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.

Since many internet users are savvy enough to recognize scareware for what it is, many browsers – like Chrome – don’t have a scareware blocker. However, scareware can be unnerving for new users or those who don’t know how to escape out of a full-screen attack which may cause menus or toolbars to vanish or use audio to confuse a user into calling a fraudulent support line where the information they provide will be used by scammers.

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 Edge is adding a scareware blocker to prevent users from falling for fake malware alerts. Scareware can trick less tech-savvy users into financial or privacy risks, making this feature valuable.

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