Tech Desk 
Feb 07, 2025
Microsoft has launched a new AI-powered scareware blocker in its Edge browser to protect users from online scams. The feature, now rolling out for Windows PCs, can detect and block both known and emerging scams using a machine learning model that runs on the local device.
Scareware is an online scam where fake warnings trick users into downloading harmful software or paying for unnecessary services.
Microsoft Edge introduces AI-powered scareware blocker
These scams often use full-screen pop-ups and alarming messages to scare users into taking action. Microsoft’s scareware blocker stops such scams before they can cause harm.
The Microsoft Edge team explains that this new feature compares scam pages with thousands of examples shared by the scam-fighting community.
Since the AI model runs locally on the Windows PC, it does not send or save any images to the cloud, ensuring user privacy.
How does Microsoft Edge’s scareware blocker work?
When a scam is detected, Microsoft Edge automatically exits full-screen mode, stops any sound from the malicious site, and displays a warning with a small preview of the scam page.
Users can then report the scam to help improve Microsoft’s Defender SmartScreen, which blocks known scam websites.
The scareware blocker was first announced at Microsoft Ignite in November 2024 and is now available in preview in the latest stable version of Edge. To enable it, users must go to Edge’s privacy settings, turn on the scareware blocker, and restart the browser.
