Tech giant Google has announced that it will impose penalties on websites that spread malware and email scams. Google added that harsher penalties would be charged on websites that were formerly charged with the offense and did not make any changes to their operations.
Currently, Google flags websites that host malicious codes and software or run a scam. When users try to access these websites using Chrome, the browser will alert the user of the potential threat and will continue to do so until the website administrator make the necessary changes.
Website administrators of these illicit websites have found a simple loophole to lift the ban imposed by Google's Safe Browsing initiative. Some sites would stop their illegal activities, but only long enough until Google lifts the ban. Once the ban had been lifted, these malicious websites will just roll out their illegal activities again, according to Computer World.
In a statement posted on the company's official blog, Google Safe Browsing strategist Brooke Heinichen said, "Repeat Offenders are websites that repeatedly switch between compliant and policy-violating behavior for the purpose of having a successful review and having warnings removed."
Google's newest policy towards recidivists includes a ban on requests to lift the warning within 30 days after the offense was discovered. Google said that by imposing the 30-day time-out, websites would be discouraged from repeating the dirty-clean loop. This means that once a site is tagged as a repeat offender, Chrome's warnings will continue to appear on the site for at least 30 days.
Last month, analytics firm Net Application crowned Chrome as the most popular browser on personal computers. The firm reported that Chrome was used by 55 percent of all browser users in the month of October. The closest competitor is Microsoft's Internet Explorer and its successor, Edge, which accounted for 28 percent of all browser traffic.