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Posts tagged "Edge"

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Microsoft is finally making Edge a much more secure place to surf the web
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Keeping safe online is about to get a lot easier for Edge users thanks to a major security update from Microsoft.

The software giant has revealed it is working on an upgrade for its web browser that will bring “enhanced security” as a default for users everywhere.

This includes adding additional operating system and hardware protections for Edge that the company says, when combined, will help provide “defense in depth”, making it more difficult than ever before for a malicious site to use an unpatched vulnerability to write to executable memory and attack an end user.

Edge enhanced security

Going forward, users will now see an additional banner with the words “added security” in the URL navigation bar in Edge, instantly letting you know you have extra protection for that specific site.

“Microsoft Edge is adding enhanced security protections to provide an extra layer of protection when browsing the web and visiting unfamiliar sites,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the news.

“The web platform is designed to give you a rich browsing experience using powerful technologies like JavaScript. On the other hand, that power can translate to more exposure when you visit a malicious site. With enhanced security mode, Microsoft Edge helps reduce the risk of an attack by automatically applying more conservative security settings on unfamiliar sites and adapts over time as you continue to browse.”

More security for Edge

Users will be able to create exceptions for certain trusted websites, where enhanced security can either be disabled or enabled permanently. Enterprise admins can also configure for certain websites to be blocked or allowed, 

In its entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company noted enhanced security mode is being turned on by default to “Balanced” mode for x64 Windows, x64 macOS, x64 Linux, and ARM64 systems.

The update is still listed as being “in development” for the time being, but has a scheduled rollout start date of July 2023, when users across the globe will be able to access it.

Recent Statcounter figures show that Microsoft's ongoing efforts to push users towards Edge may not be having the desired effect. Its most recent report found that Edge had lost its second place in the global browser market to Apple's Safari offering, which now claims 11.87% of users, compared to Edge's 11% – although both trail far behind runaway leader Google Chrome (66.13%).

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Microsoft Edge for Business wants you to ditch Google Chrome for work
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The browser wars could be set for a new battle in the enterprise space following a raft of new updates from Microsoft Edge.

The browser has unveiled a host of new additions at the company's Microsoft Build event, including a new “experience” that is targeted purely at workplace users.

The new Microsoft Edge for Business experience comes with a whole new look and feel to the browser itself, as well as boosted security protections and even some useful productivity apps to help you get the most out of your working day.

Microsoft Edge for Business

“To more fully realize our mission to deliver the best browser for business, we’re evolving Microsoft Edge to have a dedicated work experience,” the company noted in a blog post.

“With the rich set of enterprise controls, security, and productivity features that you’re already familiar with, Edge for Business is designed to help meet the evolving security landscape while empowering users to work effectively.”

Microsoft says its new approach also looks to solve problems created by hybrid work, where people may use the same device for personal and business use, raising potential security issues for IT teams. 

This can often lead to the need for supporting multiple browsers on such devices, increasing the risk of cyberattacks and also causing a drop in performance.

Microsoft Edge for Business automatically separates work and personal browsing into dedicated browser windows, each with their own separate caches and storage locations, so information stays separate. 

This means that work-related services such as Microsoft 365 apps or sites requiring your work login will automatically open in the work browser window, whereas other popularly-used sites will open in the personal window. 

Users can switch between the two windows thanks to a button on the taskbar, meaning a change is just a click away.

These options can be changed at any time, and admins can also enforce certain restrictions if need be.  Microsoft Edge for Business is launching in preview for managed devices now, and will be coming to unmanaged devices soon.

Elsewhere, the company also revealed the general launch of Microsoft Edge Workspaces, which allow teams of co-workers to collaborate on projects or content in a specially-defined location.

Microsoft Edge for Business button bar

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The service allows Edge users to share multiple groups of tabs and favorites with colleagues that can be built to accommodate numerous projects and teams.

Microsoft Edge Workspaces has only been in preview for some business users up til now, but the company says it will be generally available to all users within the next few months.

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Microsoft has a new plan to make Edge better than Chrome
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Microsoft Edge is going to make an effort to help you improve the browser with a new system of badges for add-ons.

