How to stop chrome (or edge) from taking over your media keys

Google Chrome now has built-in support for media keys. Unfortunately, Chrome will take over your media keys and prevent them from controlling apps like Spotify when you’re watching YouTube, for example. Here’s how to make Chrome ignore your media keys.

This same tip also applies to the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser. In both browsers, however, this option requires an experimental flag that may be removed in the future. We tested it in the latest version of Chrome—Chrome 75—on June 24, 2019.

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You’ll find this option on the chrome://flags page. Copy the following address, paste it into Chrome’s Omnibox, also known as the address bar, and press Enter:

(In Microsoft Edge, go to edge://flags/#hardware-media-key-handling instead.)

Click the “Default” box to the right of the Hardware Media Key Handling setting and select “Disabled.”

You’ll have to restart Chrome (or Edge) before this change takes effect. Click the “Relaunch Now” button that appears to restart your browser.

Chrome (or Edge) will reopen any tabs you had open, but you might lose any saved work on any open web pages, so be sure you’re ready to restart your browser before continuing.

That’s it! If you change your mind and want hardware media keys working in Chrome (or Edge) again, return here and set the hardware Media Key Handling option back to “Default” once again.

For many people who purchase a new Windows 10 PC, Microsoft’s built-in Edge browser has one purpose: to download an alternate browser like Google Chrome. The most common way to do this for people who don’t have the URL memorized? Type “download Chrome” in the address bar and click the first result provided by Bing search. Unfortunately those unsuspecting users have a high chance of downloading malware and adware. That’s because Bing has been serving up malicious but highly visible Google Chrome ads for months .

Deceptive site ahead. Google and Firefox know this. Bing can’t be bothered, apparently

This weekend, Twitter user Gabriel Landau enjoyed his first few hours with a Windows 10 laptop by doing this exact thing (video in Twitter link). The top result for his “download chrome” search via Edge looked ordinary enough. Except that when he clicked it the resulting domain was “GoogleOnline2018.com.” The fake site isn’t an exact copy of Google’s own Chrome landing page, but looks genuine enough to fool people. The download itself is called “ChromeSetup.exe,” but examining the digital signature reveals “Alpha Criteria Ltd.” That’s definitely not Google.

Brand new Win10 laptop. Attempt to install Chrome. Almost get owned with my very first action. Why is this still happening in 2018, @bing? Please explain.

Deceptive Site Ahead

Fortunately Landau was observant enough to detect something fishy was happening, but the way these deceptive ads are hijacking Bing is clever enough to fool the average user.

The malicious URL that Bing is happy to promote can’t fool Google or Firefox. When I simply type the above URL into my Firefox browser I’m faced with a bold red page declaring “Deceptive Site Ahead” completely with details and an option to go back.

Chris Hoffman, EIC of How-To Geek was able to reproduce this error, and several users on Twitter have also complained about it. In his article he points out that the ad comes into rotation every few page refreshes. Because I can’t obtain that result on a fresh Windows 10 install, I suspect it may be targeting users geographically (I live in Europe).

I notified Bing Ads of this issue, and since Landau’s tweet went viral overnight, I have confidence the malicious ad will be removed from Bing Search within the next 24 hours.

But the real issue is that it keeps happening.

I searched the web for similar complaints and found an article from Bleeping Computer dated April 2018. The same type of hijack using Bing Ads from Edge, displayed as the top result, leading to a fake Chrome download that serves up some particularly nasty adware in its installer. The most noticeable difference was the domain name “NewChromeDownload.com.”

And then again 21 days ago from this user on Reddit. You guessed it. Same procedure, same structure, different domain name.

If you have to use Windows 10, don’t use Bing for search. Ever.

There’s a pattern here, and it’s a disturbing one. How many people have been affected by these short-lived but recurring hijacks that Microsoft is letting through to millions of people? It’s inexcusable that these types of ads aren’t vetted properly, especially when the majority of browsers automatically know these sites are unsafe.

