Neowin News Feed for: Smartscreen

Microsoft no longer claims that Windows 11 has all the protection that you need

Usama Jawad — Fri, 29 May 2026 01:52:01 +0000

Microsoft quietly removed a Windows 11 blog claiming built-in security is enough for most users, possibly after backlash from antivirus partners. Read more...

SmartScreen for Internet Explorer and IE Mode on Windows 11 deprecated

Paul Hill — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 07:24:02 +0000

Microsoft has deprecated SmartScreen on Internet Explorer and IE Mode within Windows 11. It has also issued some recommendations for administrators about the issue. Read more...

New malware bypassing Windows SmartScreen is hungry for your data, and it wants it all

Martin Hodás — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 15:30:01 +0000

Data-harvesting malware Phemedrone exploits vulnerability in Windows Defender SmartScreen to avoid warnings and checks. It collects various sensitive data and sends them to the hackers. Read more...

Edge gets 'Browser Essentials' tool to help you monitor performance and security

Taras Buria — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 11:26:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced a new tool for its browser. Edge Canary and Dev now feature "Browser Essentials"—a place to monitor the browser's performance and security with a journal-styled dashboard. Read more...

Defender SmartScreen on Windows 11 Beta build 22581 apparently causes video playback issues

Sayan Sen — Sun, 27 Mar 2022 19:04:01 +0000

SmartScreen on Defender is apparently causing delayed playback issues in videos on the latest Beta Channel build 22581 for Windows 11 Insiders. For now, there is a simple workaround for the bug. Read more...

Microsoft says coin miners are a growing threat

Paul Hill — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 21:48:01 +0000

Microsoft has reported on its findings from a new piece of research into malicious cryptocurrency mining. It said that malicious mining had increased at the expense of cryptocurrency ransomware tools. Read more...

Microsoft Edge's SmartScreen feature can be exploited for tech support scams

Justin Luna — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 08:26:01 +0000

A web security researcher has discovered a bug within Microsoft Edge's SmartScreen feature, which could allow scammers to create legitimate-looking warning messages and block reputable websites. Read more...

Microsoft SmartScreen enhanced in Windows 10 to protect users from drive-by attacks

Ian Ginos — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 22:32:01 +0000

Microsoft has outlined improvements made to its SmartScreen filter, including new protection from drive-by attacks. The improvements are part of IE11 and Edge in Windows 10. Read more...

Microsoft denies Windows 8 SmartScreen spying

John Callaham — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 21:21:58 +0000

Microsoft has denied a security researcher's claim that the SmartScreen feature in Windows 8 is being used to collect information for a large database and that the information is secured from hackers. Read more...

Windows 8 tells Microsoft about everything you install

Tim Schiesser — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:39:46 +0000

According to a known computer security researcher, Microsoft's SmartScreen feature implemented in Windows 8 reports information to Microsoft about every application installed, in an insecure manner Read more...

Windows 8 support for EV code signing certificates revealed

John Callaham — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:06:51 +0000

Microsoft has announced that it now supports Extended Validation (EV) code signing certificates for desktop programs for the SmartScreen feature in Windows 8, IE 9 and IE 10. Read more...

Microsoft confirms that it blocks Pirate Bay links on Messenger

John Callaham — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:45:45 +0000

Microsoft has issued an official statement, admitting that its Windows Live Messenger app is in fact blocking links in its messages to The Pirate Bay. Read more...

Microsoft gives more info on Hotmail's SmartScreen

John Callaham — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:44:09 +0000

In a new blog post on Microsoft's Windows Live web site, the company gives more information about how the new SmartScreen feature in its Hotmail web email service works. Read more...

Windows 8 to use SmartScreen for file checking

Andrew Lyle — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:21:12 +0000

Another day, another leak for Windows 8. This time we bring you a native SmartScreen file checking system that prevents users from launching malicious software on their desktop. Long Zheng from istartedsomething.com discovered this feature... Read more...

Study: IE8's SmartScreen leads in malware protection

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:51:29 +0000

A recently released NSS Labs study, claims that Internet Explorer 8 greatly outperforms competing browsers in terms of protecting users against web based malware. According to the study based upon a sample of 492 URLs,... Read more...