Add-ons (also referred to as extensions) are little extras that can be bolted onto the browser to deliver all kinds of functionality, but clearly the trick to making Edge better with them is choosing good add-ons, and not bloat or poor-quality efforts (or even malicious ones in a worst-case scenario).

As MS Power User reports, what the new system delivers is a badge – a visual icon, present on the product description page and elsewhere – to show that any given browser extension is of a high enough quality to deserve that label. So in short, you know you’re getting something you can trust, and that will work well.

Microsoft says that it’ll soon start to experiment with testing extension badges in the Edge Addons Store (EAS). The company notes: “Edge is starting with a small-scale experiment and will begin to engage with the developer community to talk through the criterion and help them get acquainted with the badging process on EAS.”

Analysis: Another step in the right direction

Badges will also act as a carrot for devs to make better extensions, too. As Microsoft explains, developers will be encouraged to follow best practice guidelines when putting together their add-ons in order to try to qualify for a badge that’ll ensure their products are more likely to be used by Edge fans. So, it’s more likely that the extensions being made will be of a higher quality, broadly speaking, or at least that’s the hope.

There are quite a number of add-ons in the library available to Edge users at this point, so helping to sort the wheat from the chaff is definitely a good idea. According to Microsoft, there are almost 11,000 extensions for Edge at this point, and that’ll keep on growing, naturally.

It’s good to see the software giant taking more positive steps to try and improve Edge as a product. We’ve also glimpsed another innovative step in recent times, namely the integrated free VPN that’s been in testing (and has supposedly just reached release, at least for some Edge users).

All this is refreshing, primarily because advancing Edge with extra capabilities and fresh features is what we want to see, not experimenting with how more adverts can be jammed into Windows 11 to push Edge (let’s stop with that already, Microsoft, please).

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Browser wars: Microsoft Edge just steamed past a major rival
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As the browser wars rage on, Microsoft Edge is one step closer to challenging Google Chrome as it has finally surpassed another major rival.

According to data from the web analytics service StatCounter, Microsoft’s browser is now used on 9.65 percent of all desktops worldwide which still pales in comparison to Chrome’s 67.26 percent market share.

Back in February of this year, Edge was closing in on Safari but based on new data from March, Apple’s browser now has 9.57 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide. Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefox has slipped slightly from 9.18 percent to 7.57 percent.

Surprisingly, Internet Explorer is still being used on one percent (0.92%) of desktops globally, most likely by users that haven’t upgraded to Windows 11 or even Windows 10 yet. Microsoft is planning to retire its IE 11 app on June 15 of this year though, so these users will have to make the switch to Edge or even to an alternative browser like Opera which has 2.83 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide.

Mobile is a different story altogether

Although Edge is certainly making inroads on desktop, the same can’t be said for Microsoft’s browser on Android and iOS.

According to StatCounter's mobile data, Chrome is used on 63.26 percent of all smartphones which makes sense as there are currently over 3bn active Android devices in use and Google’s browser comes preinstalled on Android smartphones. Likewise, Safari, which comes preinstalled on iPhones, has 24.81 percent of the mobile browser market share worldwide. Samsung’s browser, Samsung Internet, meanwhile is currently in third place at just under five percent (4.99%).

Read more

> This long-lost Microsoft Edge feature may be making a comeback

> Microsoft Edge wants to make the web more accessible for everyone

> Microsoft Edge is throwing its weight behind web apps

Although Microsoft Edge doesn’t even appear in StatCounter’s mobile browser market share data, its usage is growing on mobile. According to Edge’s Play Store listing, the browser’s mobile app has been installed over 10m times and has 4.5 stars based on 453k user reviews. Apple’s App Store doesn’t provide the same detailed install data that the Play Store does but Edge for iOS is ranked #18 in utilities and has a 4.6 rating based on more than 78k user reviews.

A recent report from Windows Central says that Microsoft is reportedly planning to consolidate its Android efforts into a single division to offer tighter integration between Google’s mobile operating system and Windows 11. While the move is likely more geared towards having Android apps run better on Windows, the software giant’s renewed interest in Android could see it double down on Edge’s mobile app for the platform.

