Tag Archives: Phishing scams

#PehleSafety: Doubling down on our commitment to keeping our users safe online

At Google, we take very seriously the responsibility to build trust in the internet and make it an environment that’s safe for everyone. We know people are using Google at different stages of their internet journey -- from people experiencing the Internet for the first time on their new smartphone, to long-time Internet-savvy users -- and they look to us to have their backs every step of the way.


All Google products are built on a strong foundation of security that automatically protects you and your data from a wide range of threats; from our custom-built infrastructure that protects our data centers and servers, to layers of advanced encryption that protect user data across Chrome and Gmail. We are constantly on the lookout for risks and we automatically block a wide range of security threats from ever impacting you. 


For example, our automatic Gmail spam and phishing filters block 99.9 percent of suspicious or dangerous emails before they reach you. We also  block billions of bad ads (those that violate policies on our own and partners’ sites.) We block an average of 100 bad ads per second, so you’re better protected as you browse the internet.


Vested in our users’ online safety 


We believe that education is a crucial aspect of online security. Over the course of the last year we launched a far-reaching campaign to inform our users about online security, and the steps they can take to keep their internet experience safe. We worked with top YouTube influencers to spread the word on online safety, and launched powerful, step-by-step tools like the Security Checkup and Password Checkup that help you strengthen your Google Account security and address issues in minutes. Hundreds of millions of users visit the Security Checkup each year.


Our products are designed to surface the most authoritative sources of content, but in some cases people with malicious intent are able to seed content on the Internet that is designed to mislead people. We use cutting-edge AI in our automated systems that help detect and remove such content at scale.


Recommitting ourselves to online security with #PehleSafety


Building on this momentum, we are happy to announce our #PehleSafety campaign that kicks off today. We are launching a comprehensive public outreach and communications campaign that will both educate people about best practices for staying safe online, as well as walk them through specific actions they can take to lock down and protect their online presence.


We continue to work with government bodies to help spread the message of online safety more extensively. We have also launched an extensive internet security campaign along with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), aimed at reaching out to millions of end users and educating them about best practices for staying safe online.


The safety of our users remains our highest priority, and we are committed to working toward protecting our users, products, and everything that is so valuable about the internet.

Posted by Saikat Mitra, Director - Trust & Safety

Better password protections in Chrome

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/twcxkyG0A10zlB0_s0YXtPgRgd_XSJ6IIuqZwRjdbsl_Dbie8iiabPvgdz0mLuALtfPaFiQpM_b2WpxcUX6-sqwboIs_a1TJX1gQ7LCfQ2X7RAHsz7uh2dy6LE8PBhVrA_fUvGfK AbdelKarim Mardini Senior Product Manager Chrome
Many of us have encountered malware, heard of data breaches, or even been a victim of phishing, where a site tries to scam you into entering your passwords and other sensitive information. With all this considered, data security has become a top concern for many people worldwide. Chrome has safety protections built in, and now we're expanding those protections further. 

Chrome warns when your password has been stolen


When you type your credentials into a website, Chrome will now warn you if your username and password have been compromised in a data breach on some site or app. It will suggest that you change them everywhere they were used.
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If your credentials were compromised, we recommend to change them immediately.

Google first introduced this technology early this year as the Password Checkup extension. In October it became a part of the Password Checkup in your Google Account, where you can conduct a scan of your saved passwords anytime. And now it has evolved to offer warnings as you browse the web in Chrome. 
You can control it in Chrome Settings under Sync and Google Services. For now, we’re gradually rolling this out for everyone signed in to Chrome as a part of our Safe Browsing protections.

 

Phishing protection in real time


Google’s Safe Browsing maintains an ever-growing list of unsafe sites on the web and shares this information with webmasters, or other browsers, to make the web more secure. The list refreshes every 30 minutes, protecting 4 billion devices every day against all kinds of security threats, including phishing.
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Safe Browsing list has been capturing an increasing number of phishing sites.

However, some phishing sites slip through that 30-minute window, either by quickly switching domains or by hiding from our crawlers. Chrome now offers real-time phishing protections on desktop, which warn you when visiting malicious sites in 30 percent more cases. Initially we will roll out this protection to everyone with the “Make searches and browsing better” setting enabled in Chrome.

Expanding predictive phishing protections


If you're signed in to Chrome and have Sync enabled, predictive phishing protection warns you if you enter your Google Account password into a site that we suspect of phishing. This protection has been in place since 2017, and today we’re expanding the feature further.
Now we'll be protecting your Google Account password when you sign in to Chrome, even if Sync is not enabled. In addition, this feature will now work for all the passwords you store in Chrome’s password manager. Hundreds of millions more users will now benefit from the new warnings.
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Chrome will show this warning when a user enters their Google Account password into a phishing page.

Sharing your device? Now it’s easier to tell whose Chrome profile you’re using 


We realize that many people share their computers or use multiple profiles. To make sure you always know which profile you’re currently using—for example, when creating and saving passwords with Chrome’s password manager—we’ve improved the way your profile is featured.
On desktop, you’ll see a new visual representation of the profile you’re currently using, so you can be sure you are saving your passwords to the right profile. This is a visual update and won’t change your current Sync settings. We’ve also updated the look of the profile menu itself: it now allows for easier switching and clearly shows if you are signed in to Chrome or not.
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The new sign-in indicator.

 

From Munich with love


Many of these technologies were developed at the Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC), a hub of privacy and security product experts and engineers based in Munich, which opened last May. GSEC is home to the engineering teams who build many of the safety features into the Chrome browser. We’ll continue to invest in our teams worldwide to deliver the safest personal browser experience to everyone, and we look forward to bringing more new features to strengthen the privacy and security of Chrome in 2020. 
All these features will be rolled out gradually over the next few weeks. Interested in how they work? You can learn more on Google Security blog.


Posted by AbdelKarim Mardini, Senior Product Manager, Chrome