Isolated issues like this — one search term in one browser with one search engine — may not seem significant. But when looking at Windows 10 as a whole, things look considerably darker. Microsoft is letting devastating file-deleting bugs through its Windows 10 updates even after being warned by its team of Windows Insider testers. The update process is unreliable and cumbersome compared to operating systems like Ubuntu.

What You Can Do

If you must use Windows 10, go directly to Chrome.com to download Google’s browser, or to Mozilla.org for Firefox. Commit those to memory or just open up Edge and browse directly to google.com. I also highly recommend installing a tracking blocker like DuckDuckGo. If you choose to use the Edge browser, remove Bing as your default search provider by following these steps.

At the very least, please do not use Bing to search for anything. Ever. You probably won’t after reading this.

I’ll update this article with any response from the Bing Ads team.

UPDATE: The Bing Ads Twitter account has removed the malicious ad and banned the account, saying “Hi Gabriel, protecting customers from malicious content is a top priority and we have removed the ads from Bing and banned the associated account. We encourage users to continue to report this type of content at https:// so we can take appropriate action.”

Is it a top priority? One can only hope Microsoft will be more vigilant going forward since this is a recurring problem with Bing.

This article applies to Microsoft Edge Stable version 87 or later.

Overview

The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022 (for a list of what’s in scope, see the FAQ). The same IE11 apps and sites you use today can open in Microsoft Edge with Internet Explorer mode. Learn more here.

Many modern websites have designs that are incompatible with Internet Explorer. Whenever an Internet Explorer user visits an incompatible public site, they get a message that tells them the site is incompatible with their browser, and they need to manually switch to a different browser.

The need to manually switch to a different browser changes starting with Microsoft Edge Stable version 87.

When a user goes to a site that is incompatible with Internet Explorer, they will be automatically redirected to Microsoft Edge. This article describes the user experience for redirection and the group policies that are used to configure or disable automatic redirection.

Microsoft maintains a list of all sites that are known to be incompatible with Internet Explorer. For more information, see Request updates to the incompatible sites list

Prerequisites

• Microsoft Edge Stable version 87 or later
• Windows versions
  • Windows 10 version 1709 or later
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 7

  Redirection experience

  On redirection to Microsoft Edge, users are shown the one-time dialog in the next screenshot. This dialog explains why they’re getting redirected and prompts for consent to copy their browsing data and preferences from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge. The following browsing data will be imported: Favorites, Passwords, Search engines, open tabs, History, settings, cookies, and the Home Page.

  Even if they don’t give their consent by checking "Always bring over my browsing data and preferences from Internet Explorer", they can click Continue browsing to continue their session.

  Finally, a website incompatibility banner, shown in the next screenshot, appears below the address bar for every redirection.

  The website incompatibility banner:

  • encourages the user to switch to Microsoft Edge
  • offers to make Microsoft Edge as the default browser
  • gives the user the option to explore Microsoft Edge

  When a site is redirected from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge, the Internet Explorer tab that started loading the site is closed if it had no prior content. Otherwise, the active tab view goes to a Microsoft support page that explains why the site was redirected to Microsoft Edge.

  After a redirection users can go back to using Internet Explorer for sites that are not on the Internet Explorer incompatibility list.

  Policies to configure redirection to Microsoft Edge

  These policies will be available as ADMX file updates by October 26, 2020 and will be available in Intune by November 9, 2020.

  Three group policies must be configured to enable automatic redirection to Microsoft Edge. These policies are:

  • RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerPreventBHOInstall
  • RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerRedirectMode
  • HideInternetExplorerRedirectUXForIncompatibleSitesEnabled

  Policy: RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerPreventBHOInstall

  Redirection from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge requires an Internet Explorer Browser Helper Object (BHO) named "IEtoEdge BHO". The RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerPreventBHOInstall policy controls whether or not this BHO is installed.

  • If you enable this policy, the BHO required for redirection will not be installed and your users will continue to see incompatibility messages for certain websites on Internet Explorer. If the BHO is already installed, it will be uninstalled the next time the Microsoft Edge Stable channel is updated.
  • If you disable or don’t configure this policy, the BHO will be installed. This is the default behavior.

