Google is set to enhance Chrome’s Safe Browsing feature with real-time malware and phishing protection, ensuring users’ safety while preserving browsing privacy. Originally launched in 2005, Safe Browsing has evolved to combat various threats, including web phishing attacks and malware dissemination. An opt-in Enhanced Protection mode, powered by AI, will be available for users seeking proactive defense against emerging threats, such as deeper scans of downloaded files.
Currently, Safe Browsing operates by checking sites, downloads, and extensions against a local list of malicious URLs, updated every 30 to 60 minutes. However, the upcoming update will transition to real-time checks against Google’s server-side list to keep pace with rapidly appearing and disappearing malicious websites. This advancement aims to enhance protection against phishing attempts by 25%, leveraging encryption and privacy-enhancing techniques to safeguard user data.
The new real-time protection utilizes Fastly Oblivious HTTP relays to obscure visited site URLs, ensuring user privacy. Partially hashed URLs are relayed to Google’s Safe Browsing engine through an OHTTP privacy server, concealing IP addresses and mixing hash checks with those from other users. Google emphasizes that neither Google nor Fastly can correlate browsing activity with user identities, guaranteeing privacy in URL hash prefix decryption and IP address concealment.
