Google Chrome has introduced an AI-powered update to its “Enhanced protection” feature. It offers AI-backed real-time protection, helping secure PCs against dangerous downloads, sites, and extensions.

Google reportedly tested the update for three months before releasing it for all Chrome users.

The company says that the latest update provides PCs protection against emerging threats, including those not previously flagged in Google’s threat database.

In what might raise privacy concerns for some, Google noted that activating this Enhanced protection feature results in your browsing data being sent to its servers to be analysed.

It’s therefore set as off by default and requires a user to manually turn it on. They can do so by going to Settings > Privacy and security > Security.

 

Last month, 35 Google Chrome extensions came under a phishing attack, which had potentially exposed the data of approximately 2.6 million users, according to Tech Monitor.

The attack targeted Chrome extension developers by way of fraudulent emails that were designed to appear as official communications from Google.

The emails claimed that the recipients’ extensions were in violation of Chrome Web Store policies, citing vague issues such as “unnecessary details in the description.”

Developers were directed to follow a link that was supposed to provide them with further information, but instead resulted in the injection of malicious code into their extensions.

The affected extensions could then be manipulated to collect user data, alter web traffic, or perform unauthorised actions.

 

Incogni, a company which offers a personal data removal service, recently said that its research team examined 238 AI-powered Chrome browser extensions and found that 67% of them collect user data, while 41% collected personally identifiable information.

Some of them even collected sensitive information. These extensions tracked user activity (collected by 22%), personal communications (collected by 15%), and financial information (collected by 7%).