Microsoft has today announced two new free add-ins for its MSN toolbar.

The first is an anti-phishing add-in which, Microsoft says, is “the first such technology to be integrated into a Web search toolbar - currently offered in a beta version, helps provide powerful dynamic protection against phishing Web sites, a fast-growing class of online identity theft.

Phishers create fraudulent Web sites that resemble those of legitimate businesses, financial institutions or government agencies to convince visitors to disclose sensitive personal and financial information that can then be used for criminal activity such as identity theft.”

Microsoft explains that if “a customer inadvertently visits a potentially fraudulent Web site that can steal the customer’s personal information, the beta Microsoft Phishing Filter Add-in will proactively help protect the customer. This new add-in uses a dynamic system that quickly checks the Web pages customers visit with an online service with up-to-the-hour information to see if the sites they visit are suspicious or actual reported phishing Web sites. The filter will block customers from entering personal data if the site is confirmed…

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