The firm said that the SmartScreen system has been a capable security option for some time, and has made its bones in protecting against phishing attacks and malware and that kind of thing. Microsoft does not hang about, though, and it has added to this apparently perfect specimen with protection against drive-by zero-day attacks.
"SmartScreen has protected users from billions of web-based attacks in the last eight years. Over time, SmartScreen has expanded its scope from phishing attacks and socially engineered malware to include warnings for deceptive advertisements and scam support sites," said the firm in a blogpost.
"Today, we're happy to announce that with the latest Windows 10 updates, we've extended SmartScreen to include protection from drive-by attacks in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11."
The extra protection provides coverage against exploit kits, which Microsoft said are common, bad, capable and fast moving. Microsoft, and it ought to know, added that patching does not offer adequate protection against the menace. Or at least it didn't.
"Fortunately, Microsoft has cultivated a broad set of data from sources like Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Bing, Defender and the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit to be able to see these attacks as they emerge, and to turn this information into the intelligence that powers SmartScreen drive-by protection in the browser," explained the firm.
"This cross-company data intelligence effort is unique since it brings together information not just about the browsing experience or web infrastructure, but about behavioural telemetry from across the Windows operating system.
"This can help us to detect potential attacks in progress and detect emerging threats. With SmartScreen drive-by protection, these types of threats may be prevented before a user is infected, even if a patch isn't yet available."
