An interesting security update may be coming to Google Chrome. The browser can already detect passwords leaked in data breaches, but soon it might gain the ability to generate a stronger replacement. The feature is currently experimental, and only available on the tinkerer-friendly Google Canary version of Chrome.
Better paranoia with Google Chrome
The feature was spotted by noted software developer Leopeva64. To try the feature, enter the browser’s experimental flag settings or enter “chrome://flags” into the address bar. From there enable the “Improved password change service” and the “Mark all credentials as leaked” options. The latter is necessary to force out the “change password” notification to link up to any leaked password databases.
Google Chrome has long been able to scour sites like HaveIBeenPwned.com to warn its users about leaked passwords. WindowsReport notes that what makes this feature different is its leveraging of AI to notify users when a password is leaked and also prompt users to create and store a new and stronger password. Google claims the passwords are “encrypted and never seen by anyone.”
It’s hard to see exactly what heavy lifting the AI does in this whole process. Chrome is essentially combining two existing features: the password generator and the leaked password notification. Nonetheless, people on the internet need more widely available password managers that don’t require subscriptions. Especially since password management is one of the trickier online habits to stay on top, requiring constant vigilance.
There’s always a catch, though. More and more passwords will be in Google’s books, and it’s anyone’s guess how far they would be willing to go to access customers’ data. With the data-hungry AI-wars continuing to heat up, we wouldn’t put it past a corporation to put profits over privacy.
