Vigie Lab, anti-scam and privacy protection for Windows 11

Three things. It protects you from scams that target people rather than computers (fake technicians, fake banks, fake websites). It cuts off what Windows, browsers and PC makers send about you. And it lightens a slow PC without taking risks with Windows.

Yes, and quickly. Every morning, we look out for new traps. When a real threat is spotted, protection arrives within 48 hours. Vigie Lab tells you about the new version, and nothing is installed without your agreement. On 9 November 2026, for example, the fake “Help Desk” on Teams and the Marsalek password thief were dealt with the same day. On 12 November 2026, the attack hijacking ScreenConnect, the remote-control software used by many IT providers, was countered the very next morning by version 1.1.8.

No, it works alongside it. An antivirus looks for viruses; Vigie Lab deals with what the antivirus doesn’t see: traps aimed at people, what Windows sends to the Internet, programs that go online without asking. Keep Microsoft Defender or the antivirus you paid for: Vigie Lab never touches it.

No. They don’t do the same job and don’t get in each other’s way. A fake tech support scam, for example, uses no virus at all: you install the remote-control software yourself, of your own free will. Your antivirus has nothing against that software; Vigie Lab warns you that someone is probably manipulating you.

Yes, it was designed with you in mind. Every screen has its own help in plain language, and right-clicking almost any line explains what it means. For privacy, three ready-made levels save you from having to understand everything. And Vigie Lab never does anything without telling you first.

For most people, Complete: it’s the one that stops today’s scams. Essential is enough if you mainly want to take back control of your privacy and lighten your PC. Studio adds the full misleading links extension, home network monitoring and a report to help a relative. Business protects several workstations with the same rules.

Yes. Download the program from this page: once installed, Vigie Lab runs for 7 days with every feature unlocked. No account, no credit card.

Vigie Lab asks for a licence key. Without one, the paid features lock, but what it has already set stays in place and the “Put everything back as it was” button is always there. Nothing breaks.

Vigie Lab is made for 64-bit Windows 11. It hasn’t been validated on Windows 10, and it doesn’t exist for Mac or Linux.

No. On our test laptop, its background work uses about 14 MB of memory and less than 0.1% of the processor on average. On an old PC it’s often the opposite: the clean-up and a lighter startup give it some breathing room.

French, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Polish and Brazilian Portuguese. You change the language in Settings.

No. It only goes online for your licence, to find out once a day whether there is a new version (you can turn this off), and to check a password with the dedicated tool, when you ask (only a small piece of its fingerprint is sent, which can’t be turned back into the password). No account, no cloud, no usage statistics.

It scans new messages in Thunderbird, Foxmail and Mailspring for traps, on your computer, without changing or keeping them. Nothing leaves your PC, and you can switch this protection off in one click. Emails, links and texts you ask it to check are also examined on your computer and nowhere else.

It is digitally signed. When you install it, Windows shows the verified publisher: Christophe Queyroi, the founder of FFSMC. If another name appears, or “Unknown publisher”, it isn’t our file: don’t install it and let us know. Only download Vigie Lab from ffsmc.fr.

This blue message can appear for a program that hasn’t been downloaded much yet, even a signed one. Click “More info”, check that the publisher shown is Christophe Queyroi, then click “Run anyway”. If the publisher is unknown or has another name, stop there and write to us.

FFSMC, a small company based in Bergues, in northern France. Vigie Lab is designed and developed there, and the same people answer support. You write to someone who knows the software inside out.

No. Vigie Lab doesn’t touch security updates, the antivirus or Windows’ vital files, which are locked. Before its first changes it creates a restore point. Every change is logged in the history, and almost anything can be undone in one click.

It raises the alarm early, from the Complete edition up: hidden decoy files in your documents, too many files changing at once, Windows previous versions all deleted together. It also tells you whether your backup is recent and safe. It cannot undo encryption and doesn’t replace your antivirus: the real defence is still a recent backup on a drive you unplug. In the Business edition, the affected workstation can also be cut off from the network, to protect the others.

The Essential level suits almost everyone: it closes old doors that hardly any software uses now. Only a very old device, such as an old network drive that only knows the old file-sharing protocol, might suffer: just undo that setting. The Reinforced and Maximum levels go further and say beforehand what they might get in the way of (old devices, old drivers). Every setting keeps its previous value and can be undone in one click, and “Put everything back as it was” undoes them all. Hardening comes from the Complete edition up.

My security, “Drive encryption” card: Vigie Lab tells you in one sentence. If it isn’t, a lost or stolen computer hands your files to whoever finds it. The button opens the Windows page that turns encryption on, and Windows then offers to save your recovery key. Vigie Lab never switches anything on itself and never touches a key. From the Complete edition up.

