Security Now (Audio) SN 1050: Here Come the AI Browsers - Scareware Blockers
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Nov 5, 2025 AI-powered web browsers are emerging, but experts warn they could lead to serious security issues. Hidden radios have been found in Chinese-made buses, raising privacy concerns. New scareware blockers in Edge and Chrome aim to combat scams, but trade-offs exist. Meanwhile, Italy introduces age verification for adult sites, and Russia pushes for domestic software use. Recent malware threatens Cisco devices, while TypeScript's popularity surges in GitHub reports. The rollout of AI browsers could create a new attack vector, prompting caution among users.
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Hidden Radios Found In Chinese Buses
- Secret cellular radios found embedded in Chinese-manufactured buses can phone home and enable remote disablement or diagnostics.
- Oslo removed SIM cards and treated the feature as a hidden backdoor because manuals lacked any documentation of these radios.
Browsers Ship On-Device Scareware AI
- Edge and Chrome added local LLM-based "scareware" blockers that scan pages with on-device models to detect full-screen tech scams.
- These features run by default on capable machines and may incur CPU, RAM, and privacy costs while protecting less-savvy users.
Disable Browser Sensors If You Value Privacy
- If you dislike on-device monitoring, disable Edge/Chrome scareware sensors and SmartScreen reporting in settings or enterprise policy.
- Keep private browsing enabled to avoid autonomous sensors sending anonymous signals back to vendors.