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Browser wars: Microsoft Edge just steamed past a major rival
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As the browser wars rage on, Microsoft Edge is one step closer to challenging Google Chrome as it has finally surpassed another major rival.

According to data from the web analytics service StatCounter, Microsoft’s browser is now used on 9.65 percent of all desktops worldwide which still pales in comparison to Chrome’s 67.26 percent market share.

Back in February of this year, Edge was closing in on Safari but based on new data from March, Apple’s browser now has 9.57 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide. Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefox has slipped slightly from 9.18 percent to 7.57 percent.

Surprisingly, Internet Explorer is still being used on one percent (0.92%) of desktops globally, most likely by users that haven’t upgraded to Windows 11 or even Windows 10 yet. Microsoft is planning to retire its IE 11 app on June 15 of this year though, so these users will have to make the switch to Edge or even to an alternative browser like Opera which has 2.83 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide.

Mobile is a different story altogether

Although Edge is certainly making inroads on desktop, the same can’t be said for Microsoft’s browser on Android and iOS.

According to StatCounter's mobile data, Chrome is used on 63.26 percent of all smartphones which makes sense as there are currently over 3bn active Android devices in use and Google’s browser comes preinstalled on Android smartphones. Likewise, Safari, which comes preinstalled on iPhones, has 24.81 percent of the mobile browser market share worldwide. Samsung’s browser, Samsung Internet, meanwhile is currently in third place at just under five percent (4.99%).

Read more

> This long-lost Microsoft Edge feature may be making a comeback

> Microsoft Edge wants to make the web more accessible for everyone

> Microsoft Edge is throwing its weight behind web apps

Although Microsoft Edge doesn’t even appear in StatCounter’s mobile browser market share data, its usage is growing on mobile. According to Edge’s Play Store listing, the browser’s mobile app has been installed over 10m times and has 4.5 stars based on 453k user reviews. Apple’s App Store doesn’t provide the same detailed install data that the Play Store does but Edge for iOS is ranked #18 in utilities and has a 4.6 rating based on more than 78k user reviews.

A recent report from Windows Central says that Microsoft is reportedly planning to consolidate its Android efforts into a single division to offer tighter integration between Google’s mobile operating system and Windows 11. While the move is likely more geared towards having Android apps run better on Windows, the software giant’s renewed interest in Android could see it double down on Edge’s mobile app for the platform.

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Microsoft Edge update will stop you making an embarrassing blunder
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Embarrassing spelling and grammar mistakes will soon be a thing of the past in Microsoft Edge as Microsoft is now rolling out a built-in grammar editor for its browser.

Microsoft Editor is the software giant’s Grammarly competitor and while it’s normally accessed via a browser extension, the company has now decided to directly integrate it into Edge.

Just like with other writing software, Microsoft Editor provides users with both grammar and punctuation corrections and suggestions as they write. In Edge, Editor will be available in over 20 languages but the writing tool will only provide feedback on the main language used in the browser.

In addition to its existing features, Microsoft has said that it will soon begin rolling out text predictions in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese in Editor in order to help users not only write better but also faster.

Web Select

Besides its new Microsoft Editor integration, Microsoft is also bringing another new feature to Edge called web select though it was initially known as smart copy when it was first announced two years ago.

Web select makes it easier to select formatted content like tables, images and text on the web. The feature allows users to quickly select entire paragraphs in their original formatting or copy only the cells they want to in a table. From here, you can then paste content with its original formatting into a Word document or into OneNote to reference later.

Read more

> Microsoft's Grammarly rival is coming to Word for Mac

> Google Docs will now practically write your documents for you

> This Microsoft Edge update is a dream for all you clumsy typists

While web select will likely be a useful feature for Edge users, it has certainly taken quite a while to arrive in Microsoft’s browser. The company first began testing the feature all the way back in November of 2020.

It’s worth noting that web select isn’t the same as web capture which allows users to take screenshots of webpages and annotate them before sharing or saving them.

