Microsoft unlocks anti-cryptojacking protection for Edge

It is not uncommon for an application downloaded from the Internet to hide unwanted features such as advertising or scripts crypto-mining. To protect users from sound Navigator Edge, Microsoft includes an option against unwanted applications.

Mining cryptocurrencies through its web browsing and browser is not uncommon. However, Internet users are not always aware of this. Thus, some sites exploit the computing power of their visitors to fuel their activity of crypto-mining. Other malicious actors are broadcasting mining scripts without notifying users, for example via a wallpaper.

It’s against these unwanted software than Microsoft wants to protect users from its Edge browser.

Potentially unwanted applications can make the user less productive, make their machine less efficient, and degrade the Windows experience, ”said Juli Hooper of the publisher’s security team.

Cryptomining apps blocked before installation

These PUA (“Potentially unwanted applications”) are therefore of different natures. Software can thus drown the user under banner ads or divert their computing power to undermine Bitcoin, for example. They act like stowaways on the computer Windows.

The Redmond company has therefore updated Microsoft Edge to embed a feature automatically blocking the download of applications detected as PUAs. However, this option is disabled by default. Instructs the user to activate it, if desired, in the configuration settings.

In the event of a false positive, that is to say a legitimate application detected as unwanted, the Internet user can of course ignore the browser alert and continue with the installation. It is also possible to report these detection errors to Microsoft.

Extensions banned from the Chrome Web Store

In 2018, Google had banned apps that mine cryptocurrency from the Chrome extension store. The company found that 90% of these extensions did not inform users of the presence of such a feature. The Chrome Web Store previously authorized these plugins, provided that this function is the purpose of the application and that the user is informed.

A significant new protection for users of Edge which may partially offset increased exposure in terms of private life, as noted in a recent study.