The Malicious Redirects
While the modern internet relies heavily on clean HTML5, many low-quality websites (such as illegal streaming portals or aggressive download aggregators) still utilize malicious Javascript to launch pop-up windows. Worse, they frequently use “redirects,” completely hijacking your current tab and forcing your browser to load a fraudulent tech support scam page or an advertisement for malware. By default, Google Chrome attempts to block the most egregious offenders, but it still allows some pop-ups through if it believes you clicked a legitimate button. To guarantee your safety on untrusted websites, you must instruct the browser to implement an absolute, global ban on all secondary windows.
How to Turn Off Pop-ups and Redirects
You can permanently lock the browser into single-tab navigation via the site settings.
- Open the Google Chrome desktop browser.
- Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top right corner and select Settings.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
- In the main window, click on Site settings.
- Scroll down to the “Content” section and click on Pop-ups and redirects.
- At the top of the screen, under “Default behavior,” select the radio button next to “Don’t allow sites to send pop-ups or use redirects.”
Absolute Tab Control
The change is instantaneous. From this point forward, if a malicious website attempts to execute a script that hijacks your tab or forces a secondary window to open, Google Chrome will instantly and silently kill the script. Your browser will remain firmly anchored to the page you are currently reading, ensuring you are never forcefully redirected to a dangerous domain without your explicit consent.