Threats on the web are becoming more sophisticated. Phishing sites keep changing their domains to avoid being blocked. Google Chrome is the most popular browser currently. Google has announced a new security feature – Enhanced Safe Browsing protection in Chrome. This is a new option for users who want more advanced security while browsing the web.

Why Enhanced Safe Browsing is needed?

Existing Safe Browsing API collected information of unsafe websites on daily basis. It shares the information with the web industry. Chrome checks the URL of each site you visit or file you download against a local list, which is updated approximately every 30 minutes. But this 30 minute window is being used by sophisticated phishing sites to switch domains and slip away. This means Chrome can’t adjust protection based on what kinds of threats a particular user is seeing or the type of sites they normally visit. So, there is a need for enhancements in safe browsing.

How it works?

Once you turn on this option, real-time data will be shared with Google Safe Browsing. This will help Chrome to proactively protect you from dangerous websites and downloads. It also takes care of your complete Google account and also the Google apps you use. Google is planning to bring tailor made warnings for you on phishing sites and downloads and cross-product alerts.

The real time data helps Chrome to check if the site is dangerous or not. Chrome will also send a small sample of pages and suspicious downloads to help discover new threats against you and other Chrome users. If you are signed in to Chrome, the data is temporarily linked to your account so that tailor made alerts can be sent to you. After a short period, the data will be anonymized so that it will be removed from your account.

You can turn on navigate to Privacy and Security settings > Security > and selecting the “Enhanced protection” mode under Safe Browsing.

It will be a phase wise roll-out so please wait till you receive the update. First desktop platforms later Android support will be released. Enterprise administrators can control this setting via the Safe Browsing Protection Level policy.