Web3 Antivirus, a novel solution designed to protect cryptocurrency users from scams, is launched. See how you can improve your security with this easy-to-use browser extension, even if you’re new to cryptography.

Introducing Web3 Antivirus, a browser extension for a secure cryptographic experience

Launched in the midst of the 2022 crypto recession, Web3 Antivirus (W3A) is a next-generation project focused on a better and safer experience for Web3 newbies and professionals alike.

According to statistics, $2.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency was lost in 2022, mainly due to smart contracts or protocol infrastructure hacks. The net loss increased by 63% compared to the previous year.

Namely, in February 2022, the Wormhole bridge was emptied of $300 million in Ethers thanks to a bug in the Wormhole verification function and a fake system program to obfuscate the fact that the signature verification had not been executed.

Furthermore, the cross-chain bridge between BNB Chain and BNB Smart Chain lost over $100 million due to a code bug that damaged the integrity of the system.

That is why in the fourth quarter of 2022, the release of simple and practical security solutions seems more relevant than ever.

Created by a team of experienced blockchain engineers and security experts, Web3 Antivirus (W3A) is an open source Chrome extension that protects users against signing dangerous transactions and deals with phishing sites or suspicious assets. .

How the extension works

Web3 Antivirus is activated when a user is about to sign a transaction. The extension briefly stops the transaction and scans it for red flags such as malicious logic, suspicious functions, compromised permissions, and more. Once the checks are complete, Web3 Antivirus automatically generates a report based on its commonly used risk matrix within a few seconds. Indicates the overall risk score and potential hazards.

Furthermore, the tool also simulates the transaction to show what happens if the user confirms it. Then, having received all the information about the possible risks, the user can decide whether or not to proceed with the transaction.

The extension also helps users avoid phishing websites: it checks domain names against its extensive database of blocklists and allowlists using AI similarity validation, identifies suspicious logic, and warns users if the website is dangerous.

Web3 Antivirus: Ethereum first, multi-chain support coming soon

Web3 Antivirus was released on December 1, 2022. Between October and November 2022, the solution underwent and successfully passed stress tests in public beta.

During testing, the extension prevented more than 2,300 potential phishing attacks daily, prevented more than 50 malicious transactions per wallet, and blacklisted thousands of impersonating websites: fake airdrops, phishing domains, and others. The phishing sites database now contains more than 1,230,000 links.

Web3 Antivirus aims to work with all major smart contract platforms. In its first upcoming release, the extension supports Ethereum. Support for BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain; BNB) and Solana will be added in the coming months.

As for wallet integrations, W3A currently works with MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and BitKeep Wallet, with new wallets to be added soon.

The W3A team stresses that the extension never requests access to your wallets, assets, seed phrases, passwords, or other sensitive information.

The solution is available as an open source Google Chrome extension, its unlimited use is completely free. In the meantime, a premium version will be released in the coming months. It will offer its users extensive smart contract verification, detailed reporting, community validation, and an innovative IP verification mechanism.