Are you facing download issues in Chrome? More specifically, did you get an error message like “This file is dangerous, so Chrome has blocked it “?
This happens when you are downloading a file in Chrome, and it suspectsthe file is maliciousor potentially harmful. Also, it leaves you with aDiscardbutton that does nothing to continue the download.
Chrome filters out and blocks these files using a built-in security feature calledSafe Browsing. So, you have to disable it to fix your issue.
Let’s jump right into the article to know why Chrome displays the error message along with different methods to fix it.
Why You Are Getting the Error Message
There are various reasons why you get this error message. Some of the most common ones are as follows:
How to Fix the Error Message?
The major fix for the above error message is to turn off the Safe Browsing in Chrome. After this, you will be able to download the file that was previously blocked without getting the error message.
However, it is not a safe option. So you can try different workaround methods in the next section to resolve your issue.
Turn Off Safe Browsing
As the name suggests, safe browsing allows you to browse safely by preventing you from downloading malicious files from insecure sites in Google Chrome.
Turning it off will allow you to download all kinds of files but comes at a price of security risks and isnot recommended.
However, if you trust the site and the file you are downloading, you can make an exception for once and turn off the safe browsing temporarily to download it.
Here’s how you may disable it on the desktop and Android.
On Chrome Android
Try a Different Browser
You can switch to a different browser to resolve the issue. However, use a browser that’s not based on theChromium browseras they work similarly to Google Chrome.
Then, attempt to download the file from the same link. See if the browser allows you to download the file without any warning.
Use a Third-Party Download App
You can use a third-party download app (also known as download manager) to download a file blocked by Google Chrome.
To download the file, copy and paste its download link to the download manager and start downloading.
Likewise, the download application likely has a browser extension. Therefore, download it from the Chrome Web Store and add it to Chrome.
