7 Chrome Security Settings You Should Change

For a long time now, Chrome has been dominating the browser market, making it one of the first programs people download when they install Windows or buy a new computer. As such, it is important that you make sure your Chrome browser is as secure as possible. Luckily, there are a handful of Chrome security settings that you can adjust to maximize its safety.

By default, Chrome already provides a decent level of security out of the box. However, you can further bolster the browser security and avoid malicious websites by changing these 7 important Chrome security settings.

Let’s get started.

Chrome Security Settings to Change

Here are the security options you should change in the Chrome browser:

Enable Always use HTTPS
Use Secure DNS (DNS over HTTPS)
Enable Enhanced Protection
Enable two-factor authentication on your Google account
Use a password manager
Disable microphone, camera, and location access
Run a Safety Check

Let’s see each point in detail:

1. Enable Always Use HTTPS

HTTPS encrypts the connection between your browser and the website you are accessing. This encryption helps maintain the security and integrity of your personal information and stops snooping by attackers, ISPs, and other network intermediaries.

Though most websites already use HTTPS, some of them don’t or are not configured correctly and still allow users to access the HTTP version of the website. To avoid this, you can configure Chrome to always use HTTPS when connecting to a website. Here’s how.

Open the Chrome browser.
Click the three-dotted menu icon in the top right corner.
Select the “Settings” option.
Navigate to the “Privacy & Security” tab on the sidebar.
Click on the “Security” option.
Turn on the “Always use secure connections” option.
Always use HTTPS is now enabled in Chrome.

From now on, Chrome forces the HTTPS connection whenever you try to access a website. When you see the padlock icon and “https://” in the address bar, it means the website is using an HTTPS connection.

2. Use Secure DNS

The Secure DNS feature in Chrome encrypts the DNS requests before sending them over the network. This provides an extra layer of security and stops DNS snooping by ISPs, attackers, and other network admins. Here’s how to enable DNS over HTTPS in Chrome.

Open the Chrome browser.
Click the three-dotted menu icon in the top right corner.
Select the “Settings” option.
Navigate to the “Privacy & Security” tab on the sidebar.
Click on the “Security” option.
Select the “With” option under the “Use secure DNS” section.
Select the DNS provider of your choice.
Secure DNS is enabled in Chrome.

enable dns over https in Chrome (secure dns)

You can choose any of the available secure DNS providers. For most people, I recommend using Cloudflare, Google, or OpenDNS. If you want to use a custom DNS provider not available in the dropdown menu, select “Custom” and enter the DNS address.

After enabling DNS over HTTPS, flush the Chrome DNS cache and Windows DNS cache.

3. Enable Enhanced Protection

The enhanced protection feature in Chrome protects you from malicious websites, downloads, and extensions. In addition to that, it also warns you if one or more of your passwords are exposed in a data breach (when using Google Password Manager). Follow the below steps to enable enhanced protection.

Launch the Chrome browser.
Click the three-dotted menu icon in the top right corner.
Select the “Settings” option.
Navigate to the “Privacy & Security” tab on the sidebar.
Click on the “Security” option.
Select the “Enhanced Protection” radio option.
With that, Enhanced Protection is enabled in Chrome.

4. Enable Two-Factor Authentication on Your Google Account

Though this is not a direct Chrome setting, considering how your Google account and Chrome are integrated, it is important that you enable two-factor authentication on your Google account. That way, even in the event of your Google account password being compromised, one cannot log into your Google account and compromise your Chrome data.

Follow the below steps to enable 2FA on your Google account:

Open the Chrome browser.
Go to the “https://myaccount.google.com/” URL.
Log into your Google account if necessary.
Navigate to the “Security” panel.
Click on the “2-Step Verification” option.
Click/tap on the “Get started” button.
Follow the on-screen steps to enable 2FA on your Google account.

5. Use a Password Manager

Chrome has a built-in password manager which makes it easy to save and sync passwords between devices and manage all your passwords in a central location. Though useful, it is also a big security risk. For instance, if your Chrome browser or Google account is compromised, the attacker or malicious website/extension can get access to all your passwords. As you can expect, this is not a good outcome at all.

As such, stop using the default Chrome password manager and use a much more secure, purpose-built, and open-source password manager like Bitwarden. That way, you can keep all your passwords, autofill data, and debit/credit card details separate from your Chrome browser.

Since almost all password managers have browser extensions and mobile apps, it makes it easy to access sync and access your passwords no matter the device or browser.

Important note: DO NOT use the LastPass password manager. Their track record is not good when it comes to data protection and are also a victim of huge data leaks and hacks putting their users at serious risk.

6. Disable Microphone, Camera, and Location Access

If you don’t use your built-in microphone, camera, and location using your Chrome browser, it is better to disable access to these features. That way, it increases your security and protects your privacy while using Chrome. Here’s how to do it.

Launch the Chrome browser.
Click the three-dotted menu icon in the top right corner.
Select the “Settings” option.
Navigate to the “Privacy & Security” tab on the sidebar.
Click on the “Site settings” option.
Click/tap on the “Location” option.
Select the “Don’t allow sites to see your location” option.
Go back to the Site settings page.
Click/tap on the “Camera” option.
Select the “Don’t allow sites to use your camera” option.
Go back to the Site settings page.
Click/tap on the “Microphone” option.
Select the “Don’t allow sites to use your microphone” option.
Close the Chrome settings tab.
With that, the camera, microphone, and location are disabled in Chrome.

location microphone camera setting in chrome

If you want, you can also disable notifications in Chrome or enable quieter notifications.

7. Run a Safety Check

Finally, Chrome includes a tool called Safety Check. Running this tool, will scan your browser and check for any safety issues. Here’s how to run a Safety Check in Chrome:

Open the Chrome browser.
Click on the three-dotted menu icon in the top right corner.
Click/tap on the Settings option.
Navigate to the “Privacy and Security” tab.
Click the “Check now” button under the Safety Check section.
Click on the recommended settings and change them accordingly.

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That is all. Change these seven Chrome security settings to make it more secure.

Related Chrome how-to guides:

I hope this simple and easy Chrome how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.