Google has announced improvements towards protecting macOS users of its Chrome browser, as part of its Safe Browsing program.
To be able to protect users from unwanted software and malware online, starting March 31, they may start seeing more system-generated warning messages when they navigate to potentially dangerous websites, or when they try to download perilous files.
According to Google"s blog post, the Safe Browsing initiative is focused on two common abuses of browsing experiences, which include unwanted ad injection, as well as modification of Chrome user settings like the start page, home page, and the default search engine. "Users deserve full control of their browsing experience and Unwanted Software Policy violations hurt that experience," the company"s post stated.
Moreover, the new "Chrome Settings API for Mac" gives developers tools to help users stay in control of their browser settings. The post explains further:
"From here on, the Settings Overrides API will be the only approved path for making changes to Chrome settings on Mac OSX, like it currently is on Windows. Also, developers should know that only extensions hosted in the Chrome Web Store are allowed to make changes to Chrome settings."
Safe Browsing is Google"s effort towards curbing social engineering attacks online, shielding users from deceptive content, blocking them automatically to prevent contraction of malware. It has since been implemented on Android, as well as Windows machines.
Source: Google Online Security Blog