Chrome users on macOS to see more dangerous site warnings

MacOS users who use Chrome to surf the web are likely to see more security warnings in the coming days, as Google’s Safe Browsing service will start flagging sites peddling potentially unwanted software.

“As part of this next step towards reducing macOS-specific malware and unwanted software, Safe Browsing is focusing on two common abuses of browsing experiences: unwanted ad injection, and manipulation of Chrome user settings, specifically the start page, home page, and default search engine,” Google’s Kylie McRoberts and Ryan Rasti explained.

“Users deserve full control of their browsing experience and Unwanted Software Policy violations hurt that experience.”

Another expected change is announced for March 31 2017, when Chrome and Safe Browsing will start warn users about software that attempts to modify Chrome settings without using the Chrome Settings API for Mac.

Also, the only Chrome extensions that will be allowed to make changes to Chrome settings will be those hosted in the Chrome Web Store.

Mac users definitely see way less OS-specific malware than Windows users, but malicious Chrome extensions have obviously become a significant enough nuisance for Google to step in and do something about it.