Turn on Microsoft Edge’s scareware blocker before you need it

Scareware websites are designed to frighten people into taking actions they wouldn’t otherwise take, like installing malicious software or calling fake technical support. To help protect against these scams, Microsoft Edge includes a scareware blocker, although it may need to be enabled first.

Typical examples of scareware include pages that suddenly open in full-screen mode, display false virus warnings, or claim your computer has dangerous security vulnerabilities. Often, loud alarm sounds play or simulated system messages appear.

The goal behind scareware is to trick users into downloading protective software (which is actually malware) or granting remote access to their computer to someone posing as a technical support expert. Edge’s scareware blocker uses AI to identify these fake websites and warn users before they interact with them.

Joel Lee / Foundry

This analysis is performed locally, so no screenshots or other images from your computer are transmitted to Microsoft. However, the addresses of websites identified as scareware are sent to Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, which warns users when they attempt to visit a dangerous website.

On most Windows PCs, the scareware blocker is enabled by default. You can find it in Edge by clicking the gear icon in the bottom right corner and navigating to Privacy, Search, & Services > Security. The switch next to Scareware Blocker allows you to enable or disable the feature.

Block Websites Detected as Fraudulent determines whether known fraudulent websites are blocked. The Share Detected Fraudulent Websites with Microsoft Defender SmartScreen option sends the addresses of detected scareware sites to Microsoft.

The feature is active on all computers with more than 2GB of RAM and a processor with at least five cores. On all other PCs, the scareware blocker must first be enabled. It’s not available on PCs with less than 1GB of RAM or a single-core processor.