W3A Anniversary: A Year of Revolutionizing Web3 Security

Time flies so fast — one moment we were launching the very first version of the Web3 Antivirus extension, and, in the blink of an eye, it is already a whole ecosystem of Web3 security solutions!

Our mission has always been clear — to safeguard your Web3 experience without the hassle of manual risk assessment. And we're proud to say that we've been doing just that - tirelessly enhancing our scam detection and analytics to provide you the peace of mind you deserve.

Join us as we reflect on this exciting year and celebrate the milestones that mark our journey in making Web3 a safer space for 17,000 enthusiasts and counting.

How it started 🌱

2022 was a challenging year for Web3, with nearly $4 billion lost to scams. This spurred the ideation of Web3 Antivirus — a security solution capable of warning users about potential dangers.

We spent hundreds of hours researching and coding, and on December 1, 2022, W3A was launched.

This was a browser extension for Chrome, equipped with features like phishing website detection and smart contract analysis to spot malicious patterns.

But we didn't stop there. Our risk reports went beyond just identifying dangers. For token and collection contracts, they provided additional insights like market cap, floor price, owner count, and others, helping you evaluate the liquidity of the tokens they wanted to buy.

A standout feature that set W3A apart from similar solutions was transaction simulation. This feature does more than just safeguard your transactions; it gives you a clear visual of what’s happening and what assets you’re sending and receiving before you commit. But that’s not all — our simulation is not just about the contract you’re dealing with directly; we’re talking about a comprehensive review of every connected contract.

Initial success and user reception

Since its early days, you’ve given phenomenal support to Web3 Antivirus:

• 4K downloads in the first two months
• 2K monthly active users in the first two months
• Recognition as a top launching product at Product Hunt and Smoothie

How it is going 🚀

Since its launch, Web3 Antivirus underwent a series of upgrades, both visual and technological.

UI/UX

We reimagined our extension's design for the ultimate user experience with every new version.

The result? A sleek, mature interface with intuitive navigation, enriched by insightful charts that not only help users notice suspicious behavior but also provide actionable insights for token trading.

We've also introduced a dark mode and Spanish language support, expanding our reach and inclusivity.

Risk detection

With each new release, we added new risk detectors and improved the existing ones, making the W3A detection mechanisms as precise and fast as possible.

Now, the extension can instantly identify and warn you about more than 60 risks and scams, including both widespread and rare dangers:

🚨 Phishing attempts, such as fake and compromised URLs, fake airdrops, wallet drainers, and impersonation — all aiming to steal your wallet credentials and make you sign malicious transactions.

🚨 Fake addresses that may disguise as the address you’ve interacted with before or pretend to be a 0x00000...00000 address.

🚨 Scam assets, including token copycats, honeypots, that will be impossible to sell or transfer, and wash traded tokens with artificially inflated prices.

🚨 Risky smart contract logic that will allow a contract owner to impose restrictions on your tokens or manage them to their liking. Moreover, W3A identifies if a contract can metamorphose its code, self-destruct, or delegate calls to other contracts.

🚨 Smart contract vulnerabilities and flaws that may expose your assets to hacking attempts.

🚨 Suspicious activity, such as a contract’s involvement in terrorist financing, rug pulls, Ponzi schemes, darknet activities, etc.

🚨 Liquidity risks that may potentially restrict your ability to sell tokens or negatively affect their price.

W3A also manages and constantly updates extensive block and allowlists of websites, facilitating the speed of risk assessment.

Ecosystem

Over the year, W3A grew from a standalone browser extension to a mature ecosystem of Web3 security solutions, with each tool designed to best suit the needs of individual users and businesses alike.

The W3A security suite consists of:

• Browser extension that makes sure individual users have all the necessary details regarding their Web3 transactions and are timely warned about potential risks and scams.
• Dashboard, a control panel where you can monitor your wallet's health score and portfolio statistics, manage token approvals, and access information about other users' wallets.
• MetaMask Snap, a wallet extension that shows risk alerts right in your MetaMask.
• W3A API for businesses operating in the Web3 domain, allowing them to augment their capabilities with features such as risk reporting, translation simulation, token approval management, and more.

A year of impact 🌟

Web3 Antivirus celebrates its first anniversary with some great achievements:

• 17K+ users
• 60+ risk detectors
• 3M+ risky websites blocklisted
• 2M+ dangerous transfers and attacks revealed
• 60M+ contracts reviewed
• 2M+ malicious smart contracts detected

What’s next?

Your trust and feedback inspire us to keep innovating and stay one step ahead of emerging threats. We're excited to bring you new features, including support for additional blockchain networks and a Premium subscription for the most avid Web3 users.

Stay tuned for more updates and be the first to benefit from the next level of Web3 security with W3A.

Here's to another year of safe and secure Web3 exploration! 🥂