{"id":3083,"date":"2011-04-06T11:28:14","date_gmt":"2011-04-06T10:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darknet.org.uk\/?p=3083"},"modified":"2015-09-09T19:37:16","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T11:37:16","slug":"google-chrome-to-protect-users-against-malicious-executables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.darknet.org.uk\/2011\/04\/google-chrome-to-protect-users-against-malicious-executables\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Chrome To Protect Users Against Malicious Executables"},"content":{"rendered":"

It looks like Google Chrome<\/a> is stepping up to provide users with the most secure browsing experience. The browser has been built with security in mind since the beginning with it’s sandbox model and it escaped exploitation during the recent Pwn2Own<\/a> contest.<\/p>\n

Now they are infringing on the area of anti-virus<\/a> vendors and stepping up in the fight against malware<\/a> by proposing to block applications that are harmful to Windows users.<\/p>\n

All we need to do now is make sure all new computers ship out with Chrome or Firefox<\/a> installed as the default browser.<\/p>\n

Google says it’s expanding its blacklist of malicious websites to include those that use deceptive claims to push harmful Windows programs.<\/p>\n

The addition to Google’s Safe Browsing API will warn people when they are about to visit websites that offer Windows-based trojans that are disguised as screen savers or other innocuous applications. The search behemoth introduced the service five years ago to alert users when they try to browse sites that perform drive-by downloads that exploit security vulnerabilities in the operating system or browsing software.<\/p>\n

The underlying programming interface is already being used by browsers including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. It’s also available to any webmaster who wants to use the wealth of information available from Google to prevent malicious links from being posted to their sites.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Seen as though this is part of the Google Safe Browsing API, I wonder will Firefox<\/a> follow suit and implement this in their browser. It’s always a good idea to give users an additional layer of security.<\/p>\n

The onion approach rather than security by obscurity – or more commonly, just not giving two shits.<\/p>\n

Drive by downloads have been a problem for a long time, and will continue to be a problem when it comes to users lacking proper secure computing habits (e.g. most of the public mass).<\/p>\n