Yes. Windows updates and your antivirus updates go through without bothering you. Vigie Lab never blocks security updates.

Yes, Windows sometimes does it quietly. Vigie Lab notices, tells you and offers to switch off again what was turned back on, in one click.

Step back, from the smallest to the biggest. The Undo button at the top right (or Ctrl + Z) undoes your last action. In My privacy, flip the switch of the line concerned back: the setting returns exactly to how it was before Vigie Lab. You can also go back to the Careful level. And to start from scratch, Settings, “Put everything back as it was”.

No harm done: your choice is never final. In My privacy, “What goes online” tab, find the program in the blocked list and click the other button on its line. Right-clicking also lets you ask to be asked again next time.

First use Settings, “Put everything back as it was”: it undoes everything Vigie Lab has changed since it was installed. Then uninstall it like any program, from Windows Settings, Apps.

The ones that work best right now: the fake “I’m not a robot” box that makes you paste a command into Windows, the fake technician who gets you to install AnyDesk or TeamViewer, spoofed senders and requests to change bank details, attachments that launch a program, USB sticks posing as keyboards, fake Wi-Fi imitating a known network, and unknown programs reading your browser’s saved passwords.

To pay online without falling for the fake bank adviser. Press it before you open your bank’s website: for 20 minutes, Vigie Lab reminds you what your bank will never ask (to install software, to read out a code received by text message, to make a “security” transfer), and warns you at once if a remote-control program opens. Nothing is closed without your agreement. The button is on Vigie Lab’s home screen and in the menu of its small icon near the clock, in every edition.

Hang up: Microsoft never calls home users. If you’ve already started installing what they asked, Vigie Lab warns you as soon as a remote-control program is installed or starts. Never let them take control of your computer.

Don’t open the link. Paste the message into Vigie Lab’s tools (Complete edition and above): it checks the text and the link without opening them and tells you what it thinks.

A link that shows one address and opens another. The button says “impots.gouv.fr”, but it leads to an unrelated site copied to steal your login details. Vigie Lab’s extension compares what is written with what is really about to open, and stops you when they don’t match.

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi and Opera. It installs in one click from the official Chrome, Edge or Firefox store (the Chrome store also serves Brave, Vivaldi and Opera), and Vigie Lab suggests your default browser first. Add it to every browser you use: a browser without the extension isn’t protected against misleading links. The basic version is in every edition; the full version (look-alike sites, fake login forms, real sender in Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo) is in Studio and Business.

Don’t waste time. If you gave banking details, call your bank straight away to block your card. Change the password concerned, and everywhere else you used the same one. Check it with Vigie Lab’s leaked password tool. In France, cybermalveillance.gouv.fr is the official help site for victims.

Honestly: deleting files mostly frees up space. The real speed gain comes from a lighter startup and fewer useless programs running in the background. That’s where Vigie Lab works, and it’s often striking on a cluttered PC. It will never promise to “free up RAM”: that’s a myth.

No, never without you. The clean-up only touches useless Windows files (update leftovers, temporary files…). Big forgotten files and duplicates are only shown to you: you decide, one by one.

Because it brings no measurable speed gain and can stop Windows from starting. Many programs offer it because it looks impressive. We’d rather not play with your computer.

For the length of an activity, they pause what isn’t needed and give all the power to the software you’re using. No updates or sleep in the middle of a long 3D print or video export. Afterwards, everything goes back to normal.

After payment you receive your licence key by email, with a link to download the program. Your keys and downloads also stay in your ffsmc.fr account, under “My licences”. Then just paste the key into Vigie Lab’s Settings, Licence card.

You need one licence per computer: just choose the quantity in the cart. Each licence has its own key. For three computers at home, take the Household Pack instead.

It is the Complete edition for the three computers in your home, with a single licence key, for €178 a year instead of €267 for three Complete licences. You paste the same key on each of the three. They don’t need to be on the same router: the laptop you take on holiday counts too. To change computers, click “Release this computer” on the old one. The Household Pack is activated over the Internet; for a computer that is never online, take a single Complete licence.

On the old one, click “Release this computer” on the Licence card in Settings. Your key can then be used on the new one. Remember to do it before selling or giving away the old one.

Yes. On the “License” card in Settings, click “Activate without Internet”: Vigie Lab gives you a request code. On another device that is online, open your account on ffsmc.fr, under “My licences”, and enter that code. You get an activation code to type in, or an activation file to carry over on a USB stick. With the Business edition, a single file covers every workstation.

