Google Chrome Users On Apple MacOS Get Enhanced Safe Browsing Protection (betanews.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Chrome Users On Apple MacOS Get Enhanced Safe Browsing Protection (betanews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday March 1, 2017 @10:00PM from the safety-first dept.

BrianFagioli quotes a report from BetaNews: As more and more consumers buy Mac computers, evildoers will have increased incentive to write malware for macOS. Luckily, users of Apple's operating system that choose to use Google Chrome for web surfing will soon be safer. You see, the search giant is improving its Safe Browsing initiative to better warn macOS users of malicious websites and attempts to alter browser settings. "As part of this next step towards reducing macOS-specific malware and unwanted software, Safe Browsing is focusing on two common abuses of browsing experiences: unwanted ad injection, and manipulation of Chrome user settings, specifically the start page, home page, and default search engine. Users deserve full control of their browsing experience and Unwanted Software Policy violations hurt that experience," says Google. The search giant further explains, "The recently released Chrome Settings API for Mac gives developers the tools to make sure users stay in control of their Chrome settings. From here on, the Settings Overrides API will be the only approved path for making changes to Chrome settings on Mac OSX, like it currently is on Windows. Also, developers should know that only extensions hosted in the Chrome Web Store are allowed to make changes to Chrome settings. Starting March 31 2017, Chrome and Safe Browsing will warn users about software that attempts to modify Chrome settings without using the API."

55 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Please hide MacKeeper by Camembert · 2017-03-01 22:03 · Score: 3, Interesting

It would be good if Chrome would filter out all popups advertising that horrid MacKeeper crapware.
1. Re:Please hide MacKeeper by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 22:13 · Score: 1
  
  It would be good if Chrome would filter out all popups advertising that horrid MacKeeper crapware.
  You can solve that problem by activating Chrome's built in 'safe search' porn filter ** ducks **
2. Re:Please hide MacKeeper by dgatwood · 2017-03-02 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  Hardly. Lots of low-quality ad services serve those crapware ads. And sites that don't have lots of traffic can't get access to any of the decent ad services because they don't qualify. The result is that every small site has to choose between no ads or that garbage. I tried enabling third-party advertising on my website. The experiment lasted exactly ten seconds until I got the first ad. Now, apart from individually vetted Amazon ads, I don't touch third-party advertising. The quality is just way too low unless you're a big site.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
Trust Google? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 22:04 · Score: 1

Google is one of the major evildoers. I would never install their spyware on my machine.
1. Re:Trust Google? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 23:09 · Score: 0
  
  Google is one of the major evildoers. I would never install their spyware on my machine.
  Yeah, but on a Mac, would the two evils of Apple and Google cancel each other out?
  Think Spyware vs. Spyware: pointy-nosed evildoers throwing SEGVs at each other.
2. Re:Trust Google? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 00:30 · Score: 0
  
  I can sue Apple if I find out that my personal data was exposed because of them. I went out of my way not to use any of their cloud services. I can't sue Google if I install their spyware on my machine myself.
3. Re:Trust Google? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 00:56 · Score: 0
  
  I can sue Apple ...
  You go and keep telling yourself that.
4. Re:Trust Google? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 01:14 · Score: 0
  
  And what equally-usable and more privacy-respecting alternative do you have in mind as a replacement for a MacBook Pro laptop?
  Let's face it, Apple products are the least threatening to their owners security and privacy. Not perfect. But that still counts for something.
weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 22:21 · Score: 0, Flamebait

More and more consumers? am I missing something? I thought OSX marketshare had nearly halved in the last year or so, after reaching almost 10% it has been in gradual decline ever since.
1. Re:weird article by Maritz · 2017-03-01 23:35 · Score: 2
  
  Someone wants to put a bit of spin on things. Seems kinda desperate.
  
