The Scareware Blocker is a New feature in Microsoft Edge designed to protect users from tech support scams, often referred to as scareware. These scams use aggressive web pages to trick users into thinking their system is infected with malware, pressuring them to call fake tech support numbers. Scareware blockers use a machine learning model to recognize the tell-tale signs of scareware scams and put users back in control of their computer.
Here’s how it works:
- Machine Learning: It uses a machine learning model to detect and block scareware sites.
- User Control: When a suspicious site is detected, Edge blocks it and shows a warning message, giving users the option to close the page or proceed if they believe it’s safe
“Scareware” scams are a particularly convincing type of tech support scam. They use aggressive web pages to convince victims into thinking their system is infected with malware, pressure them to call a fake tech support number, and try to gain access to the computer. Last year, Hollywood even made a blockbuster action movie with scareware scammers as the villains.
To enable Scareware Blocker in Microsoft Edge:
- Open Edge and click on the three-dot menu in the toolbar.
- Select Settings.
- Navigate to Privacy, search, and services.
- Find the Scareware Blocker option and toggle it on
When scareware blocker suspects a page is a scam, Edge will put users back in control by exiting full screen mode, stopping aggressive audio playback, warning the user, and showing a thumbnail of the page they were just viewing:
Scareware blocker fights tech scams – Video Tutorial
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