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Microsoft Edge is apparently usurping Chrome on people’s PCs

  • Users of Google Chrome on Windows 10 and 11 are reporting that they have suddenly found themselves using Microsoft Edge, with their Chrome browsing sessions appearing in Edge.
  • This may be due to a bug or an accidentally clicked-through dialog box related to a feature in Edge that imports browsing data from Chrome.
  • The setting, called "Import browsing data from Chrome," continually imports data from Chrome every time Edge is launched, unlike the one-time import offered for Firefox.
  • There have been concerns about Microsoft's tactics for pushing its own browser, including notifications, pop-ups, and full-screen messages promoting Edge and Bing.
  • Microsoft has become more aggressive in pushing various subscriptions and features in recent years, making a "clean" Windows install feel less so.
  • It remains unclear whether the Edge data-import issue is intentional or a bug, highlighting concerns about Microsoft's methods for promoting its own software.
phoenixz ,

Install Linux and be done with this nonsense

funkless_eck ,

I did. Now my internet doesn't work. Problem solved 👍

DoucheBagMcSwag ,

...don't forget needing to troubleshoot for 2 hours with forums and YouTube videos on how to launch any game that's not steam / proton based.

Mango ,

Fuck those games. They have a license agreement with Microsoft and want you to be using their spyware.

DoucheBagMcSwag , (edited )

So I shouldn't be able to play any of my GOG games and write them off? Fuck outta here

As a steam deck user, (who is very familiar with Lutris) I am aware that Linux is not yet 100% foolproof for non proton games and downvoting users because you don't like it just entrenches the stereotyped idea that Linux users are prude.

Mango ,

I'm not saying you should have to. You just gotta put up with the spyware that is Windows if you do. I'm saying that the companies who go out of their way to not work on Linux are bad companies.

DoucheBagMcSwag ,

Oh yeah for sure we all know the ones that purposely make changes to break steam deck like Ubisoft

voodooattack ,

Use Heroic for GOG/EGS. It also runs steam games if you want a unified experience.

Edit: https://heroicgameslauncher.com/

Holzkohlen ,

I kinda like sometimes having to mess about. Beats having another browser annexing all of your data without consent or ads in your start menu. And the most important thing IMHO: it's only ever going to get worse with windows, while Linux steadily improves.

trailblazer911 ,

Installed Linux Mint. My Bluetooth works. WiFi, Optical Audio Out, My Corsair Fan controller and many other things don't work. I can't find certain render options in Blender also. How to fix all these? Have been trying driver and software updates for hours now.
I think I would have been better off using Windows with Chris Titus' debloat tools. Everything worked, and Edge, OneDrive, Cortana etc. could be uninstalled in one go too.

aStonedSanta ,

You would be way better off. All these just use Linux people are trolls. Every time I’ve installed Linux it has been a massive learning experience for my unique hardware.

BreakDecks ,

I am not going to pretend that your poor experiences with Linux aren't a valid reason not to use it, but if learning how to be in control of your computer is too much work to be worth the reward, complain less that the corporate black box you're using isn't designed with user freedom as a priority.

Digital freedom is going to require some amount of digital literacy.

aStonedSanta ,

I didn’t complain lmao.

aStonedSanta ,

I also run a Linux server lol. Don’t project your anger at windows on me

SendMePhotos ,

It's the telemetry for me. I don't like being researched. I do main windows but secondary Linux fedora KDE. I would say that Linux is good but the compatability and learning curve takes more time than what most are willing to, or are able to dedicate.

voidMainVoid ,

I love Linux, but I don't think that Linux users should promote it like it's a free Windows, because it isn't. You should learn Linux because you want to learn Linux, not because you hate Windows.

Frankly, I didn't go 100% Linux right away. I dual-booted for several years first.

NaoPb ,

I think they may be forgetting how much of an effort they themselves have put into finding alternative applications, changing their workflow and learning how to use and modify linux to their likings.

octopus_ink ,

I get your point, but hating Windows is a great reason to want to learn Linux. People rarely move on from something they are 100% happy with. Folks need to not expect it to be Windows with different branding though.

20 years old but still worth a read. http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

skulkingaround ,

There's no standalone fan controller in existence I'm aware of with Linux support unfortunately, blame manufacturers for that. I use an aquacomputer quadro and just fire up a windows VM with USB passthrough to change settings the once or twice a year I need to. What else isn't working?

Regarding blender, what render options are missing? If it's GPU rendering that's missing, are you using Nvidia or AMD? I'm not familiar with how mint does things but you might need cuda or HIP packages for Nvidia or AMD respectively.

redcalcium ,

WiFi: is it broadcom? What's the output of lspci?