  --
  I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
2. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-01 23:53 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  More and more consumers? am I missing something? I thought OSX marketshare had nearly halved in the last year or so, after reaching almost 10% it has been in gradual decline ever since.
  Yes, this has been discussed has been discussed here not too long ago. For the record, TFA read "Mac sales dropped roughly 10% and personal computers overall dropped 5.7% for the year", so this must be some definition of "more and more" I wasn't previously aware of.
  RT.
3. Re: weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 00:00 · Score: 0
  
  Keep reading your drive-by fake news, buddy... Trump has personally tweeted about the jobs he has created at Apple and their ever increasing market share.
  Alternate your facts, bro!
4. Re:weird article by angel'o'sphere · 2017-03-02 00:00 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Sales and marketshare have nothing to do with users.
  Most Mac users use their Macs for 5 years and longer, so chances are a new sold one goes to a new user, who had no Mac before.
  Relevant is user base and not sales. And the user base for Macs is increasing steadily.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
5. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-02 00:47 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Sales and marketshare have nothing to do with users [...] And the user base for Macs is increasing steadily.
  Fair enough, but then according to your reasoning the user base for PCs is also increasing? Fine, but we warned: don't let Phil Schiller hear you talking about keeping "Macs for 5 years and longer" or he will poke fun at you mercilessly. Yes, even when a " brand new" Mac Pro is 1169 days old, a Mac mini is 868 days old, an iMac 506 days old, etc. Talk about double standards!
  RT.
6. Re: weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 00:51 · Score: 0
  
  More is less.
7. Re:weird article by Wootery · 2017-03-02 00:55 · Score: 1
  
  You're ignoring the difference between proportional market share, and absolute numbers.
8. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-02 02:30 · Score: 1
  
  You're ignoring the difference between proportional market share, and absolute numbers.
  Okay, but then your are splitting hairs. Or just ignoring reality, I don't know. That's okay, though. I do it a lot myself. Ignoring reality, that is. Does me no end of good too! ;-)
  RT.
9. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 04:29 · Score: 0
  
  Oh boy. I shouldn't have to say this. To ignore the difference between two different things is by definition "ignoring reality". Only in pedantic argumentative edge cases (of which this is not) is the difference between proportional market share and absolute numbers "splitting hairs".
  Again, this shouldn't NEED to be said, but you really seem to miss it: more and more people are born each year. This is an observable, provable fact. That means that even if the market share for mac users stayed exactly the same or even decreased, you're still getting more mac users every year. Duh, much?
10. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-02 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  Again, this shouldn't NEED to be said, but you really seem to miss it: more and more people are born each year. This is an observable, provable fact. That means that even if the market share for mac users stayed exactly the same or even decreased, you're still getting more mac users every year. Duh, much?
  Oh, boy. You sure can spin it with the best of them! Are you working for Apple by chance? If you don't, you should.
  RT.
11. Re:weird article by angel'o'sphere · 2017-03-02 06:15 · Score: 1
  
  but then according to your reasoning the user base for PCs is also increasing?
  The user base of windows PCs is increasing only in third world countries (and yes: I mean third world, not developing countries), in other countries PC users simply replace old PCs with new ones or switch to a Mac. As the replacement rate for PCs is much quicker than for Macs (and the userbase is bigger anyway) they have more sales ...
  In general sales are shrinking as people either have PCs/Macs and don't need new ones and/or are slowly switching to tablets, actually not so slowly.
  " brand new" Mac Pro is 1169 days old,
  No they are not. The design is old. The hardware is new.
  My Mac mini is probably 7 years old.
  My 17" Laptop minimum 5, not sure. Even my MacBook Air 13" is approaching 2.5 years.
  I for my part don't buy new Apple laptops, probably I switch to Linux. The new models look cool, but I need real function keys (the new "bar" should simply be above the real keys instead of replacing them, or below the keyboard?), I want a touch screen, I want decent BT, instead of the "mice only" bullshit Apple has, I want the magnetic power connection, I want a decent set of ports (don't care if they are USB-C, but 3 ports is not enough), and I want an macOS that "just works" and is not going the Windows 10 way, that is emphasizing on "look", and most of all: I want a 17" laptop, or even bigger and with a normal thickness ... but I guess no one from Apple reads this anyway :D AH: and around here they have a new super cheap PC laptop with a matte display, I can not get why you either have to order explicitly for +$50 a matte display, or half of Apples products don't even offer a matte display.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
12. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 11:19 · Score: 0
  
