Google's Chrome browser in the coming months will wage war against annoying website redirects that take advantage of visitors purely for financial gain.
We've all been there. You're surfing the web when suddenly, your browser redirects to an obvious spam landing page. It's annoying to say the least and can be quite dangerous if you're redirected to a malicious site.
Fortunately, Google will soon be addressing the matter on three different levels.
In Chrome 64, all redirects that originate from third-party iframes will trigger a pop-up instead of automatically redirecting to another page (unless the user has been interacting with said frame). This, Google promises, will keep users on the primary page and prevent surprise redirects.
Another scenario Google will address involves clicking a link that opens the desired destination in a new tab while the main window navigates to an unwanted page, a technique that effectively circumvents Chrome's pop-up blocker. Starting in Chrome 65, the browser will detect this behavior, trigger an infobar and prevent the main tab from redirecting.
Last but not least, Google is addressing links to third-party sites that are disguised as play buttons or other website controls as well as transparent overlays that capture clicks and open new tabs or windows. Come January, Chrome's pop-up blocker will be able to prevent such abusive content from opening.
In preparation for the changes, Google has launched the Abusive Experiences Report to help site owners see if their pages are compliant. Abusive experiences that are left unaddressed for 30 days will trigger the new prevention tactics.