At the Ignite 2024, Microsoft announced a new security feature for the Edge browser to safeguard users from various internet nastiness, such as scareware—a particular type of scam that tricks unsuspicious users into thinking their PCs are infected with malware and urges them to call fake Microsoft "support." Now, the announced scareware blocker is available in preview.
To ensure you do not fall victim to another "tech support" scam that accepts payment methods in the form of Amazon Gift Cards, Microsoft Edge uses machine learning models to detect patterns and typical signs of scareware. These models run locally, and if a website attempts to open a full-screen page, Edge analyzes and compares the page to thousands of scam samples. Microsoft stresses that these models are on-device only and do not save or send images to the cloud.
Upon detecting a scam, Microsoft Edge automatically closes full-screen mode, stops any media playback (scammers often use video and audio to put extra pressure and scare their victims, hence the name—scareware), and displays a warning along with a website thumbnail.
Next, users can help Microsoft combat scareware by reporting the malicious website and sharing the taken screenshot with additional diagnostic data. Also, Microsoft Edge will give you the option to report a false positive should the browser make a mistake and flag a legitimate website.
The new scareware blocker is now available to all users in preview. To check it out, make sure you are running the latest Microsoft Edge release, restart the browser, and go to Settings > Privacy, Search, and Services > Scareware blocker. If you have a managed device, you will need permission from your IT administrator to test feature previews in Edge.
Finally, here is a tip from Microsoft: Always press and hold the Esc key when something unexpected happens while you are browsing the internet. This will exist in full-screen mode and help you detect and avoid scareware.
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