{"id":16364,"date":"2019-09-19T11:10:13","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T19:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/09\/19\/news-10105\/"},"modified":"2019-09-19T11:10:13","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T19:10:13","slug":"news-10105","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/09\/19\/news-10105\/","title":{"rendered":"Browser Guard combats privacy abuse, tracking, clickbait, and scammers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Pieter Arntz| Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 18:27:51 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

In July 2018, we introduced the Malwarebytes Browser Extension<\/a>, a beta plugin for Firefox and Chrome aimed at delivering a safer, faster, and more private browsing experience. <\/p>\n

Our extension blocked tech support scams, hijackers, pop-up ads, trackers, and more to keep users secure and free from online harassment. And thanks to our loyal Malwarebytes community, we’ve been able to test and improve on this beta for more than a year. We’re pleased to release the full version, named Malwarebytes Browser Guard, which is now available in the Chrome<\/a> and Firefox<\/a> web stores.<\/p>\n

In this post, we’ll cover the features included in Browser Guard, its main functionality, how to whitelist preferred websites, and the difference between our extension and flagship PC and Mac software, Malwarebytes for Windows and Malwarebytes for Mac.<\/p>\n

What does Browser Guard do?<\/h3>\n

Browser Guard, a free extension, blocks unwanted ads and trackers that intrude upon users\u2019 privacy, while also protecting against clickbait<\/a> and scams. The extension prevents browser hijackers, lockers, and annoying and sometimes malicious pop-ups, all known scare tactics to trap consumers in tech support scams<\/a>, exposing them to unwanted content and forcing them into purchasing unnecessary, expensive technical support.<\/p>\n

Recent independent tests from AV Lab recently recognized Malwarebytes Browser Guard for having the best protection among competitive browser security offerings<\/a>, blocking 98.07 percent of malware.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s new in Browser Guard?<\/h3>\n

After continuous testing of functionality with thousands of users for more than a year, the most prominent change we made from beta to final release is to the graphical user interface (GUI)<\/a>. While people were happy with the way the beta worked, many wished for more granular control in the settings, as well as more elaborate statistics on blocked ads, malware, scams and other items.<\/p>\n

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\"Browser<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

I have Malwarebytes Premium. Do I still need Browser Guard?<\/h3>\n

Browser Guard does have extra protection features, as well as benefits for privacy, including ad and tracker blocking. And of course, Malwarebytes Premium versions have anti-exploit technology, real-time malware protection, anti-ransomware, and stalkerware protections that Browser Guard does not. <\/p>\n

Where the web blocking module of Malwarebytes Premium and Browser Guard share a database of blocked IPs and domain, there is an overlap.<\/p>\n

Looking at Malwarebytes Premium, it blocks the IPs and domains for all running applications, where Browser Guard does this only for the browser the extension is installed on.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Browser Guard blocks more than just domains and IP addresses. Not only does it recognize malicious websites based on their behavior that are not in the database (yet), it also blocks advertisements and trackers. These are not always malicious, but they usually do not improve user experience and blocking them can speed up your browsing up to four times.<\/p>\n

\"before<\/a>
This gif shows a site before and after enabling Browser Guard and how much it blocked<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

False positives<\/h3>\n

Behavioral detection is prone to false positives. Of course, we do our utmost to avoid them as much as we can, but they can\u2019t be totally avoided. Luckily, the worst that can happen is that you will be initially denied access to a website that turns out to be harmless. But that doesn’t mean you’re blocked for good.<\/p>\n

When you are sure the website is harmless, you can change the settings in Browser Guard to allow that specific site. That way, you can grant yourself access to the site without having to lower your global settings. Where some programs would require you to disable protection or lose your protection completely, our extension allows you to change site-specific settings without making your browser vulnerable on other sites.<\/p>\n

Whitelisting items for a website<\/h3>\n

In Browser Guard, you can allow specific items by excluding them from certain types of protection and adding them to the \u201cAllow list.\u201d Here’s how to do it:<\/p>\n