The thumbnail version:
- Google’s Enhanced Spellcheck could pose a security problem.
- You could be sending everything you type, including passwords, to Google’s servers.
The full version:
RGCS is reporting in their latest newsletter that if you’re using Google’s Enhanced Spellcheck, it could be sending everything you type to Google’s servers, including passwords. Here’s how you check to see if it is happening to you and, if it is, how to stop it:
- Check if you have enabled Google Enhanced Spellcheck by opening Google Chrome and paste or enter chrome://settings/?search=Enhanced+Spell+Check into the address bar. Click “enter”.
- If “Basic spell check” is selected, this is okay because it checks spelling without sending data to Google’s servers.
- If “Enhanced spell check” is selected, unselect it and select “Basic spell check” instead.
- For no spell checking at all, turn off the top-right slider.
This is just another precaution we have to take nowadays in an environment in which our privacy and online security is being compromised in ways we’re not even aware of.