Blender render option missing: how did you install blender? from package manager? it could be built using different build options and thus behaves differently from the official build. Try downloading the official linux build from https://www.blender.org/download/

caustictrap ,

Wow why linux is so broken with multiple package mangers. Is it supposed to be easier than windows? On windows i just type "choco install blender" on terminal and everything just works.

redcalcium ,

Nah, it's usually due to licensing issues. Different distros have different policies regarding what the license of the softwares included in their repository. Some requires strict OSS license, others are more lax. When a software can be compiled with non-OSS components to include some features, most package maintainer would choose to not include those components in the package.

caustictrap ,

So basically linix is a fragmented mess. I will just stick to windows all my games , apps work and i can also uninstall all the microsoft bloat with a single click.

redcalcium ,

Eh, if that's your conclusion of Linux ecosystem then maybe you'll better off using windows afterall. To each their own.

What you see as fragmented mess, others see it as empowered communities able to make their own distros that fit their own needs instead of one size fit all solution.

caustictrap ,

No wonder the lack of software support.

zarkanian ,
@zarkanian@sh.itjust.works avatar

The whole OS is bloat.

zarkanian ,
@zarkanian@sh.itjust.works avatar

Is it supposed to be easier than windows?

No, but ease of use is not the only consideration.

You can do more with it, and it's endlessly configurable. The terminal is superior. There's virtually no bloat and it runs very fast. Most of the software is free open-source. (And if something isn't, it's virtually guaranteed that somebody has made a free open-source equivalent.)

But easier to use? I guess that all depends upon what you're trying to do.

caustictrap ,

Open source software also works on windows. I use package managers on windows with terminal. I uninstall all the bloat with terminal on windows. Everything just works and is supported better on windows.

Fisch ,
@Fisch@lemmy.ml avatar

What do you mean by certain render options in Blender? Like HIP, CUDA, etc?

aeronmelon ,

Ken Watanabe as Professor Ishiro in the 2014 American remake Godzilla, watching two monsters battle each other instead of the Human forces and telling the military Commander next to him to simply "Let them fight."

ThePrivacyPolicy ,

Definitely had this happen. Edge imported all my plugins and tabs and started auto launching when I logged into windows. The auto launching made it obvious they were trying to confuse you into just picking up where you left off without hopefully noticing you weren't actually in chrome anymore. Had been meaning to move to Firefox anyway, this just give me the kick I needed to do it asap.

sir_reginald ,
@sir_reginald@lemmy.world avatar

Microsoft can pull the same trickery with Firefox users. It's their OS, after all.

kiagam ,

chrome and edge use chromium, so everything is 1:1 compatible. you can't do the same with firefox: extensions work differently, several options will be different, any custom layouts will be missing so things look different, etc

sir_reginald ,
@sir_reginald@lemmy.world avatar

they can just import bookmarks and open your last session's tabs.

most extensions will be available too. they could check which ones you have in Firefox and install the ones available for Edge.

there would be some things missing, sure, but most people wouldn't notice the difference immediately.

Natanael ,

Then somebody should make an extension compatible with Firefox and Edge whose sole purpose is to close the browser if it's running in Edge

dukk ,

If someone had made the active choice to use Firefox, I think they’d notice if it was replaced by Edge…

Mango ,

Seriously, this is a massive MASSIVE security violation. Trying to trick me into putting my passwords into your client instead of where I usually do? Lawsuit. Lawsuit now.

ThePrivacyPolicy ,

I didn't even think of that point! That could have teeth in a lawsuit if someone had the time and funding. I'm sure there's a lot of security and privacy related things with this bait and switch tactic that wouldn't fly with courts.

ardi60 ,
@ardi60@reddthat.com avatar

https://www.ghacks.net/2023/12/22/msedgeredirects-europe-mode-sets-your-windows-region-to-europe/ this make Edge tamer than usual

EncryptKeeper ,

These AI generated article thumbnails are getting out of hand.

Asudox ,
@Asudox@lemmy.world avatar

Reminds me of the creatures that russian man made with his own sperm.

XTornado ,

He did what!?

Asudox ,
@Asudox@lemmy.world avatar

https://www.elitereaders.com/russian-guy-injects-sperm-chicken-egg-attempt-create-homunculus/

Though many say it's fake so yeah.

lazynooblet ,
@lazynooblet@lazysoci.al avatar

That's staying blue

Soggy ,

Many? It's laughably fake.

andros_rex ,

Okay, let’s think about this for a minute - do chickens and human beings have genetics that are at all compatible with each other? (I’ll give you hint: chickens have a ZW chromosome sex determination system, humans XY). I’m not an expert on chickens, but I’m pretty sure the eggs are typically fertilized before the egg fully forms.

And then if we read the article:

In other words, it’s most likely the Russian guy was just entertaining everyone with his video. Whatever he did to make his “homunculus” appear alive worked on his target audience. It captured the overactive imagination of so many netizens. In this sense, his experiment succeeded.

