“Today we are announcing that Chrome will gradually enable secure (HTTPS) pages to download only secure files,” says a blog post by Joe DeBlasio, a security team member from Chrome. A series of steps will be taken gradually in later versions of the browser.
Google will start issuing warning messages at startup. It will be from Chrome 82, which is expected in April, and Chrome 83 for Android and iOS, after which the browser will automatically block the download of certain file types. Then and gradually Systematically block all risky files in Chrome 86.
Also read : Chrome 80 available on PC and Mac – no more annoying notifications, here’s what’s new
Which downloads are considered unsafe?
These are files of mixed content. In other words, unsafe downloads initiated from HTTPS pages. Google explains that such files “pose a risk to users’ security and privacy.” Message. “For example, unsafely downloaded programs can be replaced by malware”
Also, legitimate files downloaded incorrectly can pose a risk. Another example: third parties can “read insecurely uploaded user bank statements.” To address these risks and protect users, Google plans to block these downloads in Chrome.
The firm will initially handle executables, ie extension files. .exe, .apk etc.. those who pose the greatest risk. In Chrome 82, a warning message will be played in the browser, then these files will be systematically blocked in the next version. It comes to .zip, .iso files… before Google blocks pdf, docx and other document formats, which are one of the most common vectors for spreading malware.
Finally, the order of image, audio and video files will come in Chrome 86. This will be the final step of the plan that marks the blocking of all kinds of files in the browser. According to Google’s plans, this release is expected to be at least October 2020.
