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Warning: Malware Based on Chrome is Real

Posted on 06. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey in Features, Tips

As if this goes without being said, Chrome is my regular browser (over 70% of visitors here would agree with that). So when I see malware based on hyping Chrome that’s a bad sign even though more people using the browser is good. Recently I came across some Chrome-influenced malware myself while searching through Google Images.

Networkworld recently wrote a story about this, but I had not yet seen it personally until now. I think this is going to become a common occurrence, unfortunately.

A couple of things stand out, but first here are some images.

Number one, there is a pop up that appears asking me to make a choice. Instant suspicion. What’s helpful is that you can check off the box to decline any more notifications. Number two, there is a dark red bar at the top of the screen. I don’t know what the point of that is, but it is clearly another bad sign.

Here is a legitimate malware warning in Chrome.

Notice how you must confirm via checkbox that you understand the site could be harmful. The malware version does not.

This isn’t to say that suspicious sites couldn’t adopt a more real looking version that mirrors Chrome. But they haven’t yet, and Google will surely do their best to prove their HTML menus are for real. I’m not sure how, but my current mindset is they will have to at some point. Even McAfee annnounced that Chrome OS would be a big threat this year back in January and the OS has not yet debuted.

What can Google do to make sure our HTML-based menus are for real?

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