Introducing Web3 Antivirus
An opening episode of our indie series on how we are contributing to web3 security with a rock-steady Web3 Antivirus. You don’t want to miss it!
Web3 Antivirus preview
Welcome aboard, dear web3 insider! Great to see you browsing our insights. Let us give you some context to our Web3 Antivirus.
W3A is an autonomous Chrome extension with ML and human mind-powered algorithms behind. It audits smart contracts and protects you from signing dangerous transactions or dealing with suspicious assets.
The solution redirects to a separate screen to alert phishing, supports MetaMask and grows with new wallet integrations on a weekly basis. Right on the go, our Web3 Antivirus detects suspicious logic or malicious activity and gives you a smoke signal — as simple as that. Technique-wise, it’s like this:
- Web3 Antivirus intercepts MetaMask call
- Audits a smart contract for red flags
- Generates a report on the overall risk score and potential threats in less than 10 seconds
Note 1. The red flags don’t mean it’s a 100% scam. Think of it as a warning. This is still democracy: if you wish to proceed, W3A won’t stand in your way, you’re free to go make an informed decision.
Note 2. Web3 Antivirus will never ask for access to your wallet or your seed phrase.
Field inspection, or who needs W3A
Wherever money goes, fraud tends to follow. What are the odds one falls for a wicked scam or an atrocious smart contract in web3? Well, evil has its moments, so you can’t just always know it in your bones. Meaning, the odds are whopping.
Some quick stats. Just from January to April 2022, NFT hacks cost almost $52 million, compared to under $7 million over the whole of 2021. A crippling loss.
Remember the loudest phishing on the Bored Ape valued unthinkable 2.5M? Quite a hit in the back. Even worse, a recent hack attack made Bill Murray lose a $185K-worth NFT meant for charity! Stealing from minorities is beyond sin — these hackers are officially out of heaven.
The point is, literally anyone can be taken off guard. Could be web3 freshmen dabbling with NFTs to get that ape of their own. Could be a web3 shark or a tech community founder. Got a crypto wallet? Make transactions in web3? Tough luck, you are a potential target!
Regardless, web3 is a beautiful world of swarming capabilities. It’s just that you can’t reach out for 3D secure, banking support or other middlemen promising ironclad fund protection. Once you are here, you’re a man of your own. That’s the way it is. One wrong click — and your possessions go puff in your face.
Badly needs brightsiding, right?
Going on a mission with Web3 Antivirus
So, what’s with the NFT industry reputation and web3 security at all? Social media accounts hacks, phishing, fake websites and smart contracts… The monumental financial loss doesn’t inspire confidence, agree.
Exactly for that reason, our team has been there for partners who lost fortunes on scam, side by side all the way the web3 era unfolds. The more we investigated and tried to devise a way to minimize such risks, the more this got us thinking — these situations shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
And just like that, out of towers of knowledge base, our web3 guard was born (though it took heavy coding too). Behold a steering wheel as you go adrift in free waters of untraceable web3 transactions, compromisable social media accounts, leakable databases, and fakeable marketplaces.
From now on, you are forearmed from making hasty split-second decisions.
How does it actually work?
As of now, Web3 Antivirus is able to analyze three properties for indicating potential “toxicity” of a smart contract. Namely,
- Smart contracts.
W3A traces transactions back to check all the smart contracts involved while defining whether they are related to known fraudulent activity or sanctioned person or entity. The solution helps find out if contracts are verified and belong to the official creator, if there’s any suspicious logic or code. Also, the tool makes sure a contract doesn’t request too much of an access.
2. Financial risks (coming soon).
Web3 Antivirus utilizes proprietary Anti-Money Laundering framework to trace wallets’ linking to suspicious transaction patterns.
3. IP infringements (coming soon).
The app detects smart contracts associated with stolen, duplicate or fake assets, names, trademarks, or logos.
And more capabilities are coming any day now!
Why Web3 Antivirus is to rock it
Need we say, our web3 guard is a unique automated solution for those in the market for military-grade web3 security, as big as that. Firstly, it runs on proprietary ML models. Secondly, it enables transaction simulation, which we think is huge again. It’s like visualizing the Butterfly Effect or, simpler, watching instant karma in the making.
Say, you are in the middle of a deal, in two minds whether to proceed with a transaction. The Web3 Antivirus helps check what happens if you approve it and showcases the result while highlighting potential vulnerabilities or side effects (God forbid it’s a hurricane). Even more, our web3 security tool allows call tracing.
Meaning, not only does it check the contract you are actually dealing with, but traces the whole chain of contracts associated through calls. To make it possible, we’ve custom-built a dedicated EVM node, which is yet another value proposition in itself.
Joining the list, wallet analysis. Not to put your funds in harm’s way, W3A checks the wallet behind the smart contract in question. This way, you make sure you’re on the safe side where nothing like financial fraud or dangerous transactions happens.
Can we ever do without NFTs? Our Web3 Antivirus will soon work its magic tracking IP rights and financial fraud linked to NFT deals, as the case may be.
See, we’ve gone a long way to ensure nothing kills the vibe as you surf the wild wave of web3. Fingers crossed we’ve had you at “automated”.
Who’s behind the Web3 Antivirus
Greetings from the web3 guard’s development team!
Cutting it to an elevator pitch, we are web3 and blockchain experts collectively boasting 50-years expertise. Our mission is to help the web3 community save billions of dollars by making the decentralized ledger ecosystem a safer place to work in. You know, the “rising tide lifts all boats” principle.
My personal mission is to grow our Web3 Antivirus boat into a true whale. I’m Alex, a founder of PixelPlex, a Web3 evangelist, software engineer and researcher. Can’t help diving into new tech head first, figuring out the tracks on the go.
Been in cross-industry blockchain engineering since 2013, which made me a strong believer in decentralization, transparency, trustlessness, and peer-to-peer connections. That’s basically how I got where I am now.
What’s next for W3A
Now, all hands on deck and back to work! There’s much more coming, and announcements will abound.
Spoiler alert. To cover all the bases within the planned milestones, we’ll just dangle a bit of what’s up our sleeves.
First, we are going to improve ML algorithms that power smart contract audits.
Further, there’s a rollout of W3A Dashboard. It’s a module providing detailed intel on transaction threats.
Then we have token rights approval functionality underway. Not to get into it further, it’s a killer feature enabling controlled token rights delegation.
Also, tune in to discover more wallet and protocol integrations — the plans are massive.
For now, let’s call it a day. Happy to have you here, hoping for another round shortly.
Alex
