Avast ye! Microsoft be takin' up arms 'gainst the scurvy spam! Their Edge browser shall thwart those rogue notifications, arrr!
2023-07-07
Arrr, me hearties! Fear not, for Microsoft Edge be keepin' ye safe from scurvy scammers by blockin' their spammy notifications. No more treacherous tricks shall befall ye, mateys!
Microsoft's Edge browser has introduced a new tool to combat spammy notifications from websites. The company acknowledges that while website notifications can be useful, they can also be used to spam users with unwanted and misleading messages. Edge will now eliminate pop-ups that attempt to trick users into allowing the website to send notifications. In one example, a rogue site presents a message in the background urging the user to click "allow" if they are not a robot, hoping to confuse them into granting permission.If a user falls for this scam, they may be bombarded with notifications claiming they have a virus and trying to sell antivirus software to clear the non-existent infection. Edge's spam-blocking skills also extend to defeating these follow-up pop-ups. Microsoft claims to have identified dozens of types of spammy notifications and has removed notification privileges from websites that send them, effectively blocking billions of misleading notifications.
This move from Microsoft is commendable, as these misleading notifications can be intimidating for less tech-savvy users. It is also annoying for everyone, so it is good news to see efforts being made to eliminate them. Microsoft's initiative combines with a previous plan to combat misleading notifications, which involved showing the first notification from unfamiliar websites in a subtle manner. This approach has resulted in a significant decrease in customers reporting issues with notifications.
Ironically, while combating spam, Microsoft itself has been accused of spamming users with a stealthy installation of an extension in recent versions of its browser.