The Chromium team has announced several important changes for Google Chrome that affect security. One of them will be the browser sets the HTTPS protocol as default and as an extension of this measure, it will warn of potentially malicious content, i.e. when a user tries to download a dangerous file over an unsecured connection.

As you know, HTTPS (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocolwhich is its abbreviation in English) is a protocol that, together with the encrypted channel provided by the TLS transport layer, enables data transfers in a secure way between the browser clients that we use every day to connect to websites.

A few years ago, Google stated that it was trying to expand the adoption of HTTPS with HTTPS-First mode, as well as using HTTPS by default for incomplete URLs.

HTTPS and download warnings

Now the Chromium team has announced major changes that are already being tested in Chrome 115. And it is that the browser will set HTTPS as default. This means that the web browser will look for a secure network connection and automatically update to HTTPS. There will also be a safe mode in case HTTPS is not available on the site to maintain compatibility.

Chrome will automatically update all navigation from http:// to https:// even if you click on a link that explicitly states http://. Chrome detects when these updates fail (for example, because the site provides an invalid certificate or returns an HTTP 404) and automatically falls back to http://. This change ensures that Chrome only uses insecure HTTP when HTTPS is not actually available, and not because you clicked on an outdated insecure link.”they explain from Google.

Another extension of this security measure is that Chrome will soon will start alerting you to potentially harmful contentthat is, when a user tries to download a dangerous file through an unsecured connection. Chrome will start showing warnings before downloading high-risk files over an unsecured connection. This warning is intended to inform people of the risk they are taking. You will still be able to download the file if you are comfortable with the risk. If HTTPS-First mode is not enabled, Chrome will not display a warning when downloading insecure files such as images, audio, or video, as these types of files are relatively safe.”clarify.

These changes are expected to roll out to all users in mid-September. Important changes that should improve the security of the most used web browser on the Internet. More information about these changes can be found on the Chromium website.