Chrome could be the most popular web browser in the world, but it could also be the worst in terms of online security. This is according to the consumer experts of Which? they say they have tried this software with their competitors and it is falling short when it comes to detecting and blocking fishing attempts.
Phishing is a popular tactic used by cyber thieves and can lead unsuspecting users to hand over personal data, including bank details and passwords. The attacks often take place through fake websites that can even impersonate UK government services such as HMRC and DVLA. This is a serious issue, and it appears that Google is not doing enough to prevent users from being the victim of such an attack.
To see the performance of each of the most popular web browsers, which ones? says he visited 800 newly discovered fishing grounds.
In the Which ?, test, Google Chrome found that it was the worst way to detect phishing attacks, as it only prevented researchers from reaching 28% of the fishing sites they were trying to access on Windows, and only 25% of Mac, well below the 85 percent achieved by Firefox, which was the best performance. It is worth noting that Firefox uses Google technology to prevent phishing attacks, and the US technology firm is “skeptical of the findings of this report.”
However, which one? maintains its report with consumer advocates that Firefox prevented more phishing attacks than Microsoft Windows Edge’s default browser, which blocked 82% of phishing attacks, and Apple MacOS Safari’s default browser, which blocked 77% of attacks.
Which one? believes that these statistics show that Google needs to do more to detect and prevent phishing attacks in Chrome. If browsers like Firefox can do this, there’s no reason why the most popular browser in the UK should fall short.
Speaking of the problem, Lisa Barber, What? Computing Editor said: “It’s incredibly alarming to see a large company like Google allow the security of its users to be exposed in this way, a gift for scammers who are constantly trying to use fishing attacks as a launch pad for scams that can have a devastating impact on victims.
“If you’re concerned about your online security, stay tuned for a link, install a high-quality free or paid antivirus package, keep your browser up to date, and sign up for our email alert Free scams will greatly increase your protection against malicious websites. “
In response to Which? Google said: “The methodology and results of this study require scrutiny.
“For more than 10 years, Google has helped set the anti-phishing standard and provided the underlying technology for other browsers free of charge. Google and Mozilla often partner to improve web security, and Firefox is primarily based on Google’s Safe Browsing API to block fishing, but researchers said Firefox provided significantly more protection against fishing than Chrome.
“Browsers using the same technology for fishing detection are very unlikely to differ significantly in the level of protection they offer, so we remain skeptical of the findings of this report.”