Windows 10: Microsoft Improves Win Security with Man-in-the-Middle Adware Block

Cluster Head · Dec 21, 2015

Keeping browsing experience in users’ hands

In April last year we announced some changes to our criteria around Adware designed to ensure that users maintain control of their experience. These changes are described in our blog, Adware: a New Approach. Since then, we’ve taken policy and enforcement measures to address unwanted behaviors exhibited by advertising programs that take choice and control away from users.

Ad injection software has evolved, and is now using a variety of ‘man-in-the-middle’ (MiTM) techniques. Some of these techniques include injection by proxy, changing DNS settings, network layer manipulation and other methods. All of these techniques intercept communications between the Internet and the PC to inject advertisements and promotions into webpages from outside, without the control of the browser. Our intent is to keep the user in control of their browsing experience and these methods reduce that control.

There are many additional concerns with these techniques, some of these include:

•MiTM techniques add security risk to customers by introducing another vector of attack to the system.
•Most modern browsers have controls in them to notify the user when their browsing experience is going to change and confirm that this is what the user intends. However, many of these methods do not produce these warnings and reduce the choice and control of the user.
•Also, many of these methods also alter advanced settings and controls that the majority of users will not be able to discover, change, or control.

To address these and to keep the intent of our policy, we’re updating our Adware objective criteria to require that programs that create advertisements in browsers must only use the browsers’ supported extensibility model for installation, execution, disabling, and removal.

The choice and control belong to the users, and we are determined to protect that.

We encourage developers in the ecosystem to comply with the new criteria. We are providing an ample notification period for them to work with us as they fix their programs to become compliant. Programs that will fail to comply will be detected and removed.

Enforcement starts on March 31, 2016.

Barak Shein and Michael Johnson

MMPC
Click to expand...

Source: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/...n-users-hands/

Victek · Dec 21, 2015

Keeping browsing experience in users’ hands

Source: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/...n-users-hands/
Click to expand...

I'm very happy to see this being implemented. It has been needed for a very long time. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft protects the browser and removes adware that isn't compliant.

:)

Cyber_Defend_Team · Dec 21, 2015

Windows 10 Internet

Does it happen for all websites or some websites?

If website contains mix content of HTTPS and HTTP, then it will block HTTP and show this message , it is for security reason. Because mix content could lead to man in middle attack.

Bruce Hagen · Dec 21, 2015

Slither.io

Slither.io is Adware and is downloaded along with another program. Adware is hard for most security programs to block, especially when bundled with a legit program.

Windows 10: Microsoft Improves Win Security with Man-in-the-Middle Adware Block

Microsoft Improves Win Security with Man-in-the-Middle Adware Block

Microsoft Improves Win Security with Man-in-the-Middle Adware Block

Microsoft Improves Win Security with Man-in-the-Middle Adware Block

Microsoft Improves Win Security with Man-in-the-Middle Adware Block - Similar Threads - Microsoft Improves Security

Microsoft is phasing out VBScript in Windows to improve security

Adware

ADWARE

Adware?

Windows Security Adware Threat

Microsoft Family Safety blocking Middle School Learning site

Google - Better protection against Man in the Middle phishing attacks

Adware

Lenovo PCs ship with man-in-the-middle adware that breaks HTTPS Connec