Google's New Chrome Extension Lets You Easily Report Shady Sites

With the Suspicious Site Reporter extension, you’ll see a flag icon in your browser when you’re on a suspicious site. Click the icon for more information and to report the site.

Heads up, Chrome users: Google wants your help identifying suspicious websites.

The Web giant this week released a new Chrome extension that warns you when you’re on a suspicious site and lets you easily report it. After installing the Suspicious Site Reporter extension, you’ll see an orange flag icon in your browser when you’re on a site that may attempt to steal your personal information or install malware on your computer. Click the icon to see more information about why the site is suspicious and report it to Google’s Safe Browsing team for further evaluation.

“If the site is added to Safe Browsing’s lists, you’ll not only protect Chrome users, but users of other browsers and across the entire web,” Chrome Product Manager Emily Schechter wrote in a Tuesday blog post.

The Suspicious Site Reporter extension is available for download in the Chrome Web Store.

Meanwhile, Google is also launching a new warning in Chrome 75, the current version of the browser, to help you steer clear of potentially malicious sites that may aim to deceive you with URLs that could easily be mistaken for legit ones. You might see this warning, for instance, if you accidently visit “go0gle.com” instead of “google.com.”

“This new warning works by comparing the URL of the page you’re currently on to URLs of pages you’ve recently visited,” Schechter explained. “If the URL looks similar, and might cause you to be confused or deceived, we’ll show a warning that helps you get back to safety.”