  Spin? Name a single untrue thing I said. Do it.
13. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 11:26 · Score: 0
  
  Speaking of spin, ad hominem much? Thank you for demonstrating irony by claiming spin on a post without refuting anything in it or even attempting to dispute anything in it.
  In additional irony, the captcha was "reassign". Fitting!
14. Re:weird article by Wootery · 2017-03-02 11:34 · Score: 1
  
  AC here is being an asshole, but really does have a point. The concrete numbers here do matter, and by the looks of things none of us actually know them.
15. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 11:43 · Score: 0
  
  Sigh. You're right, I was being an asshole. Thank you for pointing it out.
16. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-02 20:51 · Score: 1
  
  " brand new" Mac Pro is 1169 days old,
  No they are not. The design is old. The hardware is new.
  Uh? We could talk about the other things you wrote, and I would even agree with some of them, but you are wrong on this one. This is the very same Mac Pro that has been introduced on December 19, 2013 and is still sold at the same price for the same components: Ivy Bridge E Xeon processors, Dual AMD FirePro GPUs, etc. Note that even the full roundoup from my first link reads:
  Chips appropriate for an upgraded Mac Pro have been available since 2014, so it is unclear what Apple is waiting on before introducing a new Mac Pro machine.
  RT.
17. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-03 01:12 · Score: 1
  
  Spin? Name a single untrue thing I said. Do it.
  I'm not sure that replying to some AC is the best way to spend my time but, for the sake of the discussion, I'll oblige anyway.
  You state that "more and more people are born each year", which is clearly a fact, but then you follow up with "if the market share for mac users stayed exactly the same or even decreased, you're still getting more mac users every year" which makes no sense whatsoever: if there are more people (fact) but less macs are sold (another fact) how can there be more Mac users?
  In other words:
  P(opulation) : 100 = U(sers) : M(arket share)
  Let's be generous and say that M is 10%. Please explain how could you keep M constant when P increases without also increasing U (by selling more Macs) because if you can't it means that "more and more consumers buy Mac computers" is just a blatant lie.
  RT.
18. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-03 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  AC here is being an asshole, but really does have a point. The concrete numbers here do matter, and by the looks of things none of us actually know them.
  Fair enough, but jumping conveniently between market share and absolute numbers depending on the point you want to make it's the very definition of "putting a spin on it". Anyway, I just answered to the AC in question and you can take a look if you're interested in my reasoning.
  RT.
19. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-03 04:13 · Score: 0
  
  less macs are sold (another fact) how can there be more Mac users?
  Make more sense now? How about when you take into context the current context, in which I specifically pointed out the difference between market share and absolute number of users? Google it if you need to. I'll wait. Take a moment to actually think for a moment that the person talking to you might have a point and see if you can't grasp it. It's the difference between the potential to learn something (progress) vs. being "right" (which does you no good at all, but feels nice).
  1 mac user and 1 pc user: 50% market share, absolute user count for mac: 1. Is it worth full-time pay for someone at that point to bother hacking a mac? No! 10,000 mac users and 20,000,000 pc users. 0.0005 to 1 ratio, bad market share. 10,000 absolute user count for mac. Is it worthwhile for someone to spend all their time hacking a mac to potentially infect 10,000 macs? Much more enticing!
  All of that example was made quite available to you in the above posts, but you just wouldn't put 2 and 2 together yourself if that meant you are wrong. You did yourself no favors having that attitude.
  
  without also increasing U
  That's precisely what I said WAS changing, which was my entire point. The phrase "more and more people are born each year" means U *is* changing you dumb fuck!
20. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-03 04:38 · Score: 0
  
  jumping conveniently between market share and absolute numbers depending on the point you want to make
  
