Comments on Windows now blocks Edge browser competitors from opening links

the bad news is EdgeDeflector also does not work on Win10 as well

Yes, it also affects Windows 10 now. I wasn’t sure if Microsoft would backport the change to Windows 10 or now when I wrote the article.

Yes this is bad. Now do Google.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated", said The Edge.

Luckily MSEdgeRedirect does the job just fine – albeit by running a service in the background, or listening for MSEdge launches. Not so clean, but since it's FOSS, I don't think it's much to worry about.

https://github.com/rcmaehl/MSEdgeRedirect

> Luckily MSEdgeRedirect does the job just fine

I’ve looked at it and other alternatives, and I decided to not use any of them. They’re all brittle hacks that waste resources.

I decided to leave Windows 11 behind and move back to Linux.

God that's so scummy of Microsoft. I noticed EdgeDeflector suddenly didn't work in Windows 10 and I'm surprised nobody seems to be talking about the recent change that blocks it. They really keep on digging this hole.

Microsoft has changed a lot. Every Windows they released I enjoyed it. Until they released Windows 8, everything has changed into controlling what the user must use and there are more restrictions

Microsoft wants me to use Edge so badly. But I'll just end up not using their Start menu search feature for web searches! Oh well! They wanted to eat their cake and have it too, and they'll end up not having any cake whatsoever.

We pay good money for our devices, so we should be able 2 change the device the way we want. Corporate Bullying again, :( however Those that sit on their high perch will eventually fall.

Out of desperation, they're trying to control the IT space forever. Unfortunately they still havn't learnt and will never learn from their previous blunders. All they do best is to steal or buy innovation from startups and force everyone to abide by their nonsense. I am hoping there will be an alternative to Github where they can never spoil it for everyone because their forced presence in everything is really unhealthy for our innovative minds.

On Windows 10 use the Address bar while still available. This got removed in Win 11 which has a thick un-customisable task bar,

Right-click over task bar select Toolbars > Address. The address bar allow to launch the default browser just type a url or text and this will appear in the default search engine from your default browser. Hoping this helps

I had been using Edge Deflector for years, it is sad that Microsoft needs to resort to such underhanded tactics instead of just making a product with great features that everyone wants to use instead. I don't even bother using the search in Windows very much anymore because of the incessant Edge annoyance. I found a page where you can delete the file out of Windows but then you can't get updates.

Thanks for posting the MSEdgeRedirect link. So far it seems to be working at redirecting the links.

They are breaking the law with this change.

The previous cases set the precedent that they could not tie additional software to the OS which was not part of the OS: e.g. Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player. They had to let you choose.

Now they're trying it again.

Wish I had crippled Windows Update as well as their useless Windows Defender. But too late now. I'm not going to go through the rigmarole of getting hold of an older copy of Windows. Though I will, I think, now cripple Windows Update. There is no need for these updates. There are no significant security vulnerabilities to be patched up. All they are doing is pushing their own spyware onto you.

Awful company. Bill Gates's so-called philanthropy let to fewer people taking Covid vaccines rather than more. They should pay their taxes and let us democratically decide how they are spent - not decide unilaterally.

I will never pay a single cent to Microsoft. I have pirated Windows 10 IoT LTSC and removed all of the useless, telemetry infested shit (Edge, Store, Windows Update, Defender).

They will ALWAYS push the worst anti-user decisions on the userbase with the excuse of "muh security". The change mentioned in the article is (as ALWAYS) excused by "making Windows more secure for our users".

I have also pirated all of Microsoft Office products and will never pay a cent for them. I will also delay updating Windows 10 for as long as possible, as I did with Windows 7 (which I would use today, if it ran on my modern CPU). Any single update is a huge risk of an anti-user change. Whatever system in the future I switch to (linux, mac, windows 12?), I will go out of my way to never pay a single cent to Microshaft and to send them as little data about me as possible.

Well Microsoft, you have finally done it! It has taken you close to 15 years but now that you have blocked me from choosing what browser and search engine I wish to use in the Windows search bar, I'm done! Screw you controlling ass holes I'm finally going to another OS and you've seen the last of another long time (like almost 40 years) diehard Windows user starting with 1.0. Well done idiots!

I'd take the 'destructive changes to Windows' route, with caveat emptor.

I had to cripple Windows Defender by booting from an external USB, and replacing its installation folder with a file of the same name. (Once it managed to reinstall itself, but mostly this is quite reliable.)

Windows Update was harder to cripple; there are various scheduled tasks that need to be killed off; I never mananged to get rid of all of them; it kept rearing its ugly head; in the end I gave up.

Would be nice to use Linux, but there are no graphics drivers for AMD Radeon R7 M460 that work on Ubuntu, which makes web browsing a painful experience, and totally rules out watching any video.

I'm very happy I stumbled across this, Thank you! My MOFI router is now going crazy with warnings telling me I'm using EDGE and its going to corrupt the router. Luckily only 3 hours into trying to fix it I came across this. Not surprising though. If they get away with this what's next.. Power trip, maybe just a little.

Another example of the American ethos of profit oriented motivation above all, ignoring user, suppliers, and individuals interests. Just like the mob who are now changing the formula 1 car series into dollar making industry rather than an attractive sport!!

My son and I have been using microsoft windows the last years. We came to the decision to change that. Microsofts Windows produces "backdoors" in their OS now for years (News and interesting Themes, Webbrower Locking for Search, other tools and restrictions to maintain collection of users behaviours and interest, and even much more. Not to forget, that Microsoft is a U.S. American Company and underlies the U.S. American Cloud Act in addition (even if we had nothing to hide, we don't like the feeling to be spied and scanned all the time). After its getting more and more difficult to customize the os, we have decided to change our Operating System to Linux. We started with a Dualboot Environment, but after 2 years using and comparing we will change this to use only linux since we noticed that there are enough possibielities to comfortably use the alternative. Looking in the future, we see also further hardware limitations coming which would enforce us to buy new hardware. we dissagree to that, since our hardware works still fine and we do not have more requirements to it. We think that the whole development is to force peaple to be even more dependent to the industry and even more control of the mean structures coming on. please consider thinking your situation over the same way. we wish you good descicions, even if it may be some kind of inconvenient in the beginning, it could be a good "investment of time" for your future. Thanks to Daniel for his engagement and work in the past. Keep going the alternative way.

Is there a source for the claim that Edge ever unpinned other browsers? I'm trying to verify it before I repeat it.