In order to try out Microsoft Editor and web select in Microsoft Edge, you first need to make sure you're running the latest version of Microsoft’s browser. To check if you are, you can click on the three-dot menu in the top right corner of the browser and choose Help & feedback and then About Microsoft Edge.

Via XDA

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This long-lost Microsoft Edge feature may be making a comeback
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Keeping control of all your most-needed tabs and windows in Microsoft Edge could soon be a whole lot easier.

Spotted by Redditor Leopeva64-2, one of the most recent Edge Canary builds saw a mention of Workspaces, a feature allowing users to group together their tabs and windows within the browser.

The finding was particularly curious as the feature was previously thought to be dead in the water, with no mention of Workspaces in Microsoft Edge since its initial reveal back in April 2021.

Microsoft Edge Workspaces

The Edge Canary build included the option to create and edit new and existing Workspaces as part of the browser's Appearance settings. Although the button to toggle these features didn't appear to be available, its presence suggests the tool will be arriving soon.

Workspaces looked to operate alongside Microsoft's existing Collections tool, but instead of the latter's ability to save individual tabs, the new addition would let users name certain tabs or windows, as well as customizing them with a certain color to categorize.

It would also allow users to keep groups of work and personal browser tabs separate, with each Workspace containing multiple tabs, meaning that even if you close an Edge window without deleting a workspace, it will remain available the next time you launch the browser.

For now, the feature seems limited to Canary builds, but given the progress, could possibly appear in a new version of Microsoft Edge soon.

Read more

> Microsoft Edge is about to give you an excellent new way to procrastinate

> Browser wars: Microsoft Edge is beginning to steal users from Google Chrome

> Microsoft Edge will let you embrace multiple identities at once

The launch would be the latest in a long line of features aimed at making Microsoft Edge easier to use for customers everywhere. Recently, Microsoft announced its Task Manager tool will now be able to display exactly what Microsoft Edge processes are using what amount of memory on your device – displaying a list of processes under the browser, including specific tabs, extensions and subframes – and will now be able to select any of these to close individually.

Edge is also set to soon get a new Performance Detector feature which will help browser users debug performance issues caused by common problems such as running multiple windows or tabs, as well as any issues caused by unnecessary tabs or the use of extensions that may be hogging bandwidth.

Via OnMSFT

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This long-lost Microsoft Edge feature may be making a comeback
  • No Comments

Keeping control of all your most-needed tabs and windows in Microsoft Edge could soon be a whole lot easier.

Spotted by Redditor Leopeva64-2, one of the most recent Edge Canary builds saw a mention of Workspaces, a feature allowing users to group together their tabs and windows within the browser.

The finding was particularly curious as the feature was previously thought to be dead in the water, with no mention of Workspaces in Microsoft Edge since its initial reveal back in April 2021.

Microsoft Edge Workspaces

The Edge Canary build included the option to create and edit new and existing Workspaces as part of the browser's Appearance settings. Although the button to toggle these features didn't appear to be available, its presence suggests the tool will be arriving soon.

Workspaces looked to operate alongside Microsoft's existing Collections tool, but instead of the latter's ability to save individual tabs, the new addition would let users name certain tabs or windows, as well as customizing them with a certain color to categorize.

It would also allow users to keep groups of work and personal browser tabs separate, with each Workspace containing multiple tabs, meaning that even if you close an Edge window without deleting a workspace, it will remain available the next time you launch the browser.

For now, the feature seems limited to Canary builds, but given the progress, could possibly appear in a new version of Microsoft Edge soon.

Read more

> Microsoft Edge is about to give you an excellent new way to procrastinate

> Browser wars: Microsoft Edge is beginning to steal users from Google Chrome

> Microsoft Edge will let you embrace multiple identities at once

The launch would be the latest in a long line of features aimed at making Microsoft Edge easier to use for customers everywhere. Recently, Microsoft announced its Task Manager tool will now be able to display exactly what Microsoft Edge processes are using what amount of memory on your device – displaying a list of processes under the browser, including specific tabs, extensions and subframes – and will now be able to select any of these to close individually.

