The Google browser detects typos in the system tray and suggests URLs that the user probably wished they had typed.
Many of us are familiar with the phenomenon of typosquatting or the practice with which a subject registers a domain name similar to the legitimate one of another subject with the specific intention of exploiting common typos or spelling variations. The goal of the attackers is obviously to take advantage of the mistake made by the people who mistype the URL of a website in the address bar and end up visiting the domain set up by typosquatters instead of the legitimate one. In another article we have seen which are the most important characteristics of a URL and which technical aspects need to be focused on.
I typosquatters often use the domains registered by them to deceive users and conduct activities of phishing or online fraud. For example, they can create websites similar to those of banks or popular ecommerce platforms and try to trick users into entering personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers, which can then be used for fraudulent purposes.
Google has announced that the desktop version of Chrome will now automatically correct typos made in the address bar with the specific intention of avoiding “feeding” typosquatter and in general to cybercriminals. The novelty had actually already been in place since 2019 even if it had to be activated by acting on the Chrome flag.
The Moutain View company technicians have revealed that in the coming months the same functionality will be extended to mobile devices: making a typing error in the URL bar, Chrome shows you suggestions about what is almost certainly the correct address that the user would have wanted and should have typed.
The company announced the feature as part of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day: even people with dyslexia or those who are still learning the language can benefit from the newly integrated novelty in Chrome.