If only Google has control of everything, all of its users will have their physical security key for the protection of their tons of sensitive, not to mention, personally identifying information. Unfortunately, most of the Google users don't have it, so the leader in the technology industry has taken measures in previous years to make security for its users a priority by baking them into Chrome.
With the rollout of Google Chrome 79 early this week, the firm announced it is "launching with new features with emphasis on more secure browsing, two of which involve higher protection from phishing." Google upholds a blacklist of destructive sites, as part of its "Safe Browsing" service used by browsers such as Firefox and Chrome. To date, with the latest version of Chrome, users of desktop computers can see the phishing alerts on sites that are considered unsafe, real-time.
How the Phishing Alerts Work
In a blog post on security, Chrome Team members explained that when a user visits a particular site, Chrome checks it against a list of thousands of frequently used websites that are stored on his desktop, that is considered safe. The team added, should Chrome is unable to find the website on the safe list, it checks the URL with Google after it drops a username or password that's embedded in the URL.
This particular checking procedure helps Chrome to discover if the user is visiting an unsafe website. Analysis has come out with a result showing a 39% rise in protections by cautioning users on unprotected sites that are fresh or new. In addition, the company is expanding as well, on the existing prognostic phishing technology that's already positioned. For the Google Accounts passwords of users, as well as their passwords saved in the password manager of Chrome, the latter will monitor when the login details are entered into a possibly unprotected site.
Credentials Compromised
Google made such an initiative after many of its users have had their identifications compromised because of poor password habits, phishing scams, and many other reasons. More often than not, these compromised people are not aware of the fact their own information has been disclosed, resulting in the vulnerability of identity stealing, financial deception, and more.
That's what Google's announcement is made for—to alert its users whenever their information is discovered in a data breach. Such a warning includes a URL for checking which information may have been compromised. This technology was first launched, according to slashgear.com, "under the Password Checkup extension, later arriving in Google accounts."
On top of the password cautions, Google claims, Chrome now offers users real-time protection against, assuming they are utilizing the browser on a computer. More so, the firm has expanded its predictive protections against phishing. It is important to know that the user is signed in to his Google Account via Chrome, and turn on Sync to benefit from this feature. And lastly, Google has tweaked its Avatar design in Chrome for the user for him to quickly see which of his accounts is currently logged in.
