Page 707 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION SHERLOCK
EDGE

How does the Edge browser know what’s a phishing site and
what’s not?

Edge uses three bits of information to figure out whether a site

is legitimate or a phishing site.

Its first line of defense is a Microsoft-compiled, frequently
updated database of known phishing sites that—believe it or
not—sits right on your own hard drive. Whenever you head to

a website, Edge consults that database. If the website appears
in the list, you’ll get a warning. (The database is compiled

from several companies that specialize in phish tracking,
including Cyota, IID, and MarkMonitor, as well as from direct
feedback.)

Second, Edge uses heuristics, a sort of low-level artificial
intelligence. It compares characteristics of the site you’re
visiting against common phishing-site characteristics. The

heuristics tool helps Edge recognize phishing sites that haven’t
yet made it into the database of known sites.

Finally, Edge quietly sends addresses of some of the sites you
visit to Microsoft, which checks them against a frequently

updated list of reported phishing sites (not the database on your
PC).

Third-party cookies, though, are deposited on your hard drive by a
site other than the one you’re currently visiting—often by an

advertiser. Needless to say, this kind of cookie is more
objectionable. It can track your browsing habits and create profiles
about your interests and behaviors.

Don’t block cookies. All cookies are OK. Websites can read
existing cookies.