Don't click on that: Google updates email warnings

The company will flag emails in two dangerous scenarios: untrustworthy links and sketchy senders.

Laura Hautala Former Senior Writer

Laura wrote about e-commerce and Amazon, and she occasionally covered cool science topics. Previously, she broke down cybersecurity and privacy issues for CNET readers. Laura is based in Tacoma, Washington, and was into sourdough before the pandemic.

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Laura Hautala

Aug. 10, 2016 12:14 p.m. PT

Google will send you new warnings you when you're getting sketchy email, the company said in a blog post Wednesday.

It's meant to help you decide whether you really want to open an email and click on any attachments or links inside. Those are tasks many of us do countless times each day, but they also put us at risk of downloading bad stuff onto our computers or giving someone untrustworthy our login information.

Gmail already features many warning messages, but the new alerts detailed Wednesday will help in two specific situations. They'll tell you if you get an email with a link to a website known for hosting malicious software, or if Gmail can't authenticate that the email sender is who they say they are.

An example of the warning you'll see if you receive a message with a link to a dangerous site known for phishing, malware or other unwanted software.
Google

The warning doesn't mean the emails are definitely sent by bad guys trying to own your computer, Google said.

"But we encourage you to be extra careful about replying to, or clicking on links in messages that you're not sure about," the company added. "With these updates, you'll have the tools to make these kinds of decisions."