14 DAY TRIAL // The developers at Google have taken new steps towards improving the protection against unwanted software provided by the Chrome browser to its users with a new warning banner, cleaner search and safer ads.
The web browser from Google already issued an alert whenever the user attempted to download a file marked as malicious. The protection consisted in simply blocking the download and asking for the explicit consent of the user to continue with placing the risky item on the computer.
The big, red alert
Now, apart from this, Chrome also displays an impossible to miss red warning before the page hosting the malicious downloads loads up, informing of the danger ahead.
It lets the user know that the web page might attempt to trick them into installing programs with a negative impact on the browsing experience, which could change the homepage or force ads to pop up on the visited websites.
Users are not denied access to the website, but the door in has been made more difficult to find and has to be searched under the “Details” button. Alternatively, users can return to the previous, safe page.
Additional protection measures
Also part of the effort to make Google services safer for the user is improving the search component.
Details about the changes are scarce, but Google software engineer Lucas Ballard says that the service now includes signals that can identify deceptive websites. “This change reduces the chances you’ll visit these sites via our search results,” he says in a blog post published on Monday.
The measure complements Google’s policy on Unwanted Software, published in mid-December 2014, a set of requirements to which advertisers pushing software downloads have to adhere.
The warning for the suspicious websites and blocking the malicious downloads come from Google’s Safe Browsing API (application programming interface).
Ballard says site owners should register their websites with Google Webmaster Tools in order to be updated with the latest security findings from the company.
This way, the website can be verified for malicious programs and the administrator would receive a notification about the infection, along with tips that could help solve the problem.