Chrome Browser Security

The Chrome Web Browser was designed with security in mind and is always working in the background to provide proactive protection measures to the users of the Chrome Web Browser. This section provides a brief overview of some of the built-in security features of the Chrome Web Browser.

Process Isolation/Chrome Sandbox

We live in a time when a overwhelming amount of sensitive information is accessed over the internet, such as banking or accessing medical files, it is critical that the content of these pages are kept secure. Chrome uses a technology called sandboxing, which isolates each open tab on Chrome. This will prevent malicious code in one open tab from accessing the content of another browser tab to export sensitive information or perform malicious actions such as automating bank transfers.

Safe Browsing - Harmful Website Protection

Chrome will automatically protect users from accessing websites that have been reported as harmful. These websites are often scams that pretend to be legitimate merchant websites that lure customers in with the promise of a good deal, but have no intentions of actually shipping the product. These websites are often short-lived but, in the weeks or days that they are online, often manage to make a large amount of money from its victims. Scam websites are often reported to Google and if validated, Chrome will automatically block access to the website.

It is possible to proceed past a Google Safe Browsing website block; however, this is not recommended and could result in your falling victim to a scam or being tricked into installing malware.

Safe Browsing - Malware Protection

ChromeOS is very resilient when it comes to protecting it's users from malware, it excels over other traditional operating systems due to the way ChromeOS was designed. While it is very unlikely that your ChromeOS Device will ever fall victim to a malicious application being installed, it is not impossible. The Chrome Web Browser adds a extra level of protection that will automatically block websites that have a history of distributing malware to protect users.

This feature is enabled on ChromeOS however it has the biggest benefit to users of alternate operating systems that are more likely to be infected with malware such as Android, MacOS, Windows and Linux. It is possible to proceed past a Google Safe Browsing website block; however, this is not recommended and could result in your falling victim to a scam or being tricked into installing malware.

Safe Browsing - Phishing Protection

One of the most effective ways for a attacker to gain unauthorized access to a secure account is to trick a legitimate user into providing their credentials by pretending to be a legitimate website. However, unlike the legitimate website, this face website will send the now-compromised credentials directly to a attacker. This sort of attack is known as Phishing. There are thousands of active websites online that pretend to be popular banks, payment processors or email providers to fool a growing list of victims into handing over their credentials.

The Chrome Web Browser includes Phishing Protection, which will automatically block any attempts to access a website that has been reported as a phishing website. It is possible to proceed past a Google Safe Browsing website block; however, this is not recommended and could result in your falling victim to a scam or being tricked into installing malware.

Safe Browsing - Unethical Billing Practices (Scam Billing)

Most websites and online merchants operate as legitimate services, however a few websites exist solely to scam users out of spending money for a service that is a known scam, such as a malware to pretend to be a antivirus application. Google Chrome will automatically block access to known websites that operate these scams to protect users from handing over their payment information.