Google Chrome is getting new feature to make downloads secure – Times of India

Google has been adding security features to Chrome over the past few years in an effort to promote the use of HTTPS connections. HTTPS encryption has gradually become a regular rather than an exception, where it was previously mandatory for websites such as banks.
Google Chrome is getting ready to offer a setting to limit insecure HTTP downloads, according to a recent change (spotted by 9to5google) in the software made by the company.
How will the feature work?
The recent code change shared by the company revealed that it has recently added a toggle that says “Always use secure connections” in Chrome’s security settings. When enabled, Chrome will attempt to “upgrade” websites to HTTPS if you unintentionally access the insecure version. If there isn’t a secure version, a message will ask you if you still want to proceed.

Most importantly, any older HTTP site is now flagged in the address bar as “Not Secure.” Additionally, Chrome forbids the use of non-secure downloads or web forms on secure websites. The term for this combination of secure and insecure parts is “mixed content.”
Google Chrome will stop a download if, for instance, you click on an HTTPS download link and are then forwarded to an unsecure HTTP server. Chrome has already ended support of HTTP pages in the Chrome browser. This will also prevent mixed content – combination of secure and insecure elements – from being added.
Chrome users can also bypass the block just like other methods of blocking unsafe downloads and websites. Rather than blocking, Chrome warns users to make them know that they are accessing potentially dangerous areas of the internet.

Google plans to strengthen Chrome users’ defences against potentially dangerous HTTP downloads following a recent code update. This goes above and beyond the safeguards already in place to prevent downloading mixed content because it halts downloads from any connection, even those that are linked to unsafe websites.
Since this feature is still under development, Chrome 111, which is scheduled to launch in March 2023, will likely be the last version to make it widely available for testing. It would probably take some time for a full launch to happen.