ProtectScan

Our Mission

ProtectScan aims to promote internet security by detecting harmful content on the internet and warning the user.

It is important to note: No one is restricted in their freedom! Unlike traditional censorship, no content is banned or hidden, which would only promote suppression. Furthermore, there is the problem that an all-restrictive firewall would end up in the trash on most devices after a few days, simply because it disrupts the internet experience. It is therefore important to keep the problem and the decision made present.

ProtectScan therefore relies on education and protection, combined with the option to "accept the risk". This way, users can decide for themselves whether to heed or ignore a warning. In any case, the found term is marked and assigned to a category. This makes it clear why the page is banned and users can decide how to act without exposing themselves to this possible trigger. Support offers are also linked, and they should exist in the collective consciousness of society to ensure the best protection for those affected.

Ultimately, it is your decision! ProtectScan fully supports the open-source ideals and offers, in addition to full insight into the code and the possibility to contribute, explanations and freedom to add or ban your own terms and categories.

Safe sites that have been mistakenly flagged because they contain terms for education or art, for example, can be independently or via the contact form added to the "whitelist".

Please remember that ProtectScan is only a tool. Ultimately, the responsibility for one's own actions and safety lies with each individual. We assume no liability for damages of any kind!

How it came to this project

The idea for ProtectScan arose in 2025 when I was looking for a topic for my SIA project.
The SIA is the "Student Engineers Academy," which takes place at the end of the upper secondary level of my scholarship program and serves as a substitute for the oral Abitur examination in Baden-Württemberg.

In addition to the fascinating technical details, I wanted to choose a topic that also has social relevance and a meaningful character.

In a SPIEGEL article, I became aware of how fear and ignorance about dangers on the internet lead to political (especially right-wing) violence, polarization, and mistrust. In addition to protecting against these contents, I am also very much concerned with the presence on the internet that can give users a sense of protection, security, and trust while not suppressing the dangers that still exist for others.

At the boarding school, one knows the youth protection guidelines of the firewall and classic censorship and quickly learns to circumvent them without thinking about their actual purpose. My hope is to construct a sympathetic counterpart through this project that kindly points out risks and offers protection without restricting anyone.

Technical data

The ProtectScan Browser-Plugin is integrated client-side in the browser. All necessary databases that are not already provided by the browser are also integrated there. This is important so that neither IT admins nor network users or my software can draw conclusions about the internet consumption of the user.

After starting the search, a content script accesses the contents of the so-called "DOM" containers of the websites or AI responses of the browser. These are then compared with known terms from the database, and in the event of a match, another script is notified that takes over the categorization and completion of a corresponding popup.

ProtectScan is currently available in two versions: one uses MV1 (Chrome standard) and one MV3 (Firefox and Tor). Since the integration in Tor is somewhat more complex, additional material is included here for the corresponding data.

Further information can easily be taken from my written work, which can be found in the Downloads!

Risks

ProtectScan is a tool designed to help navigate the internet more safely. However, it does not replace critical engagement with content or personal research.

There is always the possibility that content is mistakenly identified as harmful (false positives) or harmful content is not recognized (false negatives). Users should keep this in mind despite everything.

In addition, using ProtectScan can give a false sense of security. Ultimately, the responsibility for one's own actions and safety lies with each individual. We assume no liability for damages. Of any kind.

It is important that users are aware of these risks and consider ProtectScan as a tool that supports them in their own responsibility.

I also emphasize that especially when using Tor, additional risks arise, and I ask you to read the detailed text on this.

It is clear, however, that everything I do, which hardly anyone else does, sets you apart from their internet consumption. This means that "fingerprinting" (creating a user profile by other organizations, hackers, and script kiddies) is facilitated and theoretically also provides a surface for attacks. We are constantly working on new solutions, and the probability is very low, but this fact must still be stated.

In addition, the use of any plugin can reduce browser speed. In my previous tests, I have not been able to measure any performance losses in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, but it could have an increasing impact as the data size grows.