  In addition to needing the BHO, there is a dependency on the RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerRedirectMode, which needs to be set to "Redirect sites based on the incompatible sites sitelist" or "Not Configured".

  Policy: RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerRedirectMode

  This policy corresponds to the Microsoft Edge Default browser setting "Let Internet Explorer open sites in Microsoft Edge". You can access this setting by going to the edge://settings/defaultbrowser URL.

  • If you don’t configure this policy or set it to "Sitelist", Internet Explorer will redirect incompatible sites to Microsoft Edge. This is the default behavior.
  • To disable this policy, select Enabled AND then in the dropdown under Options: Redirect incompatible sites from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge, select Disable. In this state, incompatible sites aren’t redirected to Microsoft Edge.

  If you’re on a personal device that isn’t managed by your organization, you’ll see another setting named "Allow sites to be loaded in Internet Explorer mode" under Internet Explorer compatibility.

  If you’re on a domain joined or Mobile Device Management (MDM) enrolled device, you won’t see this option.

  Instead, if you want to let your users load sites in Internet Explorer mode, you can do so by configuring the policy Allow Internet Explorer mode testing.

  Policy: HideInternetExplorerRedirectUXForIncompatibleSitesEnabled

  This policy configures the user experience for incompatible site redirection to Microsoft Edge.

  If you enable this policy, users never see the one-time redirection dialog and the redirection banner. No browser data or user preferences are imported.

  If you disable or don’t configure this policy, the redirection dialog will be shown on the first redirection and the persistent redirection banner will be shown for sessions that start with a redirection.

  User browsing data will be imported every time a user encounters a new redirection. However, this only happens if the user consented to the import on the one-time redirection dialog.

  Disable redirection to Microsoft Edge

  If you want to disable redirection BEFORE updating to Microsoft Edge Stable version 87, use the following step:

  1. Set the RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerPreventBHOInstall policy to Enabled.

  If you want to disable redirection AFTER updating to Microsoft Edge Stable version 87, use the following steps:

  Windows 10 comes with the new web browser, Edge, that is also set up as the default application for handling several other popular files, such as PDF. If you prefer another program to open the PDF files, you can set up that program using the Default Programs tool of Control Panel. You could also use the Open With. command that appears on the right-click menu for the PDF files.

  However, in some situations, changing the default application for handling the PDF files does not stick: it may work once or twice, and then Microsoft Edge takes over, reverting the file association of the PDF files to itself. You can try to change the default application once more, but soon Windows “forgets” about your decision and starts opening them with Edge again. If you experience such a problem, the following solution might help.

  UPDATE: The latest versions of Microsoft Edge come with an option that lets you control how it handles the PDF files:

  • In Microsoft Edge, press Alt+F (or click on the ellipses right below the X button in the top-right corner) and choose Settings;
  • In the left-hand column, click on Cookies and sites permissions;
  • In the right-hand screen click on PDF documents in the middle of the Site permissions list;
  • Finally, turn on the option Always open PDF files externally.

  If your version of Edge does not offer this option, then the following registry modification might work, read on.

  First things first: the following steps involve changing values in Windows Registry. Please be extra careful with it, because if you do something wrong, you can damage your Windows installation and even make your computer disabled. If you are not familiar with the Registry Editor, you may want to ask a more experienced friend or a colleague for help.

  To solve the problem of Microsoft Edge hijacking the PDF files, run Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe), and navigate to the following key:

  Under this key, look for a key that starts with Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge. At the time of this writing, such a key is named:

  Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_38.14393.0.0_neutral__8wekyb3d8bbwe

  However, it could be changed in the later versions of Windows. Expand this key and also expand the following keys under it:

  Select FileAssociations and look at the list in the right-hand part of the screen:

  Take a note of the Data string displayed for the .pdf name. At the time of this writing, the string is AppXd4nrz8ff68srnhf9t5a8sbjyar1cr723, but it may change in the future versions of Windows.

