As we all know by now, not all websites are reliable and useful and safe. There are a lot of deceptive sites that are out to get something from us or just to propagate their agenda by fooling us into thinking they’re legit. Despite continuous warnings and campaigns to be careful in the sites that we visit, there are still a lot of people that are fooled. Google is now releasing two new features for Chrome users that can help protect us from these “deceptions”.
The first tool is an extension that you can install onto your Chrome browser. It’s called Suspicious Site Reporter Extension and from the name itself, it’s easy to figure out what it does. It works together with Google Safe Browsing and will allow you to report suspicious sites so that it can automatically analyze it and eventually make it part of their sort of blacklist.
Once you install the extension, you’ll see an icon if ever you’re on a “potentially suspicious site”. You’ll also see more information on why the site is suspicious. When you click on the icon, you’re reporting it to Safe Browsing for further evaluation and once it’s added to the list, you won’t see the site anymore and other Chrome users will also be warned about it.
The other new feature will warn you if you’re visiting a confuasing URL. For example, some nefarious elements use a site like go0gle.com to confuse users that were intending to go to google.com. If you’re visiting one site like this, you’ll see a warning like this: “This link you opened goes to a site you don’t usually visit, it might be trying to confuse you.” It will have a link to the legit site it thinks you may be trying to get to.
Hopefully, these two new tools from Google will lessen the number of users that have been victimized by phishing attacks and other unsafe online practices. Well, at least those who are using Chrome to browse, that is.