Funny that it’s at the end, after a random bit about Paracelsus and a tangentially related real experimental process for making genetically modified chickens.

Let’s not take 2016 SEO clickbait garbage seriously :)

Asudox ,
@Asudox@lemmy.world avatar

yeah it is fake, it's obvious. It was somewhat disturbing when I first saw it though.

thecrotch ,

Those are called children

kilgore_trout ,
@kilgore_trout@feddit.it avatar

The thumbnail is from 2021, I believe it's manually edited.

zipzoopaboop ,

Not an issue if you don't use chromium

Kyrinar ,

On my work laptop, Teams has started to ignore my default browser settings. Firefox is still the default, and everywhere else links open there, but from Teams they open in edge anyway. Its really annoying

cikano ,

That almost sounds like group policy bullshit

Kbobabob ,

Yeah, the Microsoft group

JasonDJ ,

It sounds like they are actually using the PWA and don’t realize it’s Edge under the hood. They are mad Edge is opening links in Edge. Why would it do that?!?!

init ,
@init@lemmy.ml avatar

Same if you click any of the ChatGPT copilot shit baked into the start menu.

webghost0101 , (edited )

This makes some vague sense since the way its implemented copilot is pretty much served trough edge.

The whole start menu is pretty much a skin for edge that can also search local files.

It absolutely sux, definitely feels predatory as it basically includes a keylogger, everything you type is considered a bing search and collected.

Get linux when your tired of it.

init ,
@init@lemmy.ml avatar

Already on Pop_OS ;)

I have windows dual booted for a couple things I can't live or do school without and don't have viable options for Linux

Psythik ,

MSEdgeRedirect will fix that problem.

LiveLM ,

Oh sweet, the tool I knew that was similar to this got killed in Win 11 so it's nice to see someone figured it out.

Psythik ,

Yeah I've been using it in Win11 for over a year with no issues. It works perfectly for making sure everything always opens in Firefox (or whatever browser you use). Happy to help.

Lobreeze ,

I had same issue, some popup came up in teams I said ok to.

It switched my links to open in edge with teams pinned to the side. Very annoying

There is an option buried in teams settings somewhere that let's you switch back to normal browser.

olmium ,

Outlook has been doing this for a long time too

TrueStoryBob ,

Outlook is super buggy on FireFox for my phone. I found that Vivaldi has been running it fine enough though. It still fails to launch on first try from time to time, but I've never gotten frustrated enough to consider downloading the app.

PM_Your_Nudes_Please ,

Pretty much every Microsoft service does this. IIRC, it’s a large part of what landed them in court for an antitrust lawsuit in the EU a few months ago. Basically, another company (probably Google) was saying that Microsoft ignoring users’ default browser options and forcing their own services to open in Edge was anticompetitive. And I mean, they’re not wrong.

slurpeesoforion ,

I had that experience a few updates back. But it eventually allowed to set a preferred browser again in addition to allowing opening office files in the desktop app.

Zink ,

I’ve noticed that on my work laptop too. If I click a link in a Microsoft program, it doesn’t open in the default browser (Firefox of course), it opens edge.

But I’m doing anything important in a Linux VM anyway.

Faxing_Berlin ,

CTT Windoes Utility -> Tweaks -> Remove Microsoft Edge

Removed edge when I got my new computer about a year ago and haven’t seen it since.

LiveLM ,

Oh, that also happened to me at work!
When it first happened, a popup showed up at the right corner of Edge telling me about how it was improving my browsing experience or some bullshit, and at the there was a button to continue opening links in my default browser instead, clicked that once and it hasn't pestered me again.
Unfortunately I don't know if you can call this popup back if you accidentally dismiss it, though there might be a checkbox buried inside Teams or Edge to disable this behavior. Expect it to be called "Improve your browsing experience/Privacy" or some completely obtuse lie like that.

AlecSadler ,

Teams has its own one-off setting buried in its own settings menu, I had to go intentionally update it there to fix it for me. Sketchy.

MonkderZweite ,

Guess if i ever have to use Windows again, my Firefox will be a Portabe App. Can't usurp stuff you don't know about, since it's not in Registry.

Except if they start to use Smartscreen for that...

ScaNtuRd ,

Well both browsers suck balls, so there's that.

Matriks404 ,

It's 2024 and yet, user programs can still steal data from each other. There should be some kind of permissions system in Windows, like in Android and additionally apps should ask if they can access data of other program.

Katana314 ,

I think there is, but 90% of windows apps resolve not to use that framework out of fear of the MS Store, even though you can theoretically install UWP apps outside of it.

Daxtron2 ,

the fact that a perms system is essentially opt-in for non UWP apps is laughable

Katana314 ,

I disagree. Back when Win32 was put together, these sorts of modern standards hadn’t been thought through by anyone yet. Even the internet wasn’t pervasive.