  Now, while still in Registry Editor, navigate to the key:

  We want Windows to stop using this key, but we don’t want to delete it (in case we decide at a later time to undo the change), so we will just rename this key to something else (that would stop Windows from using it just as well). Right-click on AppXd4nrz8ff68srnhf9t5a8sbjyar1cr723, and choose Rename from the menu. Add the underscore character to the end of the name and press Enter to save the new name:

  Now use the Default Applications tool of Windows Control Panel one last time to set up a default application for the PDF files (other than Edge). From now on, Edge should not reinstall itself as the default application.

  If you decide later on that you want to return to the previous behavior, simply remove the underscore character from the name of the AppXd4nrz8ff68srnhf9t5a8sbjyar1cr723 key (thus restoring its original name).

  We all know that Microsoft Edge comes with an in-built PDF reader and Windows recommends using Microsoft Edge to read PDF files Online and Offline. Also, Microsoft Edge will be used as the default PDF reader in Windows 10 and Windows 11. However, everyone has their own preference for the PDF reader to be used. Suppose, we change the PDF reader to say Acrobat Reader or any other PDF reader of our choice, we notice that after few days the file association for the PDF files will be changed to Microsoft Edge again. It can be very annoying as we have to change the file association again and again after few days.

  In this article, we will be discussing different ways to fix Microsoft Edge from taking over file association for PDFs issues.

  Table of Contents

  Fix 1: Changes in Settings

  Step 1: Open the Run dialog by pressing the keys Windows and R together

  Step 2: Type ms-settings:defaultapps and Press OK

  Case 1 -For Windows 10

  Step 3: In the Settings Window, Click on Choose default apps by file type option

  Step 3: Scroll down and look for the program associated with the .pdf file type.

  Step 4: Now, click on the program. Say, Microsoft Edge

  Step 5: In the menu, choose the desired PDF viewer (say, Adobe Acrobat Reader), and press Enter

  Case 1 -For Windows 11

  Step 3: Search .Pdf in search box.

  Step 4: Now, Click on Microsoft edge which appears in search result.

  Step 5: Now, Select a different PDF browser from the list.

  Fix 2 -Change Edge permissions

  1 – Open Microsoft edge.

  2 -Go to edge://settings/content/pdfDocuments in Edge

  3 -Turn On Always download PDF files Option.

  Fix 3: From Context Menu

  Step 1: Right-Click on the PDF file, you wish to view.

  Step 2: From the context menu, select Open With and then Choose another app

  Step 3: From the window, select the required PDF viewer

  Step 4: Tick the Always use this app to open .pdf files option

  Step 5: Press OK

  Fix 4: Rename the Microsoft Edge .exe files

  Step 1: Open Windows Explorer using the shortcut Windows+E

  Step 2:In the top -address bar paste the below location:

  Step 3: Check if the file MicrosoftPdfReader.exe is present. If you find this file proceed with the next steps

  Step 4: Take ownership of the folder. Refer to the link How to Take ownership of files in Windows 10

  Step 5: Locate the files MicrosoftEdge.exe and MicrosoftEdgeCP.exe. Rename these two files to something else.

  Step 6: Restart the system

  NOTE: Although this method helps you fix the issue, this fix must be repeated after any major update is done to the Windows.

  Fix 5: Ensure PDF Reader is Updated

  For certain PDF Readers (like Acrobat Reader), the older versions had some issue registering in Windows 10. The issue resolved on updating the PDF readers to their current versions.

  Fix 6: Using Registry Settings

  1 – Open Search box of Windows and type CMD in it.

  2 -Right click on Command prompt icon and choose run as administrator.

  3 -Now, run the commands given below one by one.

  4 -Close the cmd window.

  Fix 7: Update Windows to version v1607

  In case none of the above fixes work in your case just update Windows to version v1607 or beyond.

  Microsoft has fixed this issue in Windows version v1607

  We hope this has been informative. Thank you for Reading

  Anusha Pai is a Software Engineer having a long experience in IT industry and having a passion to write.

