ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Chrome will now warn you about suspicious websites.
- The browser also protects you against fake antivirus updates.
- Plus, Chrome can now prevent ClickFix social engineering attacks.
Scammers are alive and well on the Internet, and avoiding their tricks seems like a never-ending battle. Now Google has strengthened the security in Chrome to further protect you from becoming a victim of online scams.
Also: 5 ways to improve the security of your Chrome browser
1. Warnings about suspicious websites
First is the protection against suspicious websites. Chrome has long warned you about dangerous sites known to be malicious. Now the browser will also notify you when a site is considered suspicious. The warning that appears on the screen can tell you specifically that the site does not seem real, because it is similar to other sites that are associated with phishing, malware and scams. You can click a Learn More link to delve further.
If you are concerned about the site and want to follow Google’s advice, simply close it or click the Back to Security button to go back to the previous page. If you are sure that the site is safe, you can mark it as safe and use it normally.
Google rates a website as suspicious by comparing it with other misleading or deceptive sites. Gemini also plays a role here, as the AI analyzes the site’s content, the brand it represents, the site’s intent, the domain’s reputation and other factors to get a scam probability score.
With this update, Chrome can now distinguish between suspicious sites and dangerous sites by flashing different warnings. The alert for a dangerous site turns the screen red and strongly recommends that you leave the page. The alert for a suspicious site is more subtle, giving you the option to still visit and use the site if you are sure it is legitimate.
Also: Chrome now stops hackers from stealing your browser cookies
“Suspicious site warnings inform users when a page displays deceptive patterns commonly associated with known malicious sites,” Google said in its blog post. “These new warnings differ in format, iconography, color and text, to make it easy for users to quickly and confidently make the best choice for themselves based on the context. By making the warning UI this way, we can safely expand our coverage to show a higher volume of protection warnings.”
2. Protection against multiple threats
Google has also beefed up Chrome’s overall scam detection capabilities. Last year, the company added Gemini’s AI smarts to Chrome to prevent tech support scams. Here, the scammer behind a malicious site tries to convince you that you are infected by malware, just to sell you security software or to gain remote access to your computer.
Now, this same type of AI-powered security will alert you to a wider range of online scams, including fake antivirus and phony browser updates. For this, Google uses a server-side Gemini model with more advanced capabilities. The model analyzes the content of the page, the reputation of the domain and other signals to reach a final conclusion.
Also: How Google’s AI combats new scam tactics
To protect your privacy, the company promises that the amount of data shared with the back-end server is minimized and is only shared if the site triggers high levels of scam signals. Any page content sent from your computer or mobile device is not logged, remembered or used to train the AI, Google added.
3. Defense against ClickFix attacks
ClickFix is a type of social engineering scam that tricks you into manually copying and running malicious commands on your own computer, ostensibly to fix a technical problem that doesn’t exist. Because you are performing the actual steps yourself, existing security defenses in Chrome and other products will not catch or block the attack, at least not yet.
Also: Inside Google’s faster Chrome patch strategy to block AI attacks
With the latest update, Chrome will now detect if you copy suspicious commands. After you copy it but before you have a chance to paste it, the clipboard will be cleared of all personal data. Chrome then analyzes this data and displays a warning if the activity is considered dangerous.
How to activate the new security measures
To take advantage of the new security defense in Chrome, you must run the browser in Enhanced Protection mode. This is the strongest level available in the program’s Safe Browsing process. To enable this in Chrome on desktop or mobile, go to Settings and select Privacy and Security. On the desktop, click on the Security option; on mobile, tap on the Safe Browsing option. Then select the setting for Enhanced Protection.
You should also enable Advanced Protection for your Google Account. For this, log in to your Google account page on the Internet. Select the Security & Registration option. Scroll down the page and select the Enhanced Safe Browsing option for your account. Then just turn on the switch.
Also: This new cyber attack tricks you into hacking yourself
“As scammers find new ways to take advantage of people, Chrome and Safe Browsing will continue to develop smart, real-time defenses to make the web safer for everyone,” Google said in its post. “To make sure you’re the first to get the latest protection against phishing, scams, social engineering and malware, enable Enhanced Protection on Chrome in your Google Account to help you stay one step ahead of attackers.”
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