14 DAY TRIAL // Google Chrome will defend select users against dangerous downloads with the help of the Advanced Protection Program, or APP, which was originally launched by the search giant back in 2017.
The goal of AAP was to provide users who may be usually the targets of cyber-attacks, like journalists, activists, and politicians, with the necessary arsenal to remain protected when accessing their Google accounts.
But given how the way the threats are evolving, Google is now expanding the program to cover Google Chrome as well, thus blocking malicious downloads that could be used in more complex cyber-attacks.
“Advanced Protection Program users who have turned on sync in Chrome will automatically start receiving stronger protections against risky downloads across the web, like files containing malware. Advanced Protection users already benefit from malware protections beyond Gmail's standard, industry-leading safeguards,” Shuvo Chatterjee, Product Manager, Advanced Protection Program, and Kiran Nair, Product Manager, Chrome, explain in a blog post.
What the warning looks like
“As a result, attackers are shifting their strategies to threaten Advanced Protection users outside of email with linked malware and “drive-by downloads” where users unknowingly download harmful software onto their devices.”
Users included in the program will begin to see a warning (pictured here) that a specific update “was blocked by Advanced Protection.” They will then be provided with options to discard the message or to keep the file, with a “Learn more” button to display additional information on why the download was blocked.
There is no change that these users will have to do on their devices, as the feature is enabled automatically regardless of the platform they run Chrome on. On the other hand, what they must do is turn on the sync feature in the browser to allow the Advanced Protection system to perform the checks and block malicious downloads.