Because scammers change their methods all the time. The subscription lets us keep up with new tricks and keep the trap lists up to date all year round. When a new threat is spotted, protection arrives within 48 hours.

Nothing breaks. What Vigie Lab has set stays in place and the protections keep working. You simply stop receiving new versions, which bring new protections and up-to-date trap lists.

Vigie Lab tells you itself when a new version comes out: a notification appears near the clock, and one click on “Install” is enough. Before installing anything, it checks that the version really carries FFSMC’s signature, and your settings are kept. You can also download it from “My licences”, choose “Extract all” on the compressed folder, then install it from Settings, “Install an update from a file”.

Yes. On the Licence card in Settings, a button takes you to the shop to change edition or renew. Nothing needs reinstalling: the new key unlocks the extra features. If your subscription is still running, write to [email protected] first and we’ll tell you the best option.

The Business edition is made for you. For a quote or a purchase order, write to [email protected]. Above 250 workstations, pricing is by quote.

€99 per workstation per year from 5 to 49 workstations, €89 from 50, and by quote above 250. That’s often far less than a single fraudulent transfer, or replacing a fleet of computers early.

No. Everything goes through a shared folder in your organisation, on your server or NAS: no cloud, no server to buy, no online console. FFSMC receives nothing from your computers. Nothing leaves your premises.

Yes. The licence is activated without Internet, with a single activation file for the whole fleet, brought over on a USB stick. Alerts go through your organisation’s shared folder, without going through the Internet.

When a workstation is in danger, the computer of the person in charge is alerted within a minute, often in under 30 seconds, through the shared folder, even without Internet. If the same alert hits several workstations, Vigie Lab flags that too. Everything is gathered in the dashboard’s “Network alerts” section.

No. The rules set by the person in charge apply to every workstation and staff can’t undo them. With protection against being stopped, even an employee who is an administrator of their own computer cannot stop or uninstall Vigie Lab without the code of the person in charge: the attempt is spotted and logged, and the person in charge is alerted.

Each computer registers with an enrolment code given by the “My business” dashboard. The person in charge then sees the status of each workstation: its score, its alerts, what still needs doing.

Vigie Lab prints dated reports in your organisation’s name: a plain-language summary for management, then, for the NIS 2 directive, the ISO 27001 standard and GDPR, what Vigie Lab provides, the measured state of your workstations and what remains your responsibility. They don’t replace the advice of your insurer or adviser and are not a certification, but they give them a clear, dated basis.

Once a month, workstations receive a harmless fake phishing message, to learn how to spot the real ones. The dashboard tracks the team’s rate of correct answers. The report stays anonymous: the aim is to train the team, not to single anyone out. A new exercise recreates the fake outside “IT support” that contacts an employee on Teams after flooding their inbox.

The decoy files raise the alarm, and the computer of the person in charge is alerted within a minute. Depending on your rules, the workstation is cut off from the network, except from the company folder: the employee sees a clear screen asking them not to switch it off and to call IT, and only the person in charge can release it. The “red plan”, prepared in advance, can also put every workstation into strict mode for a few hours, even at night. Start with the dry run: workstations note what they would do, without blocking anything.

Yes. Sticks can be made read-only, or only the company’s own sticks are accepted, and a fake keyboard that types on its own is spotted. For programs, Vigie Lab first learns what your workstations use, then notes what would be blocked, and only after that blocks the unknown. Employees can ask for permission, which the person in charge grants in one click. Nothing from Windows or Vigie Lab is ever blocked.

Mark them as payment workstations: during working hours, payment mode stays on there permanently. If a remote-control program opens, a large window warns the employee straight away; your contractor’s tools, once declared, trigger nothing. Add the list of your suppliers’ known bank details: unknown bank details trigger an alert before the payment.

Declare each contractor, their remote-control tools, the workstations they maintain and their usual time slots. Outside their slot, their tool is flagged; on a supervision workstation (industrial controllers, CCTV, workshop machines), it is closed. For an unplanned job, open an access for a few hours from the dashboard: it closes by itself. Everything is written to the tamper-proof log.

Without visiting each workstation: an MSI package, Group Policy, Intune or a simple command line install Vigie Lab silently and attach the computers to the dashboard, each in its group. The “Deploying Vigie Lab” guide is sent on request to [email protected].

Write to [email protected]: we reply within 48 working hours. Start with the built-in help, which is very complete: every screen has its own.

The diagnostic report: Settings, “Diagnostic report” card, “Create the report” button. A file appears on your Desktop: attach it to your email. It tells us what’s going on without back-and-forth, and contains no passwords, no documents and no browsing history.