Google boosts enhanced security with AI-powered upgrade

By Judy Sanhz Published February 17, 2025

Google has strengthened Chrome’s security with AI-driven real-time protection, helping safeguard your PC from dangerous downloads, sites, and extensions, as spotted by Leo on X (via Bleeping Computer). Google tested the update for three months, but it’s now distributing it to all users on the stable channel.

The key change is the addition of AI-protection to the security feature, which is part of safe browsing, that’s been around for years. However, users should remember that browsing data is sent to Google when you enable Enhanced Protection. Google renamed the feature to highlight AI integration, but how the new version varies from the previous one is unclear.

If you’re not a fan of the Enhanced Protection feature, you’ll be happy to know that it’s off by default. However, if you want to turn it on, you can do so by going to Settings > Privacy and security > Security. Once you reach the last option, you see information about how the feature works and what to consider. For example, a column called “When on” tells you that when the feature is enabled, it warns you if you use a password compromised in a data breach. Additionally, Google may be using AI to perform in-depth scans for dangerous downloads, but it hasn’t provided full details yet.

This isn’t the first time Google has improved security on Chrome, and there is a good chance it won’t be the last. Google has previously added a security feature to Chrome that displays a full-page warning for suspicious files.