Chrome 122, the next stable version of Google’s web browser, will adapt the Safe Browsing system Increase performance. Although it may seem otherwise, Google promises that the overall security of users will not be reduced.

The balance between performance and cyber security is always problematic and not easy to achieve. It is known that many users do not install antivirus on their computers because of the resource consumption and system load it brings. Google Safe Browsing, a service that automatically warns of potentially dangerous sites, downloads or extensions, takes time to run checks and alerts.

Since its inception, Safe Browsing has delayed the loading process of web pages until verification was complete. This wasn’t a problem when doing local checks using the Safe Browsing API, but some URLs had to be transmitted and processed by Google’s servers, and in those cases the browser was forced to wait for a response. As a result, web pages seem to load more slowly.

Chrome 122 promises performance improvements with what Google calls “asynchronous” Safe Browsing checks. Basically, Chrome starts loading the page before it receives a response from the Safe Browsing system. Trusted sites should load faster because the service will not act as a barrier. When we visit unsafe websites that are considered unsafe, the browser will still display the familiar red warning label, but Safe Browsing does not add to page load time.

It is a clear and deliberate release safe navigation system. However, Google says that asynchronous authentication will not reduce user security. The service will act quickly enough to send a warning before users can interact with any conflicting elements on the web page. For example, if you are viewing a fake version of a bank’s website, the system should detect this long before you enter your login information.

More security changes in Chrome 122

A browser exploit that might occur while loading a website could use the asynchronous loading method. Therefore, Chrome will continue to use “synchronous” checks for these components. This has no noticeable impact on page load time as Chrome maintains a database of sites known to use vulnerability browsers.

Chrome 122 will also remove Safe Browsing checks partial resources. It simply checks the URL of the website you are visiting, rather than the URLs of images, scripts, and other elements. Subresources used to be a popular malware vector, although this trend has declined considerably. In the future, Chrome will use client-side technologies to identify malicious sub-resources.

Another point that will also be reviewed is the frequency of inspections PDF for download. Google says PDF files are no longer a primary vehicle for malware, and Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer is protected, making security checks less necessary.

All these changes will be introduced in the next stable version of Chrome 122, which is expected to arrive next week.