  Drawing different conclusions by using different metrics is exactly what someone should do. There's a reason we have median, mean, mode, etc in statistical analysis: you are able to draw further insight into the picture as a whole using different metrics. That's not "convenient", that's insight! Refusing to use all the tools available results in you trying to eat a salad with a hammer. If you want to draw conclusions only from one metric, get used to being wrong regarding the whole picture.
21. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-03 04:51 · Score: 0
  
  explain how could you keep M constant when P increases without also increasing U
  
  -_- Are you even trying? My entire point from the very beginning has been that U *is* increasing! For one second could you entertain the idea that the person you're talking to has a point and attempt to see what it is? I have no idea how I could have been clearer: you even quoted me on the parts where I said U IS increasing and that the distinction I'm drawing is absolute vs. proportional users.
  Overly simple example that you absolutely could have constructed yourself if you were attempting to listen:
  1 mac user and 1 pc user. 50% market share, but only 1 absolute mac user. Is it worth it for a hacker to learn to hack macs? No. 10,000 mac users vs. 20,000,000 pc users. 0.0005 ratio, 10,000 mac users. Is it worth it for a hacker to learn to hack macs? Perhaps so - 10,000 targets. Toggling between the ratio and absolute number is not "conveniently" selecting a metric: it's gaining additional insight that isn't available from only 1 metric. Remember, if you value being right you will feel good when you're right. If you value progress you will feel good when you're wrong because you learn.
22. Re:weird article by ReeceTarbert · 2017-03-03 07:41 · Score: 1
  
  That's precisely what I said WAS changing, which was my entire point. The phrase "more and more people are born each year" means U *is* changing you dumb fuck!
  Well, how could I possibly argue with such fine reasoning? *grin*
  Make a fool of yourself in public if you like, but U doesn't automatically increase just because more people are born. Unless you give each of them a Mac as a present, that is. I'm sure babies would love that!
  But wait, you're posting as AC, which means you don't even have the balls to make a fool of yourself in public, so I'll stop feeding the trolls.
  RT.
23. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-03 08:17 · Score: 0
  
  U doesn't automatically increase just because more people are born.
  You seem to have forgotten what U was in the first place. Let me remind you of what you defined it as: number of users total, not number of users using a Mac. If you can't be bothered to keep track of your own point, I don't know how you expect to have one.
  
  you're posting as AC, which means you don't even have the balls to make a fool of yourself in public
  No, it means I browse sites like this with cookies disabled because I value my privacy. Just because you can't see my balls dangling around in public certainly doesn't mean I don't have them: it just means I have brains to back it up. The fact that you tout your forfeiture of privacy as a mark of bravery is not good, man.
  Anyway I realize I've been a condescending ass here, but I did it because I didn't like how smugly you dismissed the person you originally responded to when it looked like you were the one missing the point. You aren't stupid: I get that, and I'm sorry for saying you were. But I do think you're being overly stubborn. It's ok to be wrong: it doesn't make you stupid. It's only stupid if you refuse to learn from it.
24. Re: weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-03 10:50 · Score: 0
  
  Face it, you fucked up. The statement made sense to everyone else but you. It took me longer to understand what you're incorrectly getting on with.
  For example.
  6 out of 100 users are mac.
  Next year, 4 out of 100 are added
  That's now 10 users, more than before and yet market share declining.
25. Re:weird article by Wootery · 2017-03-04 22:23 · Score: 1
  
  Good on you for digging out the real figures -- hadn't realised Apple really are seeing declining sales, not just declining market-share.
  (Aside: I don't get why anyone would post as AC for their 'privacy'.)
26. Re: weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-06 03:50 · Score: 0
  
  That was my entire fucking point you goddamn moron. That's the difference between market share and absolute user count. That's the exact difference. Are you aware that 6 is less than 10? You seem aware that 4 is less than 6, so that's good.
27. Re:weird article by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-06 03:55 · Score: 0
  
  Because that's the definition of privacy? Anonymity is... dude just look it up. If you want every move you make to be tracked (which is the definition of cookies, sessions, etc) then don't be AC, that's fine. Get the browser plugin "collusion" and see what /.(more likely their dice overlords) shares with advertisers. It's sad.
Have you ever wondered what you might catch by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 22:25 · Score: 0

by using Trojans? You would be smart, and better off, by going balls to the wall naked.
1. Re:Have you ever wondered what you might catch by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 05:03 · Score: 0
  
  Have you ever wondered what you might catch by using Trojans?
  Yes. Semen. Sometimes I don't want that to go into the vagina.
As more buy Mac's? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 22:29 · Score: 0

