Google updated Chrome to detect phishing attacks much faster than before. The latest version of the world’s most popular web browser can uncover attempts to steal your data, payment details and more, around 50 times faster than before, according to internal tests by Google.
The timing couldn’t be better. The update to Google Chrome comes after a wave of phishing scams rocked the UK, with millions receiving fraudulent delivery texts allegedly from Royal Mail, DHL and Hermes. Another scam claiming that phone owners have a new voicemail is sending users to websites designed to steal data. Microsoft has released its latest research on fraud and the extent of the problem.
Fortunately, the new version of Google Chrome should be able to prevent malicious actors from stealing your credit card details, home address, email, and phone number.
According to Google, the key to faster phishing prevention lies in processing images.
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In a blog post about the latest update, Google explains, “Every time you navigate to a new page, Chrome evaluates a collection of signals about the page to see if it matches those from phishing sites. To do this, we compare the color profile of the visited page – that is the extent and frequency of the colors available on the page – with the color profiles of common pages “
Since Chrome evaluates every single pixel on the screen – and displays can contain more than 14 million pixels – the entire process can put a heavy load on your CPU. This slows down all other applications running in the background and can cause your laptop’s fan to spin up and make noise.
“Chrome now performs image-based phishing classification up to 50 times faster at the 50th percentile and 2.5 times faster at the 99th percentile. On average, users get their phishing classification results after 100 milliseconds instead of 1.8 seconds, ”adds Google.
Reducing the time it takes on your CPU – from nearly two seconds to milliseconds – should translate into “less battery drain and less time spinning fans”. And of course, more importantly, it should also help alert users when they come across a website that is supposed to steal your data.
As always, Google Chrome should update itself.
However, if you can’t wait for the enhancements to roll out automatically to your local area (Google usually staggered its roll out globally … so it might take some time to land near you), it’s possible to have Chrome turned on automatically. to push to update. To do this, click on the three dots in the right corner of the app and go to Help> About Google Chrome.
