Google Chrome and the Safe Browsing Feature

There are many ways to browse the Internet safely, depending on how safe you want to be. The best way, of course, is to invest in software for all of your devices that will do a security and virus scan of your products, like our suite of products.

However, it’s worth noting that most browsers have some safe-browsing tools built in. It comes as no surprise that Google has some of the best safety tools in their Chrome browser already, such as the Safe Browsing feature.

Read More: Is It Safe to Let Your Android’s Browser Remember Passwords?

A Brief History of Safe Browsing
Have you ever been stopped from visiting a site by your browser? Usually with a warning that informs you that proceeding to the site could leave you vulnerable to hacking? If so, Google Chrome may have just saved you from possibly losing passwords, personal data, or worse. Google and Chrome have been working to enhance safe browsing, and prevent hacking like the kind mentioned above, since 2007. Since then, they have regularly updated customers on the kinds of hacking that affects their devices, specifically malware and social engineering attacks.

Malware
Malware is a boogeyman word often heard when hacking is discussed. And with good reason, too. Malware can target just about anything, from a simple application to an entire device. Think of it as unwanted software being downloaded to your phone. A malware attack happens when this unwanted software is downloaded and subsequently infects your devices. This is why malware is often termed a “Trojan horse.” Further, many webmasters are unaware that files they allow users to download have malware. To prevent malware or a Trojan horse attack, Chrome’s Safe Browsing will ask users to confirm their decision after downloading content from the Internet, such as software or a file.

Social Engineering
Social engineering hacking is a little trickier than malware. In short, a social engineering hack convinces you to do something you wouldn’t normally do. Usually, this involves asking you to enter some form of personal information, like a bank account number or password, logging into what appears to be one of your accounts. In reality, hackers have disguised the page as a reputable source, such as Gmail. This is also known as phishing. Chrome’s Safe Browsing feature will stop users with a warning before proceeding to a page suspected of a social engineering hack.

Safe Browsing and Beyond
Thankfully for Chrome users, Google continues to increase security measure in the Safe Browsing feature. In the meantime, you’re still better off relying on third-party security software like dfndr security.