What is SmartScreen application reputation?

In the course of daily browsing, many consumers see warnings that say “This type of file may harm your computer” when downloading files. This warning may be accurate in some sense, but it is not helpful or relevant for the vast majority of internet downloads. Most consumers are accustomed to just ignoring this warning since it is shown when downloading almost any file from the web.

With IE9 we looked at ways to improve our malware protection overall and the experience consumers have with downloads. We had two primary goals in mind to help consumers make better trust decisions when downloading programs from the web:

• Show more useful warnings when a program is a higher risk
• Reduce the number of generic, unhelpful warnings consumers see when downloading programs

In analyzing software downloads actively in use on the internet today, we found that most have an established download footprint and no history of malware. This was the genesis of SmartScreen application reputation. By removing unnecessary warnings, the remaining warnings become relevant.

“Stranger Danger” – Introducing SmartScreen® Application Reputation – IEBlog – Site Home – MSDN Blogs.