Windows Defender is the antivirus that is installed by default in Windows 10. This antivirus has become the best security solution, totally free, for the Microsoft operating system. The company continues to work hard to improve security and protection against all kinds of threats from its operating system. And one of the last protection measures that will come to this antivirus is a protection shield against potentially unwanted applications, or PUA.
What is a PUA
A PUA, or Potentially Unwanted Application , is a program that, although not a malware as such, is close to being one. Within this concept we can group all the programs that are trying to be installed without permission on our computer, such as fake antivirus, cryptocurrency mining software, adware and similar programs.
PUAs do not usually harm our computer like a virus or Trojan. However, they can affect the performance of our equipment, be annoying and pose a risk to our privacy. In addition, its main purpose is to take advantage of our PC to generate money for hackers.
Windows Defender will protect from PUAs in May 2020 Update
Windows 10 May 2020 Update will be the new update of the operating system that will arrive to the users at the end of this month. This new version of the operating system will bring a lot of improvements and new features that will continue to shape this operating system.
One of the system components to be upgraded is, of course, Windows Defender. This free Microsoft antivirus will include a new protection shield that will allow users to be protected from potentially unwanted applications, or PUA.
This new option will be found in the menu Settings> Update and security> Windows security> Control of applications and browsers .
Here we will find a new option to block potentially unwanted applications in the operating system. We can activate or deactivate this feature as needed. And we can also choose if we only want to block applications or also dangerous downloads made from the browser.
This new Windows Defender shield is designed to detect PUAs before being installed on the computer. However, if we have already installed one by mistake, you can also detect and remove it without problems to clean our PC.
Edge Chromium also allows us to block PUAs
Starting with the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Windows Defender will be able to detect and block these dubious applications in all parts of the operating system. But until the new version of the operating system arrives, at the end of May, we will not be able to enjoy this novelty.
If we are users of the new Edge Chromium , Microsoft has already introduced in its browser a module that allows detecting and blocking these potentially dangerous applications for our computer before they are downloaded to the PC.
This option is disabled by default. To activate it, simply open the browser Settings menu, and in the privacy and services section, locate the option ” Block potentially unwanted applications “.
Once activated, Edge will begin to block by default all the downloads of applications that do not have a very good reputation and that can cause unexpected behaviors in our operating system.
