Google Enhances Password Security For iPhone Users With Chrome Update
Google has surprised iPhone users with an announcement regarding enhanced security protection. However, there’s a catch. Although Apple and Google are typically competitors, they share an interest in securing user data. This was demonstrated when Apple’s Security Engineering and Architecture team discovered a critical vulnerability in the Chrome browser.
Google has now confirmed an upgrade to the security of Chrome browser users on iOS. This upgrade is part of an update to Password Checkup, which already flags compromised passwords found in dark web databases. Now, Google is adding two new functions: alerts for weak and reused passwords.
Google Enhances Password Security For iPhone Users With Chrome Update
With this update, Password Checkup will alert users in Chrome whenever it detects password issues. Users can also independently check their passwords by going to Chrome settings and selecting the Safety Check option.
Google plans to introduce new functionality for Android users later this month, aimed at enhancing privacy. This feature uses encryption and other privacy-enhancing techniques to ensure that no one, including Google, can identify the websites you visit.
Previously, Google checked websites against a locally stored database of malicious sites for privacy and performance reasons. This database was updated every half hour to an hour.
To enable real-time protection, Google has shifted the checking process to a list maintained on the Safe Browsing server. This server-side list now includes malicious sites immediately after their discovery. Here’s how it works: When you visit a site, Chrome first checks its cache to determine if the site is known to be safe. If the status is unknown, a real-time check is performed. The URL is obfuscated and converted into 32-byte full hashes, which are then truncated into 4-byte long hash prefixes. These prefixes are encrypted by Chrome and sent to a privacy server. The server removes any potential user identifiers before forwarding the data to the Safe Browsing server via a secure connection.
Jasika Bawa, Google’s Chrome product manager, and Jonathan Li, the Google Safe Browsing product manager, mentioned in a blog post that Google is introducing these new password protections on Chrome for iOS to help users safely browse the web. Additionally, Google has announced new safe browsing measures, including real-time, privacy-preserving URL protection for Chrome users on desktop and iOS.
See Also: Google Integrates Social Media Posts of Google Business Profiles into Maps and Search
