Osprey: Browser Protection

Osprey is a browser extension that protects you from malicious websites.

Google Chrome • Microsoft Edge • Firefox • Privacy Policy • Wiki (FAQs)

MalwareTips • Wilders Security

Official Partners

Osprey has officially partnered with industry-leading security companies to provide you with the best protection possible. Check out some of our partners below:

Warning

If the website is malicious, Osprey will block the page and display a warning:

From this page, you can report the website as safe, temporarily allow the website, go back to safety, and continue anyway. By default, Osprey creates a browser notification for blocked pages that you can toggle on and off using the context menu. You can hide the continue and report buttons, lock down the protection options, and even hide the context menu entirely using the system policies.

Settings

You can configure the extension's protection options in the settings:

Detections

Osprey blocks websites that are classified as:

• Malicious
• Phishing
• Untrusted
• Adult Content

Protection Providers

The following providers are enabled by default:

• AdGuard Security DNS
• alphaMountain Web Protection
• Control D Security DNS
• PrecisionSec Web Protection
• G DATA Web Protection
• Microsoft SmartScreen
• Norton Safe Web
• CERT-EE Security DNS
• CleanBrowsing Security DNS
• Cloudflare Security DNS
• DNS4EU Security DNS
• OpenDNS Security DNS
• Quad9 Security DNS
• Switch.ch Security DNS

The following providers are disabled by default:

• AdGuard Family DNS
• Control D Family DNS
• CIRA Security DNS
• CIRA Family DNS
• CleanBrowsing Family DNS
• CleanBrowsing Adult DNS
• Cloudflare Family DNS
• DNS0.eu Security DNS
• DNS0.eu Kids DNS
• DNS4EU Family DNS
• OpenDNS Family Shield DNS

Providers disabled by default are either due to:

• Frequent reports of false positives
• Failure to respond to false positive reports
• Being an optional adult content filter

If a provider gives you false positives, report the links to them directly and disable them in the Protection Options panel if needed. Osprey is designed to be customizable, so you can enable or disable any of the providers at any time. Osprey does not have control over the providers' databases or how they classify URLs.

Privacy

Osprey strips down each URL of tracking parameters before sending it to any APIs.

For example:

1. If you search for shirts on Amazon and visit: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=shirts&crid=3TOVSW14ZHF8V&sprefix=shirt%2Caps%2C175&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
2. Osprey will only send https://amazon.com/s to any APIs you have enabled.
3. If the APIs report that the page is safe to visit, Osprey caches the result for 24 hours.
4. It will also be cached if you click 'Continue anyway' or 'Temporarily allow this website' on a blocked site.
5. As long as a URL is cached, no new network requests will be made for it.

The only data the APIs receive is the stripped-down URL, your user agent, and your IP address. Use a reputable VPN or proxy service if you're concerned about IP-related privacy. There are also extensions that mask your user agent, if you're so inclined.

As for why Osprey needs to check complete URLs instead of just the domain, many phishing attacks use legitimate companies such as Jotform to host their phishing campaigns. If Osprey only checked a website's domain name, it wouldn't detect those threats. Osprey only sends your hostname to its various DNS API providers, so if you're highly concerned about URL page privacy, the DNS APIs are there for you.

Installation

Note: You need to have a GitHub account to download artifacts.

You can install Osprey from the web stores listed at the top.

For other installations, you can install the extension manually:

Chrome/Edge

1. Navigate to the Actions section and click Compile for Chrome or Compile for Edge.
2. Scroll down to the Artifacts section and download the artifact file.
3. Extract the artifact's ZIP file to a folder on your computer.
4. Navigate to about://extensions in your browser.
5. Enable Developer mode and click Load unpacked.
6. Select the downloaded ZIP file and click Select Folder.

Firefox

Note: This only works for builds of Firefox that allow unsigned addons.

1. Navigate to the Actions section and click Compile for Firefox.
2. Scroll down to the Artifacts section and download the artifact file.
3. Extract the artifact's ZIP file to a folder on your computer.
4. Navigate to about:addons in your browser.
5. Click the gear icon and select Install Add-on From File.
6. Select the downloaded ZIP file and click Select Folder.

Osprey should now be installed in your browser.

Getting Help

For support or queries, please open an issue in the Issues section.