnoticed. To solve this problem, Google introduced an opt-in Enhanced protection mode which utilizes its server-side database and speeds up the detection process greatly. Here’s the official blog post that delves further into the mechanics of this feature.
The new version of Safe Browsing also incorporates an API that ensures Google does not see visited URLs, hence guaranteeing user privacy. When confronted with unknown sites, Chrome encrypts the URLs and then sends them to a distinctively operated privacy server hosted by Fastly. This server further removes any potential user identifiers from harmful URLs before sending them to a backup data store at safebrowsing.google.com.
In all these routing procedures, it is important to note that Google maintains users’ browsing activity private as long as no one side has access to both IP addresses and URL information. Nevertheless, despite improved safety measures taken into consideration by Google Chrome, the company states that Safe Browsing can now effectively detect and block more phishing attempts.
Availability details for enhanced protection feature on Google Chrome
While Google says both Standard and Enhanced protection modes now give real-time checks, the company adds that the latter contain extra features like AI-powered attack blocking and deep file scans.
The Chrome desktop browser for Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, and iOS platforms will have this feature now. Android is expected to offer it later this month. Google is using these developments to cater to users’ privacy concerns without leaving them vulnerable to online hazards.
