Google Chat Warns Users If There Are Links With Malicious Messages

JAKARTA - Google has just brought a red warning banner to its Chat service to protect users from links that contain phishing and malware.

"In Google Chat, you will see banners warning against potential phishing and malware messages coming from users with personal Google Accounts. These warning banners, which are already available on Gmail and Google Drive," Google said as quoted from its official blog, Sunday, 22 May.

This red banner will appear when a Google Chat user accepts an invitation from a user with a personal Google Account. However, the user can choose to block it or accept it anyway.

"This invitation is suspicious. This conversation contains a link to a known phishing site that may be trying to steal your information," reads the warning banner.

It is known that phishing scams can trap users from devices or result in identity theft. Typically, malware attacks include ransomware that causes harm to its victims.

The company says that having this warning banner can help protect users from bad actors, and keep data safe.

This feature is available to users with personal and business Google accounts, it's also enabled by default. This warning banner will appear on the mobile and web versions of Google Chat in the coming days.

"In Gmail, a warning banner (will) be displayed when responding to an email sent from outside your organization. Now, the Android alert banner is also displayed when you add a new external recipient (link). Admins can enable or disable this custom warning label for their organization," said Google.