Everything I read is pretty much that Mac sales are flat or shrinking. Biggest complaint on Mac's with Chrome is lousy battery life. Yes, when I used Mac's the MacKeeper crap was very annoying. I mostly used Safari, and kept Chrome around for times I had power source. Safari was the best way to save power consumption and still is. Too bad Apple has sort of slacked on Safari development of late.
Or an alternative approach... by Viol8 · 2017-03-01 22:46 · Score: 1

... would be not to allow the user settings to be changed by javascript in the first place! What clueless head in the clouds dreamer thought it was a good idea in the first place?
1. Re:Or an alternative approach... by nine-times · 2017-03-02 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  Honestly, IMO, as a general rule no javascript or web page content should be able to change anything outside of its own content and display. I think browsers should do away with anything that allows a page to change settings, resize windows, create popups, or anything else. If you want a link to open in a new window, you can right-click on it and say, "Open in New Window".
  I know some web applications make use of some of these features in valid ways, but they should just find a different design for those features.
"increased incentive" by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 23:08 · Score: 0

Keep hearing this argument.
Mac users are always describes as easily parted with their money and not tech-savvy. Where's the lack of incentive?
Maybe the lack of malware is, you know, down to some mildly better structural protections?
1. Re:"increased incentive" by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-01 23:59 · Score: 0
  
  Or it's just an extremely small set of potential victims and thus not worth the time of those to seek maximum damage/spread.
  Though the base on which macos is built is not as full of holes as the biggest (desktop) OS we all know and hate.
2. Re:"increased incentive" by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 09:55 · Score: 0
  
  I totally buy the small set of users thing, but there's always a distribution at work.
  Mac sales until recently outgrew everything else, proportionately. Mac malware did not.
Re:not really an issue for OSX anymore by Maritz · 2017-03-01 23:34 · Score: 1

Yes but "more and more" are buying them!

--
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Bugs are now "features" by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 00:06 · Score: 0

Nice to see the team spinning what is obviously a fundamental flaw into a "feature" or "improvement". I don't understand why after 20+ years of annoying popups web pages can *still* create popups that get around any number of popup blockers.
You don't have to go very far into a clickbait link before your desktop is playing videos in background windows without navigation icons.
Surely this bug can be fixed by now? The description doesn't fill me with hope - just sounds like there are worse things you can do to chrome they just discovered...
and now, for a MOMENT OF ZEN! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 00:12 · Score: 0

Today is the day that God Crushed the Intel Monopoly!
Cyber security important by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 00:37 · Score: 0

If the DNC had used a decent browser on a decent OS, then the USA wouldn't be defenseless from Russian tackover now.
That's how critical cyber security is.
1. Re:Cyber security important by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 02:19 · Score: 0
  
  If the DNC had used a decent browser on a decent OS, then the USA wouldn't be defenseless from Russian tackover now.
  That's how critical cyber security is.
  Yeah, I'm sure the Russians would have stopped at one of Obama's redlines.
  Look how it stopped the Syrian government...
sounds like a headache for management by v1 · 2017-03-02 01:02 · Score: 1

From someone that manages computers, not being able to do things like set the default homepage would be a problem for me. Windows admins can change things like this using Group Policy. That doesn't "use the gui" but I bet it still works with chrome.

--
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
1. Re:sounds like a headache for management by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 01:56 · Score: 0
  
  Which is why users will like chrome. They may prefer something other than the manager's designated homepage. Too often, managers do stupid things like setting the browser homepage to the company's homepage. But the users don't use that, it is a bad starting point. They want whatever intranet page they use the most as homepage. Might be the webmail page, might be the ordering database, whatever. The company spokesman might want an external news service as start page, in order to quickly notice any unexpected press stories about the company.
  Workers have different jobs, so one homepage does not fit them all. But managers set such things because they are given a knob that let them do so.
Unwanted ad injection by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-02 02:12 · Score: 0

That's right up CenturyLink's alley.
Wha? by Imazalil · 2017-03-02 02:47 · Score: 1

How would either of those stop you from clicking and following through an email link your sysadmin specifically said is safe?