Windows finally decided “You know what, this API is ancient; let’s see what we can do to make it more secure and trustworthy.” That involves reorganizing the way these apps own files, make certain requests, etc. It meant it wouldn’t support the same stuff. But, by failing to claim any certain advantages aside from “safety FROM the apps you’re installing”, no one adopted it.

Natanael ,

In fact they had been thought of, but few wanted to develop for it and nobody wanted to enforce it. Look at how old "capabilities" systems are.

https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~levy/capabook/

Daxtron2 ,

It's the eternal problem of not wanting to break backwards compatibility which I totally get from a dev perspective. From a user security standpoint though, it kinda defeats the purpose of even having the system these days if it's so easy to circumvent.

Katana314 ,

It’s very easy to achieve that security as a user, in a non-circumventable way. Just refuse to install anything made as a Win32 executable.

You’ll be unable to do most of what people do daily, but you’ll be secure. And, Windows even offered that as a potential OS setup - and it was instantly seen as “Microsoft’s effort to lock down the operating system to only apps they approve”.

Users DID have that mindset shift once before. Back in Windows 2000, EVERY app worked off admin permissions. In Vista, everyone started getting annoying permission dialogs on their old apps to access admin folders - and just started accepting them. But now that most apps are correctly designed to access user folders, sudden admin dialogs are a big point of user suspicion. In some reality, we’d do the same with “…What? You want me to manually run a .exe file I’ve downloaded in the browser??”

csm10495 ,
@csm10495@sh.itjust.works avatar

Ya say you want this. Use Windows in S mode and you have it.

tory ,

I'd never heard of S mode until my aging mother needed to get on a Zoom call with her doctor, and I couldn't install the app on her laptop because of it.

I set her up to use the web browser mode instead. Leaving it on was for the best at that point. I kinda figured S mode meant senior mode like for old people or something, idk. It certainly prevented her from installing anything bad by accident: and it was just a youtube and email thing for her anyway.

Octopus1348 ,
@Octopus1348@lemy.lol avatar

Yeah, you can only install from the MS store.

YIj54yALOJxEsY20eU ,

Senior mode lmao

cley_faye ,

If there was a fiable framework for that in use by most applications, it's fairly safe to say it would still have exceptions for the OS's provided apps, "to improve the user experience".

bob_lemon ,

I think locking apps to only their own files is a terrible idea.

If a program creates unencrypted, unsecured files on disk, those files should absolutely be free game for any other program. Because if they're not supposed to be read, they should not be unsecured files on disk.

max ,

I’m decently sure that macOS already does something somewhat similar. If a program wants to access files outside its own directory, you get asked for explicit permission to do that.

fosstulate ,
@fosstulate@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

If my hardware is to be used as a public space then I expect it to be provided for free. While I foot the cost, it's my property solely, and encryption status of the contents remains completely irrelevant. You sound like you've drunk the corporate KoolAid.

lastweakness ,

Nothing you're saying makes sense in the context of the comment you're replying to.

fosstulate ,
@fosstulate@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

The onus isn't on the environment owner to lock down app space and secure data to the nth degree, it's on developers not to ship poorly behaved apps. My files don't exist in a public space like they are rubbish on a residential nature strip, free to be pilfered by randos. They aren't free game in any way.

CileTheSane ,
@CileTheSane@lemmy.ca avatar

Conversely: as the owner of my device programs should not be creating files that I can't access any way I want. My .rar files shouldn't refuse to be opened by 7zip.

I should, however, be able to uninstall any program (such as Edge) that I don't want on my system. That is what the bullshit originates from.

prettydarknwild ,
@prettydarknwild@lemmy.world avatar

yeah, a "bug"

spujb ,

“Warren posits that the tab-snatching happened because of a bug or an inadvertently clicked-through dialog box“

so we don’t even know if it was an accidental keysmash or not. i am fully on the side of opposition to ms, but this is a joke of journalism. let’s maybe do our research before posting rage inducing titles next time.

EmperorHenry ,
@EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

yeah, because it's compatible with everything chrome is compatible with and it's slightly less invasive to your privacy.

Brave is the only chromium based browser you should ever bother with.

Librewolf and mullvad browser are the only firefox based browsers you should bother with.

CarbonatedPastaSauce ,

Don’t use Brave.

https://community.brave.com/t/brave-has-become-malware/510414

Edit: I agree about LibreWolf. I switched last year. For those that don’t know, it’s Firefox without telemetry and more privacy focused default settings.

samus12345 ,
@samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

https://64.media.tumblr.com/1319b27f56c30ca691c8520be93b9c45/7b0dd2e3b2e497ee-72/s540x810/162b28fc0f85283e74519b01b4d0f0429ed76cd2.gif

banneryear1868 ,

Have both for work and prefer Edge

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