Google warns billions of phone owners to look for four ‘dangerous’ phrases

GOOGLE users have been urged to keep their eyes peeled for dangerous phrases that could result in their devices getting hacked.

Cybersecurity attacks have only risen in recent years and to combat this, Google equipped Chrome with an important feature.

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This tool, dubbed Malware Detection, comprises pop-up warnings that appear on your browser’s screen whenever you’re about to enter a dangerous website.

Malware is a malicious file or code that can infect your phone or computer.

These dangerous files can attack your device using different methods and typically hope to steal sensitive information.

In other cases, they can monitor and record your device’s activity without your knowledge.

Malware detection is turned on by default in Chrome, and because of this, users may see pop-ups alerting them to malicious websites.

POP-UP MESSAGES

The first message users should never ignore while browsing Chrome reads: “The site ahead contains malware.”

This means the site you are about to visit may try to install dangerous software on your computer.

Sometimes, Google will distribute a pop-up that says: “Deceptive site ahead.”

If you see this message, it means the site you’re trying to visit might be a phishing site.

Phishing is a form of social engineering where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information.

Most commonly, the goal is to steal a user’s banking information, identity, or passwords.

Although in some cases, the crooks are trying to distribute malware, such as ransomware.

“Suspicious site” is another Google warning that alerts users to a website that may not be safe.

“The site ahead contains harmful programs,” is a separate warning that users may see while browsing.

This alert means that the site you are about to visit may try to trick you into installing malware.

If you’re about to head into a site that isn’t secure, you might see: “This page is trying to load scripts from unauthenticated sources.”

Google also wanted users to download anything with caution.

“Some sites try to trick you into downloading harmful software by telling you that you have a virus,” the tech giant writes.

“Be careful not to download any harmful software,” it added.