Google Chrome is working on an important update to help keep you safe
Recently code change (opens in a new tab) for Google Chrome has discovered an updated feature that will find popular Web browser automatically prevent unsafe downloads from HTTP sites.
Formerly the standard, many HTTP sites have since been updated to use HTTPS encryption in an effort to protect the extensive data we share about ourselves across the web.
Now the preferred option, Google has rolled out a series of changes to make it more secure for users to retrieve and share data.
Chrome: HTTP and HTTPS
One of such changes is the recently introduced “Always use secure connections” toggle, which tells Chrome to upgrade any website from an HTTP connection to HTTPS. Older HTTP-only sites also show an “Not Secure” warning in the address bar.
Code change detected by 9To5Google (opens in a new tab) indicates that the toggle will now warn the user not to download anything from the HTTP connection. Previously, Chrome users were notified when an HTTPS site downloaded a file in the HTTP format, known as mixed content.
In keeping with the nature of the toggle, it mainly serves as a warning that outright blocking, allowing users to continue using the web when they need it, may in some cases still involve HTTP connections are less secure.
The update is unlikely to appear in Chrome 111, slated for March 2023, for testing, but could very well be part of the company’s next release later in the year.
Google’s commitment to its browser, be it security improvements or other features like the recently announced memory and power saving mode, is so welcomed by web users, that Google is now accounts for 2/3 (66%) of all desktop browsers installed by Stats counter (opens in a new tab).
Apple’s Microsoft Edge and Safari are far behind at second and third, accounting for about 11% and 10% of the desktop browser market, respectively.