Microsoft is bringing scam protection to its Edge browser

The Edge browser aims to protect users from scams with a simple solution.

Microsoft’s Edge is far from the first user choice when it comes to browsers. Edge’s poor performance, compatibility issues, and Microsoft’s push to use Edge are some of the reasons why it lags behind competitors.

However, Microsoft is adding some new features that other browsers don’t have.

In its blog post, the company announced that users can now try out its scareware scam protection tool, which aims to protect users against scareware scams with a simple solution. The feature was first announced at the 2024 Ignite conference last November.

Scareware will attempt to trick users into believing that their device is infected with malware. They use fake pop-up messages and other measures to trick users into taking harmful actions, such as purchasing malware disguised as security software.

As Microsoft notes, scareware sites often employ full-screen mode, just like popular video sites. Users can press ESC to exit full-screen mode, but scareware sites try to camouflage the ESC option.

Audio and keyboard/mouse tricks might be used to incite panic. For example, a warning from a computer-generated voice may lead victims to believe their computer has an identity theft virus, urging them to call support.

According to Microsoft, when its scareware blocker suspects a page is a scam, Edge will exit the full-screen mode and warn the user.

Scareware blocker utilizes a machine learning model that runs on a local computer. The model uses computer vision to compare full-screen pages to sample scams that are reported by other users.

In addition to the scareware blocker, the Edge browser features Defender SmartScreen, which provides real-time checks on new and unfamiliar sites.

The scareware blocker is rolling out now as a preview for all Edge users on Windows PCs.