This One Google Chrome Setting Can Save Your Bacon

In 2022, over 422 million people had their online data compromised through data breaches and other means—a staggering 40% increase from the previous year.

Keeping your data safe online is more crucial than ever. Thankfully, Google offers a powerful tool for Chrome users to boost their online security: Enhanced Safe Browsing.

But what exactly is it, how can you enable it, and what are the pros and cons? Let’s dive in.

What Is Enhanced Safe Browsing?

Enhanced Safe Browsing is a feature in Google Chrome that provides extra layers of security against online threats like phishing and malware.

Introduced in 2020 and updated in 2021, it offers real-time protection by checking the sites you visit against a constantly updated list of malicious websites.

This ensures you’re protected against threats that pop up quickly and might otherwise slip through the cracks.

How To Enable It on Various Devices

On Your Computer:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Go to myaccount.google.com.
3. Click on “Security” at the top.
4. Find “Enhanced Safe Browsing” and click the switch to turn it on

On Your Android Device:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Tap the three dots (menu).
3. Go to “Settings.”
4. Select “Privacy and Security.”
5. Tap “Safe Browsing.”
6. Choose “Enhanced Protection.”

On Your iOS Device:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Tap the three dots (menu).
3. Go to “Settings.”
4. Select “Privacy and Security.”
5. Tap “Safe Browsing.”
6. Choose “Enhanced Protection.”

Remember, you need to enable this feature on each device separately for complete coverage.

The Benefits of Using It

1. Real-Time Threat Detection: Enhanced Safe Browsing checks each site you visit in real-time against a frequently updated list of harmful sites, reducing your risk of falling for phishing scams by 35%.
2. File and Extension Scanning: Chrome scans files before you download them and warns you about untrusted Chrome extensions, giving you a heads-up before you install something potentially harmful.
3. Password Leak Alerts: If your login details have been compromised in a data breach, Google alerts you, allowing you to change your password before any damage is done.

The Potential Drawbacks of Using It

1. Increased Data Sharing: Enabling Enhanced Safe Browsing means sharing more data with Google, like your browsing history and downloads. While this helps tailor protections to your specific needs, some users may be uncomfortable with this level of data sharing.
2. Privacy Concerns: Despite Google’s efforts to anonymize data, studies have shown that anonymized data can sometimes be re-identified using other available data sources.

Google’s Latest Updates to Enhance Privacy

Google has recently upgraded its Safe Browsing feature to work in real-time without compromising user privacy.

Instead of downloading a list of malicious sites every hour, Chrome now sends the URLs you visit to its servers to check against an updated list instantly.

To protect your privacy, Google uses a complex system involving a third-party server operated by Fastly, ensuring that neither Google nor Fastly can see your full browsing data. This setup significantly boosts protection while maintaining privacy.

Conclusion

Google Chrome is not the most safe or private web browser out there. We strongly recommend using other web browsers when you surf the Internet (more on this in a future article).

But Chrome is the most popular web browser out there.

If you do use it, it’s probably a good idea to turn on Safe Browsing to help keep yourself protected. These days, anything you can do to keep hackers, malware and other Internet ne’er do wells at bay is a good thing!