Launched in January last year, Threat Manager is a useful malware and ad-blocker tool designed to help users boost their digital security even more. And, while the feature was already available on iOS, MacOS and Android VPN apps, Windows users can now benefit from a tracker-free browsing experience.
Keep reading as we explained everything you need to know about the latest Windows updates and how to use the new feature.
Why use Threat Manager
“In this release, we’ve rolled out Threat Manager for Windows users—a new feature that prevents apps and websites from communicating with trackers or other malicious third parties without your knowledge. This feature adds an extra layer of privacy to your device,” reads the release note for Windows 12.58.0 published on September 7, 2023.
ExpressVPN Threat Manager is a DNS blocker with the goal of stopping websites and apps from sharing user data with certain third parties. This might happen because these are deemed as malicious actors, or when the tracking occurs without explicit consent.
Threat Manager doesn’t just block malware and web trackers by preventing data sharing in your browser, but it also promises to halt data sharing across all apps on your device.
Similarly to other ad-blockers out there, the tool prevents devices from communicating with servers listed on a blocklist that the Express team regularly updates with dangerous sites and trackers.
Threat Manager isn’t activated by default. This means that users will need to enable the feature to benefit from this extra protection. Simply head on the app’s settings and turn on the “Block trackers and malicious sites” option.
Already up and running on all the other client apps (iOS, MacOS, Android and Linux), Threat Manager is also one of the advanced protection options within its VPN-built router ExpressVPN Aircove. We believe that the new addition to the Windows app will help even more to offer users a thoroughly secure VPN product.
The new Windows update also fixed a “major bug that was preventing the app from auto-updating to the latest version,” the Express team also confirmed.