Google Chrome is improving its Safety Check module, which will automatically notify you when one of your passwords is compromised or one of your extensions is removed from the Chrome Store for security reasons.
Google is doing everything possible to improve the security of its Chrome browser and is multiplying updates to move in this direction. Thus, it got rid of third-party cookies, began to impose the use of passkeys to access its services (see our article) and even integrated a service, called IP Protection, allowing the IP address of the user to be hidden. device without using a VPN. The Mountain View firm clearly does not intend to stop there and has announced, in a blog post, improve its Security Check tool – it allows you to check the security of different passwords, and to alert you about browser updates, the presence of malicious extensions and if the authorizations requested by a site require our attention. So, if you had to go check all this information yourself before, Safety Check now works automatically in the background of Google Chrome. A way to alert more quickly in the event of a problem! These alerts will appear in Chrome’s three-dot menu. Other new features are also on the program.
Safety Check: the hunt for malicious extensions in Chrome
Extensions for Google Chrome are very practical. These add-on software modules – also called plugin Or add-on in English – are added to the Web browser to provide additional functions or improve existing functions. For example, there are ad blockers, PDF converters, translation tools, offer comparators, spelling and grammar checkers, VPNs, etc. It’s very simple, they allow you to personalize Chrome to make it a tailor-made work or entertainment tool. And the vast majority of them are free.
However, you should be careful when downloading them – including those from official stores like the Chrome Web Store – as some contain malicious code! Whether it’s injecting ads, stealing your personal data, tracking your activity, or modifying search results to redirect you to affiliated pages, these malicious extensions can cause serious problems. significant damage. Also, Google is regularly forced to clean up the Chrome Web Store. The problem is that Internet users who have already downloaded them are not informed and know nothing of their dangerousness. Also, the Internet giant integrated the Safety Check function into its web browser last August, in order to warn you when an installed extension has been removed from the store – and therefore subsequently improved it.
Integrated since Chrome 117, the Safety Check module initially warns you of three types of situation: when an extension has disappeared because its developer removed it from the Chrome Web Store, because it did not respect the Chrome Web Store policy or because it contained malware. With this feature, you can check your extensions by going to Chrome’s settings, then going to the “Privacy & Security” section. Under “Safety Check”, click the “Check now” button to start a scan – but this now happens automatically. The various security settings of the browser are then checked, including extensions. If one or more extensions removed from the Chrome Web Store are detected, click “Show” to be redirected to a dedicated page. If they are malicious extensions, Google automatically deactivates them. In other cases, it is up to you whether you want to keep them on your web browser or not.
Safety Check: an even more alert tool
In addition to its usual functions and its execution in the background, Safety Check will now be able to delete the parameters of a site, such as access to the microphone or the position for example, if it has not been visited for a long time. The same goes for notifications: if the tool realizes that the user has too many notifications from a site to which they do not visit regularly or no longer at all, it will report this so that they can be deactivated in an instant.
But running software in the background constantly consumes significant resources. Last year, Google integrated a “Memory saver” mode into its browser – which is accessed through the three little dots, then the settings – which allows Chrome to free up memory (RAM) in inactive tabs on the browser. Navigator. Now, by hovering over the tabs with the mouse, one can find out how much potential memory is being saved, even when they are inactive. Additionally, it is now easier to specify which sites should always remain active. Finally, in the coming weeks, Chrome will allow you to save groups of tabs in order to access them on other devices and easily resume our projects.