  I opened the Edge browser for the first time in several months because a site I need to use would not open correctly on Chrome and was recommending Edge.

  I have opened Edge in the past, but not often.

  However, since opening it, every time I now try to open a .pdf file it is defaulting to Edge which is:

  1. Completely useless for viewing pdf files, and;

  2. Not something that I did, or ever would, give permission for.

  Why has it done this?

  How has it done this?

  How do I stop Microsoft from unilaterally taking control of my PC without my permission?

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  MS has done nothing, its your Win settings, and file associations

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  Sorry Palcouk, MS has changed my setting. I keep resetting PDF to Acrobat, then a few days or weeks later, PDF are again defaulted to Edge.

  If you google this topic there are hundred and hundred of peoples asking the same question.

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  Thank you for the response.

  I agree that Win Settings and the file associations is how this is controlled – however, the objection that I have is that Edge has taken the liberty of updating those settings without any permission from me to do so and leaving me with the maual task of reviewing and correcting them.

  I therefore disagree that MS has done nothing, they are the authors of the Edge software and they have allowed it to take control of elements of my PC without permission. I believe that if other software was installed that did similar things, Microsoft would consider it malware. While the ‘harm’ done from this incident is minor, it is still a wrong behaviour and speaks to a total disregard for paying customers’ rights.

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  I wanted to check in and see if you (or anyone landing on this thread via search) are still seeing this behavior.

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  . Edge has taken the liberty of updating those settings without any permission from me .

  Not quite. Windows has a set of known, trusted programs for certain functions – web browser, email client, media player, PDF reader and a few others. Because of earlier controversy about ‘user choice’ – e.g. of web browser – Windows now records exactly which programs the user designates as defaults, and treats this user choice as inviolate. What you are seeing is that a program – probably your PDF reader, but not necessarily – has tried to override the inviolate registry key that records the user’s choice. Windows will not allow this, removes the program-added entry and applies the Windows default instead. For PDF reader, this is Edge. The only solution is to prevent whichever program it is from trying to assert itself as the default handler.

  So, it’s not ‘Edge taking a liberty;’ it’s Windows preventing changes to the user’s choice.

  Microsoft is no stranger to controversy when it comes to web browsers. Internet Explorer has been the butt of jokes for many years, and the company also found itself in trouble in Europe as part of an antitrust case. With the release of Windows 10, history could be about to repeat itself.

  Mozilla CEO Chris Beard penned a letter to Microsoft the other day expressing his disappointment that people upgrading to Windows 10 have their default browser choice overridden and changed to Microsoft Edge. While some may feel that Mozilla is whining, it could be argued that the company is right to be pissed — and Windows 10 users should be just as pissed at the liberties Microsoft is taking.

  Of course, there is nothing to stop people from changing the default browser to whatever they prefer but the point is. they shouldn’t have to. Someone upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 with Chrome (for instance) installed has already indicated that they have a particular preference when it comes to their web browser — they installed Chrome. Microsoft should not assume that in upgrading to Windows 10 browsing preferences will change. If a user wants to use Microsoft Edge, they can do so using the taskbar icon. There’s just no need to force it upon people.

  Microsoft runs a real danger of making Edge something of an unwanted house guest rather than the Internet Explorer replacement it is meant to be. Riding roughshod over the choices that users have already made is no way to make friends and influence people — as happened with Mozilla, it just rubs people up the wrong way.

  Writing to Satya Nadella, Beard said:

  When we first saw the Windows 10 upgrade experience that strips users of their choice by effectively overriding existing user preferences for the Web browser and other apps, we reached out to your team to discuss this issue. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in any meaningful progress, hence this letter.

  We appreciate that it’s still technically possible to preserve people’s previous settings and defaults, but the design of the whole upgrade experience and the default settings APIs have been changed to make this less obvious and more difficult.

