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.

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 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.

Microsoft Edge's Scareware blocker is a local AI model designed to help users avoid annoying and dangerous full screen pop-ups while browsing the web.

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 now testing a new feature in Edge that uses machine learning to identify and block scareware scams.

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.

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.