14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced that Internet Explorer, the browser that will become the second option in Windows 10 before it eventually gets the axe, will start blocking misleading advertisements in an attempt to provide increased security to users.
Basically, Internet Explorer will analyze advertisements displayed on a website and detect those that could offer misleading downloads, indistinguishable content, or malicious code.
Too many malicious ads
Microsoft says that the number of ads prompting downloads when the user clicks them is growing, so Internet Explorer will start showing notifications when such ads are detected.
“The expected behavior is that the program will be downloaded from a product landing page, and not directly from an advertisement,” the company explains.
The same goes for malicious code, which has always been one of the major threats to Internet Explorer users. It’s a well-known fact that Internet Explorer is considered a less secure browser as compared to its rivals, and compromised websites hosting malicious code are first and foremost aimed at Internet Explorer users, but with this update, Microsoft is aiming to make everything more secure.
“Advertisements that include malicious or exploit code are already detected. However, our updated evaluation criteria is now more explicit. Such behavior is not tolerated,” the company adds.
And yet, we can’t help but wonder why Microsoft is only now trying to improve Internet Explorer, despite the fact that it’s planning to replace it with Microsoft Edge.
In Windows 10, Internet Explorer won’t be the default browser but will continue to be offered for compatibility reasons, so it’s pretty awkward to see the company making security improvements to an application that has no future.
Most likely, this new security option is expected to be implemented in Microsoft Edge as well, so Internet Explorer could slowly become a testing platform for Microsoft that needs to take all features for a spin before the company rolls them out in Windows 10’s browser.