You'll see a warning if the content that you're trying to see is dangerous or deceptive. These sites are often called 'phishing' or 'malware' sites.
Get warnings about dangerous and deceptive content
Phishing and malware detection is turned on by default. When it's turned on, you might see the following messages. If you see one of these messages, we recommend that you don't visit the site.
- The site ahead contains malware: The site that you want to visit might try to install harmful software, called malware, on your computer.
- Deceptive site ahead: The site that you want to visit might be a phishing site.
- Suspicious site: The site that you want to visit seems suspicious and may not be safe.
- The site ahead contains harmful programs: The site that you start to visit might try to trick you into installing programs that cause problems when you’re browsing online.
- This page is trying to load scripts from unauthenticated sources:The site that you try to visit isn't secure.
Important: Download with caution. Some sites try to trick you into downloading harmful software by telling you that you have a virus. Be careful not to download any harmful software.
Did you mean [site name]?
If you get this message, Chrome thinks that the web address may be for a different site to the one that you expected.
The message may also say 'Is this the right site?' or 'Fake site ahead'.
You get this message when the site that you try to visit:
- Appears similar to a safe site that you usually visit.
- Tries to trick you with a URL that is slightly changed from a known safe site.
- Has a URL that is slightly different from a URL in your browsing history.
If you think a page was flagged in error and you want to proceed to the site, tap Ignore.
What warnings about dangerous and deceptive content mean
- Deceptive sites (also known as 'phishing' or 'social engineering' sites) try to trick you into doing something dangerous online, such as revealing passwords or personal information, usually through a fake website.
- Dangerous sites (also known as 'malware' or 'unwanted software' sites) can harm your computer, or can cause problems when you’re browsing online. Find out how to clean Chrome of unwanted ads, pop-ups and malware.
- Google Safe Browsing: To protect you from dangerous websites, Google maintains a list of websites that might put you at risk of malware or phishing. Google also analyses sites and warns you if a site seems dangerous. Find out more about Google Safe Browsing.
- Using a Chromebook at work or school? Your network administrator might set up phishing and malware detection for you, in which case you can't change this setting yourself. Fabout using a Chromebook through work or school.
My site or software is marked dangerous or suspicious
- Site owner:
- If you own a site marked as dangerous or deceptive: Follow the instructions to fix the problem and request a review.
- If you own a site that has been marked with a ‘Did you mean’, ‘Is this the right site’ or ‘Fake site ahead’ warning: Follow the instructions to fix the problem and request a review.
- Software owner:
- If you're a software publisher and Chrome flags your downloads: Find out how to resolve malware issues with your downloads.