Google Chrome update makes it harder for shady sites to hijack your browser

Google Chrome will now do more to prevent some of the most annoying ways unscrupulous websites try to take advantage of you

A new update aims to prevent shady websites from automatically launching new tabs and windows you never intended on opening.

"One piece of feedback we regularly hear from users is that a page will unexpectedly navigate to a new page, for seemingly no reason," Google writes in a blog post. The source of these redirects, according to Google, is often content embedded within the site itself.

Now, with the latest update, Chrome will block third-party content from launching new pages unless you're actively interacting with that content. Instead, Chrome will surface a notification letting you know the redirect has been blocked.

Additionally, Chrome will also do more to prevent sites from side-stepping its pop-up blocker. Often, Google says, this happens when clicking a link opens the link in a new tab, but the main window redirects to something else entirely. Chrome will also prevent these redirects and instead show a notification that it's been blocked.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Separately, an update slated for January, will block sites that intentionally break Chrome's rules by "disguising" links as other types of elements you'd expect to see on a page, like a play button.

One example Google provided was when you close an ad on a website but clicking the "x" actually triggers a bunch of new pop-ups to open. Or when you tap a "play' button on what looks like a video but the site redirects you to download a file.

While these types of behaviors were always against Google's rules, they're so common because they've been "hard to automatically detect" in the past. But beginning in January, Google says it will be able to block these pop-ups from appearing as well.