  This is something of a theme that runs through Windows 10. Just as it is possible to opt out of the features of the operating system that invade privacy, it is not immediately obvious how to go about it. Does this mean that a lot of people will stick with using Microsoft Edge simply because they don’t know how to change the default browser? Only time will tell, but it certainly feels as though we’re treading familiar ground here. Microsoft is essential forcing users’ hands, and that not something that tends to go down particularly well.

  Of course, the obvious comeback is something along the lines of “well, Windows 10 is Microsoft’s operating system; it’s only right that it is free to do whatever it wants”. To a certain extent this is true, but at the same time Microsoft has a moral responsibility to respect the choices that people have already made. Of course Microsoft is free to wipe out any and all program default if it feels inclined, but that doesn’t make it right. There’s a big difference between exercising a right, and doing something that is right.

  Unlike my colleague Brian Fagioli, I agree wholeheartedly with Chris Beard. He is spot on when he says:

  Sometimes we see great progress, where consumer products respect individuals and their choices. However, with the launch of Windows 10 we are deeply disappointed to see Microsoft take such a dramatic step backwards.

  It is naïve to suggest, as Brian does, that “the real people this impacts are the ones that don’t know how to change their default web browser, and quite frankly, if they don’t know how to change back to Firefox, they also probably didn’t know how to choose it.” Whether done by the user, or through the proxy of a more knowledgeable friend or relative, I assert that it is Microsoft’s duty to respect the choices that have been made on a computer.

  What is sad is that the people who don’t know how to change the browser may stick with Microsoft Edge simply because they don’t know otherwise. Microsoft’s new browser has launched without one of its main selling points — extensions. We don’t know when this will be added and for those who cannot or do not switch to the likes of Chrome or Firefox (or one of the other alternatives), their experience of the internet is going to be substandard. That’s Microsoft’s fault, and it’s not something that people should be happy to put up with, whether it affects them directly or not.

  If you’re using Microsoft Edge version 77 or later, and are trying to open the settings pane, enter edge://settings/profiles in the browser address bar instead of search. For more information, see Get to know Microsoft Edge.

  This article is for IT professionals to manage Microsoft Edge Legacy settings with Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager.

  Applies to: Configuration Manager (current branch)

  For customers who use the Microsoft Edge Legacy web browser on Windows 10 clients, create a Configuration Manager compliance policy to configure the browser settings.

  This feature is deprecated. Support ends for the Microsoft Edge Legacy desktop application on March 9, 2021. With the April cumulative update for Windows 10, the new Microsoft Edge replaces Microsoft Edge Legacy. For more information, see New Microsoft Edge to replace Microsoft Edge Legacy with April’s Windows 10 Update Tuesday release.

  This policy only applies to clients on Windows 10, version 1703 or later, and Microsoft Edge Legacy version 45 and earlier.

  For more information on managing Microsoft Edge version 77 or later with Configuration Manager, see Deploy Microsoft Edge, version 77 and later. For more information on configuring policies for Microsoft Edge version 77 or later, see Microsoft Edge – Policies.

  Policy settings

  This policy currently includes the following settings:

  Set Microsoft Edge browser as default: configures the Windows 10 default app setting for web browser to Microsoft Edge

  Allow address bar drop-down: Requires Windows 10, version 1703 or later. For more information, see AllowAddressBarDropdown browser policy.

  Allow sync favorites between Microsoft browsers: Requires Windows 10, version 1703 or later. For more information, see SyncFavoritesBetweenIEAndMicrosoftEdge browser policy.

  Allow clear browsing data on exit: Requires Windows 10, version 1703 or later. For more information, see ClearBrowsingDataOnExit browser policy.

  Allow Do Not Track headers: For more information, see AllowDoNotTrack browser policy.

  Allow autofill: For more information, see AllowAutofill browser policy.

  Allow cookies: For more information, see AllowCookies browser policy.

  Allow pop-up blocker: For more information, see AllowPopups browser policy.

  Allow search suggestions in address bar: For more information, see AllowSearchSuggestionsinAddressBar browser policy.

  Allow send intranet traffic to Internet Explorer: For more information, see SendIntranetTraffictoInternetExplorer browser policy.

