Google updated SAFE BROWSE and now warns of deceptive software downloads that appears to be helpful – that actually does other things.

Published: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 by Rad

“We’ll show a warning in Chrome whenever an attempt is made to trick you into downloading and installing such software,” said Google security engineer Moheeb Abu Rajab in a blog post - That’s not the download you’re looking for...

The new feature will provide protection against third-party download sites that bundle browser toolbars, adware and scripts with well-known software.

Although the update will raise an alert, it will not block users from downloading software.

The new feature will provide protection against third-party download sites that bundle browser toolbars, adware and scripts with well-known software.

Google

Safe Browsing displays warnings to users of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari when they attempt to access phishing sites or download malware.

“We’re currently showing more than three million download warnings per week—and because we make this technology available for other browsers to use, we can help keep 1.1 billion people safe,” said Rajab.

According to several reports, Mozilla has responded positively to the news of the Safe Browsing update.

Mozilla said in a statement: “We are happy to see that Google is continuing to improve its detection of potentially unwanted software, especially since Firefox relies on Google Safe Browsing to block malicious downloads.

“We are investigating implementing this new extension, especially if it reduces unofficial rebundled software that targets Firefox,” Mozilla said.

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