This article was published on August 18, 2020

Chrome’s upcoming version will protect you from sketchy web forms


Chrome’s upcoming version will protect you from sketchy web forms

Hackers often steal your personally identifiable data from unsecured web forms. Google is now trying to prevent that through a new feature in Chrome’s upcoming version. Starting Chrome M86, the browser will warn you when you’re trying to submit an insecure form.

However, the scope is limited, and the browser won’t protect you from all kinds of form injunctions. It’ll warn you if a form on a page with HTTPS security is not submitted through an HTTPS channel. These are called mixed forms. That means someone can snoop on the data you’re sending to the site.

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In earlier versions, Chrome used to mark the mixed form by removing the lock icon from the address bar. However, a lot of users might not notice that subtle change. So, the browser will now display a prominent warning.

Chrome warning on submitting the form

In addition to this, Chrome will also disable autofill in mixed forms and show you a message. So you don’t rush through submitting the form.

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Chrome disabling autofill on an insecure form

This is another step in Google’s effort to block non-HTTPS content on HTTPS pages. Last year, it started blocking these unsecured subresources such as images. In February, the browser announced that it’ll block any file that is not secure from downloading.

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