Feature

Scareware blocker

Scareware blocker in Microsoft Edge is here to protect you from scareware attacks—full-screen pop-ups with alarming warnings claiming your computer has been compromised. These attacks try to frighten people into calling fraudulent support numbers or downloading harmful software. While scareware blocker is enabled by default for most users, please ensure it is to help protect you by detecting and stopping these attacks.

Tips and Tricks

Frequently asked questions

No, you’ll need to enable scareware blocker in Microsoft Edge. To turn it on and help protect yourself while browsing, go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services, and toggle on “Enable AI to block malware.”
Scareware blocker leverages machine learning (ML) to detect scareware scams, like full-screen takeovers or fake tech support pages. When a potential scam is detected, Edge displays a warning page, letting you know it’s identified a security risk.

Since it’s powered by ML, scareware blocker is always improving, learning to better identify and block malicious sites. If a page is flagged as malicious, you’ll be alerted, keeping you and your data safer.
If a website is mistakenly flagged, you’re still in control. You can choose to continue to the page and send feedback to Microsoft to help improve the feature.
While scareware blocker is a powerful tool, Microsoft encourages you to stay informed about cybersecurity threats and follow best practices to stay safe online.
If you encounter a full-screen scareware attack, press and hold the ESC key to exit full screen and then, close the tab. You can also report the site as unsafe through the Help and Feedback menu in Edge, helping protect other users.
Currently, scareware blocker is only available on Windows and Mac computers.

* Feature availability and functionality may vary by device type, market, and browser version.