Google Claims New Versions of Chrome will Block Downloads Google Considers to be Dangerous
Google has announced that new versions of its web browser Google Chrome will come pre-loaded with a functionality that will block out any downloads that the company considers dangerous. Upon clicking the offending download, users will now be presented with a message that says the “file appears to be malicious.” They will then be provided with the option to cancel the download.
The block is intended to prevent social engineering attacks, which are usually sent via e-mail. Users are usually convinced to download executables which then display spam, retrieve data and also perform click fraud in which cash is generated illegally by creating flase clicks on website advertisments.
The service will only block .exe files as these are overwhelmingly the source of the malware. However it is likely that coverage for Mac and Linux users won’t be too far behind. The feature doesn’t check the file itself. It instead checks the source of the file against a database of sites that Google have ear-marked as dangerous.
