Unencrypted sites are targeted by Google; If you are a Google Chrome user, you have already seen that some sites cannot be accessed directly and display an error page. The company now also wants to block unsafe downloads, an idea it already announced in February 2020.
Why is this important?
Data protection on the Internet is essential today and passes, in part, from data encryption, which becomes accessible only by a “key” that perceives the words hidden behind the sequences of numbers. These secure/encrypted sites are the sites that start with HTTPS and will, per Google’s wishes, be the only ones accessible through Google Chrome.News: the site 9to5Google detected on Chrome Gerrit that Google will extend its “HTTPS only” policy to downloads.
- In practice, as soon as a download from an unprotected site wants to start, it will be blocked by Google Chrome.
- This Chrome feature would only be available from Chrome 111, which is expected to be released in March 2023.
- This feature will not apply to everyone immediately. It is still under development and will initially only be available in experimental form.
- Finally, the block can be removed manually.
The challenge : Google Chrome has a significant influence on other browsers.
- As reported stats counterGoogle Chrome accounts for more than 65% of the market share among web browsers in December 2022.
- With such weight in the market, other Internet browsers are forced to follow suit. For example, Firefox was also expected to offer an “HTTPS only” mode after this policy appeared in Google Chrome. It will therefore be an anticipation that should eventually arrive on all browsers.
- This is part of Google’s goal to make the web safer and, therefore, easier to access for ordinary people.