Edge is also set to soon get a new Performance Detector feature which will help browser users debug performance issues caused by common problems such as running multiple windows or tabs, as well as any issues caused by unnecessary tabs or the use of extensions that may be hogging bandwidth.

Via OnMSFT

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This Microsoft Edge update could bring some rather unexpected bloatware
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The bloatware controversy surrounding Microsoft Edge looks set to rumble on a little while longer following news of another update.

The browser is set to receive a Skype Meet Now extension icon for its toolbar that will allow users to launch a video meeting directly from their window.

However, users have already noted that including such a potentially resource-heavy tool could put extra strain on older machines, and slow down Microsoft Edge even more.

Skype Meet Now extension

Digging into the latest Edge Canary build, WindowsLatest found the new Skype meetings launchers in the toolbar alongside several other existing extensions and services such as screen capture and download management.

The site discovered the new Skype Meet Now icon would let users launch a call with just one click, meaning no need to download other software or even sign up to the service. Users simply need to add a name for their meeting to receive a unique URL that can then be shared with others.

It does seem that the Skype Meet Now tool can be disabled from the Microsoft Edge settings menu, but it's the latest potentially unwanted and unloved addition to the browser.

Read more

> If you're still using Internet Explorer, just please stop now, Microsoft says

> These were the most popular browser extensions during the pandemic

> Microsoft Edge wants to make the web more accessible for everyone

The news comes as Microsoft looks to make Edge more of a multi-faceted tool for users everywhere as it gets close to Version 100

The company recently revealed it is working on using Edge to make it easier to install progressive web apps (PWAs) across multiple devices, meaning once you have installed a PWA on one device, you will then see an option to install it on other devices with a single click.

Microsoft Edge continues to perform strongly in the global browser market, with recent figures placing it on the verge of surpassing Apple's Safari offering. 

The latest StatCounter numbers show Microsoft Edge is now used on 9.54% of desktops worldwide, just behind Safari at 9.84% – although both are still far behind runaway market leader Google Chrome on 65.38%.

Via Windows Latest

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Microsoft Edge wants to make the web more accessible for everyone
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The revolutionary power of the internet is hard to quantify but for some, accessing even the basic aspects is difficult. Blind and low-vision people often interact with the web using screen readers, tools that read the contents of a page out loud. 

Unfortunately, msot screen readers rely on alternative text (or alt text) and other behind-the-scenes information to do their job properly, and developers can sometimes overlook these significant but small details.

In order to help out, Microsoft has announced new features for its Edge browser that automatically add alt text to images that do not have it already, something the company hopes will make the web more accessible.

“When a screen reader finds an image without a label, that image can be automatically processed by machine learning (ML) algorithms to describe the image in words and capture any text it contains,” says Microsoft’s Travis Leithead. “The algorithms are not perfect, and the quality of the descriptions will vary, but for users of screen readers, having some description for an image is often better than no context at all.” 

The update hopefully solves the problem of screen readers reading out “unlabelled graphic” whenever an image doesn’t have alt text. 

Microsoft Edge accessibility

Powering the technology is, of course, the company's Azure cloud platform. Any unlabelled image will be sent by Microsoft Edge to Azure’s computer vision systems, which then auto-generates alt text in English, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, or Chinese Simplified. 

Some images – like those that are smaller than 50×50 pixels, contain pornographic, gory, or sexually suggestive content, or are very large – unfortunately won’t be sent for analysis.  

Microsoft is rolling out the changes to Edge on Windows, macOS, and Linux right now and expects to add them to iOS and Android at a later date.

Read more

 >Microsoft Edge could be the secret weapon to boost your PC performance

>The latest Microsoft Edge update might be the most puzzling yet

>Microsoft refreshes its own in-house Linux distro 

“This feature is still new, and we know that we are not done,” says Leithead. “We’ve already found some ways to make this feature even better, such as when images do have a label, but that label is not very helpful (e.g., a label of “image” or “picture” or similar synonym that is redundant with the obvious). Continuous image recognition and algorithm improvements will also refine the quality of the service.”

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