Browser Tab-Nabbing Security

Recently many browsers increased security regarding web links. Often developers add the attribute target="blank" to open the link in a new tab. Some hackers use these links to take the user to a page that will automatically download a virus, or bring them to a page that an unsuspecting user may enter personal information. This kind of hack is called “tab-nabbing”.

Since this security update has been added to many browsers, there may be links on your site that will no longer open or function properly. The reason they no longer work is that rel="noopener" has been added by default when target="_blank" attribute is added to a link. In order to bypass this extra security, you must add rel="opener" and the link should function as it normally would. In most cases, with your own projects, this should not be a security issue and is safe to bypass the default.