At the RSA conference held this week, Microsoft announced it would expand the capabilities and databases of phishing filtering tools of Internet Explorer 7 browser.

Microsoft expanded IE7's anti-phishing capabilities images 1 Organizations that provide additional phishing databases for Microsoft will include: Australia (AusCERT) Emergency Computer Response Team; BrandProtect; MySpace.com; Cyveillance; Digital Resolve; Internet Identity; Mark Monitor; RSA; and Netcraft.

Microsoft also said that since the launch of IE7, the browser has blocked more than 10 million times when users intend to access phishing sites. Currently, there are over 1 million times of blocks, and more than 100,000 phishing sites are reported by IE7 users each week.

Starting February 6, Microsoft has enhanced its support for Extended Validation SSL Certificates for IE7. The protocol is also being deployed by some "big" companies like eBay, and Charles Schwab for its website.