About protection of financial transactions and online purchases
To protect confidential data that you enter on websites of banks and payment systems (such as bank card numbers and passwords for online banking), as well as to prevent funds from being stolen when you make online payments, Kaspersky Internet Security prompts you to open such websites in Protected Browser.
Protected Browser is a special browser operating mode designed to protect your data as you access bank or payment system websites. Protected Browser is started in an isolated environment to prevent other applications from injecting their code into the process of Protected Browser. Kaspersky Internet Security creates special profiles for the Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers to prevent third-party add-ons from affecting the operation of Protected Browser. The application does not affect your data that the browsers may save in the profiles created for them.
If you are using the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Internet Explorer browsers, Protected Browser is opened in a new window. Microsoft Edge browser automatically switches to Protected Browser mode when you visit websites of banks and payment systems.
The application uses the Kaspersky Protection extension to provide a number of Protected Browser functions.
Browsers that do not meet the software requirements cannot operate in Protected Browser mode. Instead of such browsers, either Internet Explorer or another browser configured in application settings starts in Protected Browser mode.
After installing Kaspersky Internet Security, you must restart the computer before Microsoft Edge can operate in Protected Browser mode. Microsoft Edge does not operate in Protected Browser mode in the Microsoft Windows 10 Creators Update operating system (version 1703).
Protected Browser cannot be run if the Enable Self-Defense check box is cleared in the Self-Defense subsection of the Advanced Settings section of the application settings window.
Protected Browser capabilities
In Protected Browser mode, the application provides protection against the following types of threats:
- Untrusted modules. The application runs a check for untrusted modules every time you visit a bank or payment system website.
- Rootkits. The application scans for rootkits at Protected Browser startup.
- Known operating system vulnerabilities. The application scans for operating system vulnerabilities at Protected Browser startup.
- Invalid certificates of bank or payment system websites. The application checks certificates when you visit a bank or payment system website. The check is performed against a database of compromised certificates.
Protected Browser status
When you open a website in Protected Browser, a frame appears on the borders of the browser window. The color of the frame indicates the protection status.
The frame of the browser window can display the following color indications:
- Green frame. Signifies that all checks have been performed successfully. You can continue using Protected Browser.
- Yellow frame. Signifies that checks have revealed security problems that need to be resolved.
The application can detect the following threats and security problems:
- Untrusted module. Computer scanning and disinfection is required.
- Rootkit. Computer scanning and disinfection is required.
- Operating system vulnerability. Operating system updates need to be installed.
- Invalid certificate of a bank or payment system website.
If you do not eliminate the threats detected, the security of the bank or payment system website connection session is not guaranteed. Events involving the launch and use of Protected Browser with reduced protection are recorded in the Windows event log.
The yellow color of the frame may also signify that Protected Browser cannot be started due to technical limitations. For example, a third-party hypervisor is running or your computer does not support hardware virtualization technology.