Safer Internet Day: Expert reveals Chrome security tips

Safe Internet Day
Expert reveals Chrome security tips

Safer Internet Day on February 7th is a day of action on the subject of online security. Online security begins with the correct use of the Internet browser. According to an analysis by Statista Google’s Chrome browser is the most popular alternative for many users, well ahead of competitors such as Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple’s Safari.

The news agency spot on news asked an expert what Chrome users should watch out for. Sabine Borsay, Group Product Manager for Chrome at the Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC), thinks the following safety tips are particularly important. At the GSEC in Munich, experts from Google develop data protection and security products.

Always up to date

Browser updates are usually installed automatically. If users “haven’t restarted their browser for a long time and updates to be carried out are displayed, then I recommend running the security updates displayed and restarting the browser,” advises Borsay. Regardless of the end device, such as the PC or Android and iOS smartphones, the Internet giant carries out security updates for the browser every two weeks. In urgent situations, however, Google can also act much faster: “If there is a critical security error in exceptional cases, it can be fixed in less than 24 hours.”

The status of updates can be queried on the PC or laptop via the settings menu. To do this, click on the three-point symbol. Under the sub-item “About Google Chrome” users update the browser or alternatively they are shown whether Chrome is currently already up to date. On the iPhone or Android smartphone, the browser is usually also updated automatically. Users can manually initiate an update in the Google Play Store or App Store.

What is Safe Browsing?

Those who have little experience with security settings tailored to their needs will receive Help via a privacy guide, which was developed at GSEC. This includes a step-by-step guide with choices that include Safe Browsing. “When Safe Browsing is enabled, warning messages are displayed in the browser when users are about to visit potentially dangerous or fake websites or download malicious files,” explains Borsay. The feature can be found – also in an extended function – in the settings under the sub-item “Privacy and security”.

Perform security check

The so-called “security check”, which is also listed in the settings under “Privacy and security”, was also developed at GSEC. According to Borsay, this enables users to “check the most important security aspects with just a few clicks”. Here, users can check whether updates are installed and Safe Browsing is activated. For example, they can also check whether their passwords have been compromised.

Speaking of passwords

“There is a major security risk when users use the same passwords for different websites,” explains Borsay. This gives users the opportunity to “proactively protect themselves against hacked access data, for example by using a password manager and thus not having to remember complicated passwords themselves”.

Chrome also offers an integrated password manager, which can be found under the “Autofill” setting and with which users can securely manage passwords. Here users also check whether the passwords used are rather weak and could possibly be easily guessed. Anyone who is registered can also save the passwords in their own Google account and synchronize them across multiple devices. Thanks to the synchronization, users can, among other things, log into websites more easily on several end devices or have access to the same bookmarks on smartphones and PCs.

SpotOnNews