Microsoft has started rolling out an AI-powered “Scareware Blocker” for its Edge browser on Windows PCs. When enabled, the security feature acts as the “first line of defense” against new and emerging scams.

That’s why Microsoft Edge is using AI to help users spot when someone’s trying to frighten them into downloading malware or giving up sensitive information. Available now to all users via a preview, the browser’s new “Scareware blocker” is an AI-based tool for dismissing and navigating away from these troublesome interruptions.

A scareware blocker is a security tool, often integrated into web browsers, designed to prevent users from falling victim to scareware scams. Scareware is a type of malware that uses deceptive tactics to frighten users into believing their computer is infected or has other critical issues.

To do so, open Edge on your Windows PC, tap on the three horizontal dots on the top right of the screen and click on Settings. On the page that appears, click on “Privacy, search and, services” from the left panel and under ‘Security’, turn on the toggle named ‘Scareware Blocker’. Now, restart Edge and you are good to go.

Microsoft is rolling out "scareware blocker," which uses machine learning to identify a very specific and pervasive type of online scam.

A new security feature for Microsoft Edge is now available for preview, helping people overcome scareware scams.

Edge's new scareware blocker aims to protect you from malicious websites that try to scam you through fear tactics. Here's how to opt in.

Microsoft has started testing a new "scareware blocker" feature for the Edge web browser on Windows PCs, which uses machine learning (ML) to detect tech support scams.

Microsoft said today that its recently announced Scareware blocker in Edge is now available in preview on Windows.

Microsoft Edge 133 is now rolling out globally, and it ships with several improvements, including a new scareware blocker feature. In addition, Microsoft is updating the backend of the Downloads UI with performance improvements.