Microsoft's upcoming Chromium-based Edge browser (Chromium Edge) has Microsoft Defender SmartScreen built-in, and it already protects users when they visit malicious sites or download malicious files.
Microsoft has apparently expanded SmartScreen Defender's protection to include PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications) downloads. The new feature has been added to Edge Canary (version 79).
Setting to block PUAs
Chrome uses Google Safe Browsing to protect you from dangerous websites and files. The Chromium-based Edge browser (Chromium Edge) uses Microsoft Defender SmartScreen for the same reason, as you can see in the image below showing the default protection setting in the “Privacy and services” section.
Note: By intentionally or accidentally disabling this security setting, Edge and Chrome will flag all downloads as malicious, so you shouldn't touch anything unless you know what you're doing.
As we mentioned earlier, Chrome already detects and blocks unwanted software with Safe Browsing. Microsoft Edge can do the same. Let's see how you can enable Microsoft Defender SmartScreen support for PUAs:
Let's look at the settings that need to be made in the browser:
1. Make sure you are using the latest version of the Edge browser (Canary 79.0.280.0 or later)
2. Open the internal address: edge://flags
3. Search for the term “unwanted”, and in the highlighted results find the “Microsoft Defender SmartScreen PUA Support” flag. Select “Enabled” and restart the browser.
Note: When the edge-SmartScreen-pua flag is enabled, it will “protect against downloading potentially unwanted applications (PUAs)” on Windows and Mac.
Block unwanted app downloads in Chromium Edge
1. Click on the cogs icon to open the settings
2. Go to Settings > Privacy and services, and you’ll notice a new option – “Block Potentially unwanted Apps.” The setting will block “downloads of apps that may cause unexpected behavior.” Turn the setting on.
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Source: techdows.com
