Google Drive is getting an important security feature that will allow you to protect yourself from potentially suspicious or dangerous files. This feature was first announced by Google at its Cloud Next 2021 event in October. This feature is now being made available to everyone by the company.
This is a much-needed feature because many people download files from unknown sources and share them with others via Google Drive. Some people receive Google Drive-linked files directly in their Gmail inbox. Users now have additional protection against abusive content thanks to the latest update.
One won’t be required to turn on this feature as it will be enabled by default. Google Drive will automatically send you an alert or warn you if you open a potentially suspicious or dangerous file in the app. It will display a yellow warning banner on the top of the screen to help protect users and their organization from malware, phishing and ransomware.
For example, if you are opening a file, photo or document in Google Drive, then the app will run a quick scan and display a message if it suspects something – “The file looks suspicious. It might be used to steal your personal information.”
These types of warnings are already available when opening Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings. Google has only recently started to roll out this feature, so it will take some time to reach everyone. As it is a gradual rollout, it should arrive in about 15 days.
Because the Google Drive app is fully integrated into Google’s other services, anyone with a Google account receives 15GB of free storage space. Many people use the app because it comes pre-installed on every Android smartphone and makes it simple for users to access files across devices. As a result, the popularity of this app as a file hosting and sharing service has skyrocketed.
