Windows 10 apps that will be found in the store can integrate support for antivirus software and thus work with security solutions installed on your computer to block any type of malicious content that could be bundled in the source code.

In many cases, malware authors can target Windows Store applications with remote content that could be used to inject infections directly into your PC (a RSS reader, for instance, connects to external sources to load content and it thus becomes as vulnerable as a typical browser), but with the help of a new technology called AntiMalware Scan Interface (AMSI), Microsoft is aiming to help developers prevent that from happening.

Basically, with a few lines of code, developers can integrate antivirus support in their apps and allow the security software that is installed on users’ computers to scan the app’s script and content before anything dangerous happens.

AMSI, which is described as a generic interface standard that enables apps and services to work together with antimalware apps on one’s computer, is already integrated in the preview build of Windows 10, but will arrive in full form later this summer, when the OS launches.

Help from antivirus developers also needed

Microsoft says that, while it’s easy for developers to add support for AMSI in their apps and thus enable them to work with security solutions, antivirus companies also need to implement support for the AMSI interface and allow their products to detect malicious code in Metro apps.

“If you are an antivirus software vendor, consider implementing support for the AMSI interface. When you do, your engine will have much deeper insight into the data that applications (including Windows’ built-in scripting hosts) consider potentially malicious,” Redmond says.

Users won’t have to do anything to benefit from this new feature because apps that will come with such support will be automatically scanned by the installed security solution on their computers. Windows Defender will also support it, so you’re on the safe side even if you do not install a third-party security app.