The cybersecurity firm behind some of the best antivirus software on the market has just launched a new tool to spot and block phishing scams in real time.
Developers at McAfee have combined the power of AI with the best in human threat intelligence to automatically identify and alert users of dangerous URLs in messages before even they get to open them.
McAfee Scam Protection is now free to use for all existing customers—all you need to do is update the McAfee Security app.
Fight back against AI-powered scams
“Today, cybercriminals are using artificial intelligence to dramatically improve the accuracy, sophistication, and speed of an attack, making it harder than ever to tell real from fake,” said Greg Johnson, McAfee Chief Executive Officer.
According to the latest statistics, phishing scams are the biggest cybersecurity threat around the world right now with a new malicious site being created every 11 seconds. Attackers have been harvesting the power of AI to write malware as well as launch ransomware and phishing messages able to deceive even the most savvy users.
“Today, cybercriminals are using artificial intelligence to dramatically improve the accuracy, sophistication, and speed of an attack, making it harder than ever to tell real from fake,” said Greg Johnson, McAfee Chief Executive Officer. “It’s why we all need the most advanced, innovative AI working in our favor, to proactively protect us, in real-time, before we even know we’ve been targeted.”
That’s where the new McAfee Scam Protection comes in. Once granted permission, the tool scans all received messages to warn users of any malicious URLs before they can click on them—whether that’s through emails, text messages, social media, or web browser.
“The beauty of this tech is that it works automatically, allowing users to be relaxed instead of on alert,” Marc Vos, Product Reviews Manager at McAfee, told TechRadar.
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McAfee Scam Protection is currently available for Android, iOS, Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge and Firefox. However, the text alert functionality works only on Android at the moment and is set to be released on iOS in October.
The company also promises users’ privacy won’t be compromised as the scan is developed to exclusively look out for URLs only.
While the tool is already available for existing McAfee subscribers, new customers can try it out for seven days for free by signing up for a trial of McAfee Mobile Security. After the trial period, the security suite will cost $2.99 (£2.29) a month or $29.99 (£25.99) for the one-year plan.
The launch of McAfee Scam Protection perfectly echoes the change of direction the company began to embark upon in 2021, passing from a focus on protecting devices to protecting people.
Vos confirmed to TechRadar, in fact, that there are a series of new privacy tools in the pipeline to simplify users’ experience and give them back more control over their data.
