Google Drive for Desktop With AI-Powered Ransomware Detection Introduced: Available on Windows and macOS
Google – the California-based tech giant has now enhanced its Google Drive service with an AI-powered ransomware detection capability. It has been brought out for Windows and macOS operating systems, and it is now available as open beta.
Here’s more about it.
Enhanced Google Drive for Desktop Featuring New AI-Powered Ransomware Detection
With the aim to safeguard desktop operating systems like Windows and macOS, and also file formats such as PDF and that from Microsoft Office, the Google Drive service has now been equipped with an AI-powered ransomware detection capability. Unlike ChromeOS and Workspace documents, these are susceptible to ransomware attacks, and the new AI-powered ransomware detection capability will be helping in tackling them.
While ransomware has so far been considered as an antivirus issue (or AV issue), the continued attacks suggest that it is high time to adopt an added approach as well. The newly-introduced AI-powered ransomware detection capability will be working along with the AV solutions, and when AV solutions prevent ransomware from getting in, Google’s ransomware detection will prevent it from becoming effective if by chance it gets in. Furthermore, the built-in virus detection feature in Google’s Drive, Gmail, and Chrome, also prevents the ransomware from spreading to connected devices too.
As mentioned, the AI-powered ransomware detection capability is available for both Windows and macOS users, and thanks to its training with real-world ransomware samples, it will detect and find unusual activities and stop file syncing automatically, following which an alert will be dropped via mail and also on their desktop – to help them in restoring their files, taking just a few clicks. Also, for administrators, they will be receiving the alert in their admin console for the purpose of maintaining visibility and control.
This enterprise-grade security control is now rolling out in Drive starting from the 1st of October 2025 as an open beta. Its availability has been ensured in Workspace commercial plans, including file restoration, at no extra cost.
