Chrome automatically blocks dangerous downloads and protects your device and accounts from malware or viruses. Download warnings in Chrome help you:
- Avoid unwanted changes to your browser, computer, or device settings.
- Prevent unapproved actions that could compromise your financial accounts and your online identity, such as your Google Account or social media accounts.
- Prevent viruses.
- Protect your private data from leaks.
When Chrome blocks a download, you’re protected and don’t need to take further action. You can remove a warning from your download history by selecting “Delete from history.” If you take no action, Chrome will remove it from your history in one hour.
You can always choose to download a file after you receive a warning from Chrome, but take download warnings seriously. Attackers may ask you to turn off or ignore warnings to avoid antivirus detections. Learn how Chrome and Safe Browsing keep your browsing data private.
Why the download was blocked
Your file download may be blocked for one of a few reasons:
Dangerous:
- Malware (malicious software)
- Deceptive software that could make unwanted changes to your device or computer.
Suspicious:
- An uncommon or unfamiliar file
- A file that may try to evade detection, such as by hiding malware or viruses inside archive files like .zip or .rar. A password may also be added to avoid detection.
Unverified: Files that are downloaded while Safe Browsing is turned off. Learn how to turn Safe Browsing back on.
Insecure:
- Connections to sites that use HTTPS are more secure than those that don’t. Learn how to check if a site's connection is secure.
- Even if the page that you were on when the download started was secure, the download might have been provided insecurely.
Important: Enhanced protection within Safe Browsing must be on.
If a file you want to download is identified as suspicious, you can send it to Google Safe Browsing for further security checks. When you scan a file for malware, it helps you check if it's dangerous.
- If the file is an archive, such as a .zip, .7z, or .rar file, and protected by a password, you can send the file and password to Safe Browsing so that the file can be opened to complete the scan.
- Uploaded files –and file passwords, if applicable– are deleted from Safe Browsing a short time after they're scanned.
- All collected data is only used by Safe Browsing to provide you with better download protections.
With Standard protection in Safe Browsing, you can check some password protected files such as .zip, .7z, or .rar for malware. To do this, you might need to enter the file’s password into Chrome. Both the file and the password stay on the local device and aren't sent to Google.
When you try to download a password protected file that may be dangerous, you might receive a “This file may be dangerous” notification. To check the file:
- Enter the password.
- This is the password for the file, not your Google Account.
- Select Check for malware.
- After a few seconds, a notification is received:
- Dangerous file blocked: The check detects malware and blocks the download.
- File may be dangerous: If the scan takes longer, you may receive a “File may be dangerous” notification. You can:
- Cancel download: Recommended
- Download suspicious file: Not recommended
- Scan complete: No malware found. You can download the file.
To help protect users, Google maintains a list of websites that are known to host malicious downloads and a list of trusted software publishers. If you're a software publisher and your binaries are flagged by Chrome, learn how to resolve malware or unwanted software issues related to your downloads.
Chrome may also block insecure downloads from secure sites. If you can't download files from your site, learn how to avoid mixed content and downloads on your site.