Chrome will scan for risky files on demand, telling you which extensions to trust

With Chrome 91 released a few days ago, Google made a splash when it introduced a series of important improvements related to the file system access API as well as the ability to support automatic one-time password transfer (OTP) from SMS to iframe multiple sources on the web. However, in the near future, there will be many new security improvements, especially about the enhanced safe browsing experience (Enhanced Safe Browsing) implemented.

If you do not know, Enhanced Safe Browsing is an optional security feature that was launched by Google on Chrome in May 2020. Through this feature, users will submit any one or more web pages to Google to proactively check if they are safe or not. If you're signed in to Chrome, this protection will also be extended to other Google services through the respective Google account.

In the near future, Google will deploy more improvements to Enhanced Safe Browsing. The first upgrade has to do with Chrome extensions. When you download a new extension, you'll see a warning dialog appear on your screen indicating whether the extension came from a trusted developer. In case the extension is not on Google's list of trusted extensions, a warning will indicate that you need to consider and exercise caution before using it. At the same time, there will also be options for you to remove or continue downloading the add-on.

So what are the evaluation criteria? Google says extensions are rated 'safe' and 'reliable' if they follow the Chrome Web Store Developer Program Policies framework. At the same time, developers will also have to follow the guidelines in the above policy in order for their gadgets to be considered trustworthy. Based on this criterion, 75% of the extensions currently available on the Chrome Web Store are considered trusted, and this number will obviously increase as new developers agree to follow Google's guidelines.

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The second major security improvement worth noting concerns the download experience on Chrome. Now, by default, Chrome will automatically scan the download's metadata and notify you if the file appears unsafe. However, users will now have the option to send that suspicious file to Enhanced Safe Browsing for more detailed analysis. This process will take some time, and the file will also be deleted from Google's archive once the scan is complete and the user has made a decision whether to continue downloading or not.

This feature was actually made available to the Advanced Protection Program (APP) in September 2020. The APP is designed to secure the accounts of high-risk individuals such as journalists, business executives, activists or politicians. While the service is free to use, program subscribers may have to pay a fee to purchase a security key. Google's rollout of this high-security feature to general users is clearly commendable.

Micah Soto

Update 05 June 2021