14 DAY TRIAL // Google Chrome continues to be the world’s number one browser, and according to third-party stats, it’s running on over 70 percent of the desktop computers out there.
In other words, more than 7 in 10 users installed Google Chrome on their PCs, despite the operating system actually coming with a different browser.
And that says a lot about how big Google Chrome has become. But at the same time, it also creates a new responsibility for Google, who now needs to make sure the browser is just working fine for everybody out there, while also providing only the best features no matter the platform.
Given we trust browsers for pretty sensitive data, including passwords and credit card details, it’s critical for these applications to handle all the information correctly, protect it, and let us know when certain information might be exposed.
And this is exactly what Google Chrome does right now.
Earlier this year, Google rolled out the so-called safety check in Google Chrome, essentially providing users with a new arsenal of features whose purpose was to help improve security when browsing the web and using the application.
“The new tool will tell you if the passwords you’ve asked Chrome to remember have been compromised, and if so, how to fix them. It will flag if Safe Browsing, Google’s technology to warn before you visit a dangerous site or download a harmful app or extension, is turned off. The safety check tool also has a new additional way to quickly see if your version of Chrome is up to date, i.e. if it’s updated with the latest security protections. If malicious extensions are installed, it will tell you how and where to remove them,” Google said.
And now this safety check screen is getting another important update with a warning for weak passwords, similar to the way the whole thing works on Android. In other words, Google Chrome can check the passwords you stored within the app and determine if they are weak, then offering a warning to help you switch to a more complex phrase that you keep your account protected.
Available in the latest Canary build, the new feature is still in the testing phase, but it can be enabled by anyone out there with just a few steps, as per TechDows.
First of all, make sure that you are running the latest Canary build of Google Chrome – this is the testing version that helps Google experiment with new features before they are released to users worldwide, and you aren’t supposed to use it for daily browsing.
When you’re done, launch the app and in the address bar at the top, type the following command:
chrome://flags
This will provide you with access to the hidden flags in the browser and let you enable features that aren’t activated by Google, though this means some of them may not work exactly as expected.
The flags that you need to enable are the following:
Passwords weakness check
Safety check for weak passwords
When you’re back in Google Chrome, you should be able to check for weak passwords from the safety heck screen in the browser – keep in mind this only works with the passwords you saved within the app, and if any of them is considered to be weak, you should then see a warning to let you know you should stick with a more complex phrase.