Turn on Edge enhanced security without breaking essential websites

A browser can reduce exposure to some memory-related attacks by running unfamiliar websites under tighter rules. Microsoft Edge's enhanced security does this partly by disabling just-in-time JavaScript compilation and using additional operating-system protections. It is an extra layer, not a promise that every malicious page will be stopped. Balanced is designed to preserve daily usability; Strict can disrupt ordinary tasks. Make the choice deliberately and test the sites you actually need.

Before you start​

Update Edge first. On a managed work or school computer, an administrator may control the setting. Write down the exact trusted service that fails, if any, rather than switching the protection off for every website. Understand that this feature differs from SmartScreen's reputation warnings and from tracking prevention.

Do it step by step​

1. Open Edge Settings, then Privacy, search, and services. Find Security and turn on Enhance your security on the web. Use the labels shown by your current Edge version, as Microsoft moves settings occasionally.
2. Choose Balanced first. It applies additional protection primarily to sites you do not visit often or that Edge does not know well. Browse several familiar sites and one unfamiliar site you can safely inspect; look for the Added security indicator by the address bar.
3. If you want broader coverage, select Strict and repeat your normal workflows: sign in, fill forms, upload a harmless test file and complete a checkout only if you intended to buy something. Strict may break some page components; do not assume a broken form means the site is malicious.
4. When a genuinely necessary site fails, check whether the problem persists with extensions disabled and after an Edge update. Only after isolating this setting as the cause, open Site preferences for enhanced security and add that exact verified site to the Never use list.
5. Keep exceptions narrow. Review the list later, remove obsolete entries and prefer restoring the protection after a site's compatibility issue is fixed. For a high-risk but working site, the Always use list can request enhanced security even under Balanced.
6. Revisit the indicator on a site where you expect protection. If a device is shared or managed, confirm the current setting rather than relying on a choice made months ago.

Check the result​

Edge shows the selected mode and, on protected pages, an Added security indicator. Important websites still work, and any exception has a documented reason and a correct hostname.

If something goes wrong​

If a site still fails after an exception, the cause may be a script blocker, cookies, a service outage or its own code. Remove a trial exception that did not help. If the setting is locked, ask your administrator rather than using a second browser to evade policy.

Know the limit​

Balanced does not apply the extra restriction everywhere; Strict is not a universal malware defense. Exceptions remove this added protection for the listed site. Keep Edge and the operating system patched, and do not bypass a certificate or phishing warning merely to complete the test. Microsoft Edge enhanced-security modes