Over the years, Google has added all kinds of security features into Chrome through its Safe Browsing service. It can warn you when you are surfing to a site that it deems unsafe, like malware and phishing sites, but also when you are about to download software from known malware sites. Starting today, Google is expanding this program to include downloads of “deceptive software,” that is programs that pretend to be helpful but actually make changes to your operating system or browser.
Typically, those kind of programs try to change your browser homepage, for example, or install some kind of adware.
Whenever Google detects this kind of download, it will now throw its usual Safe Browsing warning. At that point, you can either abort the download or, if you are feeling frisky with your IT safety, throw caution to the wind and download it anyway.
Google says it is currently showing about three million Safe Browsing warnings per week and in total, it protects 1.1 billion people. That sounds like a lot, but it includes all Chrome users and anybody who uses an alternative browser or app that uses the Safe Browsing API.