Google is making major changes to the way downloads are displayed in Chrome to protect users of its browser from malware and other online threats.

Last year, the search giant rolled out a major redesign of the Chrome download experience, moving notifications of new downloads from the bottom of the browser to the top. This time, however, Google is taking advantage of this redesign of the download experience to better protect Chrome users from malicious files.

In a new blog post, the Chrome security team explained that it will replace the traditional warning messages with more detailed ones to better understand the nature of specific threats. This will be done through a two-step download warning based on Google Safe Browsing's AI-powered malware determination.

Going forward, dangerous downloads will be classified as suspicious files with a low confidence determination and unknown risk of user harm, or dangerous files with a high confidence determination and high risk of user harm.

To distinguish between suspicious and dangerous files, Google uses different icons, colors, and text. This way, Chrome users can quickly and reliably determine if opening a recently downloaded file is worth the risk.

Chrome users who subscribe to Google's enhanced Safe Browsing mode will also be able to send suspicious downloaded files to Safe Browsing for a deep scan before opening them.

This feature is available free of charge, and in addition to dangerous sites and downloads, it will also alert you to suspicious extensions and whether your passwords have been compromised in a data breach.

According to Google's testing, these additional scans can help catch new malware that Safe Browsing has yet to identify. In fact, files submitted for deep scanning are 50 times more likely to be flagged as malware.

To make it easier for Chrome users to run deep scans, Google now automatically runs deep scans for users with extended protection. From now on, you will no longer be prompted for a scan after every suspicious download; Chrome will scan automatically.

Since hackers continue to use encrypted and password-protected archives, such as ZIP files, to hide malware, Google will now scan these types of files as well. However, users using standard protection will continue to be prompted when downloading suspicious encrypted archives.

There are a few other things you can do when it comes to protecting yourself from dangerous downloads.

First, never download email attachments from unknown senders, as hackers often use phishing emails to get you to download malicious files onto your computer. Similarly, avoid downloading files from unfamiliar sites or sites with strange web addresses that are not the typical “.com” or “.gov.”

From here, you want to make sure you are using the best antivirus software on your Windows PC, the best Mac antivirus software on your Apple computer, and the best Android antivirus app on your Android smartphone. Antivirus software is designed to alert and stop malware before it can damage your device or steal your data.

If you haven't already, consider signing up for Chrome's Enhanced Safe Browsing. It is completely free to use and takes only a few minutes to activate. To learn how to enable Safe Browsing on both desktop and mobile, click here. [Dangerous downloads are one of the easiest ways to get infected with nasty malware. So it's great to see Google taking additional steps to keep Chrome users safe online.