  Allow password manager: For more information, see AllowPasswordManager browser policy.

  Allow Developer Tools: For more information, see AllowDeveloperTools browser policy.

  Allow extensions: For more information, see AllowExtensions browser policy.

  For more information on using group policy to configure these and other settings, see Microsoft Edge Legacy group policies.

  Configure Windows Defender SmartScreen settings for Microsoft Edge Legacy

  This policy adds three settings for Windows Defender SmartScreen. The policy now includes the following additional settings on the SmartScreen Settings page:

  Allow SmartScreen: Specifies whether Windows Defender SmartScreen is allowed. For more information, see the AllowSmartScreen browser policy.

  Users can override SmartScreen prompt for sites: Specifies whether users can override the Windows Defender SmartScreen Filter warnings about potentially malicious websites. For more information, see the PreventSmartScreenPromptOverride browser policy.

  Users can override SmartScreen prompt for files: Specifies whether users can override the Windows Defender SmartScreen Filter warnings about downloading unverified files. For more information, see the PreventSmartScreenPromptOverrideForFiles browser policy.

  Create the browser profile

  In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Assets and Compliance workspace. Expand Compliance Settings and select the Microsoft Edge Browser Profiles node. In the ribbon, select Create Microsoft Edge profile.

  Specify a Name for the policy, optionally enter a Description, and select Next.

  On the General Settings page, change the value to Configured for the settings to include in this policy. To continue the wizard, make sure to configure the setting to Set Edge Browser as default.

  Configure settings on the SmartScreen Settings page.

  On the Supported Platforms page, select the OS versions and architectures to which this policy applies.

  Complete the wizard.

  Deploy the policy

  Select your policy, and in the ribbon select Deploy.

  Browse to select the user or device collection to which to deploy the policy.

  Select additional options as necessary:

  Generate alerts when the policy isn’t compliant.

  Set the schedule by which the client evaluates the device’s compliance with this policy.

  Select OK to create the deployment.

  Next steps

  Like any compliance settings policy, the client remediates the settings on the schedule you specify. Monitor and report on device compliance in the Configuration Manager console.

  Microsoft may be eager for everyone to switch to the new Chromium-based version of Edge, but there are a few issues that may put people off. There have been reports that the update that adds the browser to Windows 10 is causing computers to slow down, but there are also more worrying privacy-related reports.

  Eagle-eyed folk installing the browser have noticed that Edge is grabbing data such as bookmarks from other installed browsers before permission has been granted to import such data.

  See also:

  Now there is certainly nothing unusual in a web browser offering to import bookmarks, password cookies and other data from other web browsers you may have installed — the aim is, after all, to make the transition from one browser to another as painless as possible. But what people certainly expect is to be able to confirm that they would like this to happen.

  During the installation of Microsoft Edge, it is true that there is a screen asking you to confirm whether or not data should be imported from the likes of Chrome and Firefox. But on Reddit, users have noticed that Edge starts to collect this data before they have granted permission for it to happen.

  I just installed Edge today for testing, and I noticed my bookmarks from Firefox appear in the background/browser BEHIND the import acceptance dialog. The bookmarks disappeared after I said I didn’t want it to import anything. Obviously it still went looking before asking!

  Another Redditor reported the same, saying:

  I did not authorize Edge to copy my firefox / chrome data at any point. I’ve jumped through a lot of hoops in the attempt attempt to maintain some level of privacy with this OS. Finally, it just takes my data without giving me the choice to opt out.

  So, what does Microsoft have to say about this. In a statement given to Windows Central, the company said:

  During the first run experience, the customer is presented the opportunity to keep or discard the imported data. This data is discarded if they choose not to proceed with the import. If a customer terminates the new Microsoft Edge browser prematurely during the first run experience (e.g. using Task Manager), residual data may not be fully deleted. We recommend customers not shut down the setup process prematurely to ensure an expected result.

  Given the ever-increasing importance people now place on privacy, for Microsoft to be accessing (potentially very revealing) browser data without explicit permission does little to inspire confidence.