Google Chrome has added a new feature to its dossier of safety measures. If a user has a password that’s too weak or easy, Chrome will simply inform them about it, and urge them to change it to something stronger.
The password warning is the latest addition to Chrome’s Safety Check features. These features are built around protecting users from dangerous plugins, extensions, and other manners of security mishaps. The warning is currently only available in Canary, a mirror version of Chrome used for experimenting with new updates and technology. It is applied to all passwords saved onto the app (a popup will always grant you the option of saving login credentials for any site that might require them), but must be turned on manually.
In order to turn on the warning, one must visit chrome://flags and enable the password weakness (chrome://flags/#passwords-weakness-check) and safety check flags (chrome://flags/#safety-check-weak-passwords). Next time a user performs a Safety Check, Google Chrome (Canary version) will automatically review all saved passwords and inform them of ones that need changing.
This update is very similar to another experimental update that’s also planned for Safety Check. The Password Checkup, also available on Canary, is another way of checking to see if a password is liable to intrusion. It can be activated via the same command highlighted above, and enabling password leak detection. It checks for security and strength by running the highlighted passwords against a database of millions of other passwords, and seeing if they match up with any that have been involved in prior breaches. If such a match is found, the Checkup will inform you and ask you to consider changing the password. While Password Checkup hasn’t been integrated into the Chrome app itself yet, it can easily be accessed as a downloadable extension that can be used as one pleases.
As life revolves more and more around virtual space, important details such as credit card information, documents, and even photos & private moments are left to the mercy of hackers. It becomes important to companies such as Google, which often ask us to share such private data with them, to at least try and emulate some form of security protocols. A Google survey dated March, 2019 highlights that 42% of individuals did not know the difference between http (not secure) and https (secure) in a web address.
More worryingly, an unfortunate exercise conducted by Microsoft revealed that 44 million of their accounts had usernames and passwords leak online. This research, conducted last year, holds some rather distasteful ramifications. In lighter news, however, there are improvements on the horizon. The Google survey also noted that Chrome traffic on the Android and Windows are 88 and 93% encrypted respectively! Web space may not be a safe space right now, but we’re getting there.
Read next: Upcoming Google Chrome Patch Improves Compatibility With Windows 10 Antivirus
The password warning is the latest addition to Chrome’s Safety Check features. These features are built around protecting users from dangerous plugins, extensions, and other manners of security mishaps. The warning is currently only available in Canary, a mirror version of Chrome used for experimenting with new updates and technology. It is applied to all passwords saved onto the app (a popup will always grant you the option of saving login credentials for any site that might require them), but must be turned on manually.
In order to turn on the warning, one must visit chrome://flags and enable the password weakness (chrome://flags/#passwords-weakness-check) and safety check flags (chrome://flags/#safety-check-weak-passwords). Next time a user performs a Safety Check, Google Chrome (Canary version) will automatically review all saved passwords and inform them of ones that need changing.
This update is very similar to another experimental update that’s also planned for Safety Check. The Password Checkup, also available on Canary, is another way of checking to see if a password is liable to intrusion. It can be activated via the same command highlighted above, and enabling password leak detection. It checks for security and strength by running the highlighted passwords against a database of millions of other passwords, and seeing if they match up with any that have been involved in prior breaches. If such a match is found, the Checkup will inform you and ask you to consider changing the password. While Password Checkup hasn’t been integrated into the Chrome app itself yet, it can easily be accessed as a downloadable extension that can be used as one pleases.
As life revolves more and more around virtual space, important details such as credit card information, documents, and even photos & private moments are left to the mercy of hackers. It becomes important to companies such as Google, which often ask us to share such private data with them, to at least try and emulate some form of security protocols. A Google survey dated March, 2019 highlights that 42% of individuals did not know the difference between http (not secure) and https (secure) in a web address.
More worryingly, an unfortunate exercise conducted by Microsoft revealed that 44 million of their accounts had usernames and passwords leak online. This research, conducted last year, holds some rather distasteful ramifications. In lighter news, however, there are improvements on the horizon. The Google survey also noted that Chrome traffic on the Android and Windows are 88 and 93% encrypted respectively! Web space may not be a safe space right now, but we’re getting there.
Read next: Upcoming Google Chrome Patch Improves Compatibility With Windows 10 Antivirus
Via: TD.
