Oops: Microsoft Edge Just Served Up Malicious Ads to Its Users
Microsoft has been big on security in recent years, both with its operating systems and its browser. However, the tech giant accidentally allowed agents to serve up malicious adverts on Microsoft Edge's News Feed that tricked people into thinking their PC was under siege.
A Nasty Attack in Microsoft Edge
As spotted by Malwarebytes, Microsoft Edge has been caught showing its users malicious ads on the News Feed. These look like regular articles at first glance, but when clicked, will direct you to a website that fakes a browser locker attack and asks you to call a phony tech support company to "fix the problem."
It's a smart piece of kit, too. The attack scans through the browser data of the agent that clicked on it to check if it was a bot or a person. If it's a bot, the malicious ad doesn't show the fake browser locker page; instead, it loads a legitimate article to fool the bot into thinking it's safe. It's only when a human clicks it that the trap is sprung.
As such, if you're using Microsoft Edge, be careful with what you click on when looking at the News Feed. And if you do see an alert in your browser right after clicking on an article in the News Feed, treat it with extreme suspicion.
A Dent in Microsoft Edge's Armor
This news is a major blow to Microsoft Edge's reputation. The company has issues convincing people to make the jump from Google Chrome and has decided to go for a security-based focus to encourage users to try it over other browsers. This includes a new layer of security for Microsoft Edge that keeps the user safe as they browse.
However, now that Edge has been caught serving up bad ads in its own news feed, it's going to be tricky for Microsoft to convince people that its browser is safer than Chrome. Let's hope that Microsoft ups its game and stops these attacks from happening in the future.
Bad News for Microsoft Edge
With Edge now serving up bad adverts, Microsoft has to be a lot more careful in the future to keep its users safe. If it doesn't, Microsoft is going to have a tough time convincing people that it's worth trying over Chrome.