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Chrome Canary browser blocks malware downloads

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

  • Updated:

The latest Chrome Canary build features automatic malware blocking for suspicious downloads. Google’s Canary developer channel is the “bleeding edge” of Chrome development so expect plenty of bugs, though you can install the browser alongside your stable version of Chrome if you want to test it out.

“Online criminals have been increasing their use of malicious software that can silently hijack your browser settings.”

Google is implementing automatic malware blocking in Chrome because of more sophisticated malware attacks that could reset your browser settings, leaving you vulnerable to subsequent attacks. “Online criminals have been increasing their use of malicious software that can silently hijack your browser settings. This has become a top issue in the Chrome help forums; we’re listening and are here to help,” says Linus Upson in a blog post.

Chrome Canary browser blocks malware downloads

Malicious executables are easy to come across as they’re often disguised as benign things like free screensavers, icon packs, or video plugins. When you do accidentally download a malicious package, you will see the following image warning you.

Chrome malware blocking

There’s a big “Dismiss” button, which will block the download, but clicking on the menu button (the sliver on the right) will give you the option to continue downloading the file anyway. This makes it hard for users to download malicious software, but does give users the option to continue downloading if there’s a false-positive in Chrome’s malware detection.

Download Chrome Canary for Windows and Mac

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[Source: Google Chrome Blog]

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

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