Advice Request Am I crazy for wanting to use the Edge browser?!

[ParaXY]

I have been using Firefox 1.x for many many years. I stopped using IE when IE7 came out (couldn't stand the GUI). I don't use IE at all anymore. I use Chrome as a backup browser.

Since installing Windows 10 on my machine I haven't really considered using or trying out the new Edge browser. So last night I started reading up on it and experimenting. I like the sand boxing feature.

So I imported all my bookmarks from Firefox and added the Adblock Plus extension. I also installed the Roboform extension but I need to upgrade my version of Roboform before it'll work.

I then had Edge and Firefox side by side on my dual monitors and interestingly, they almost look the same!

There are some nice touches like setting tabs aside and pinning a tab. The one thing that is annoying is that you can't set new tabs to open to a specific URL...grrr.

I also have a folder of daily links I always open in Firefox (you right click the folder and select open all in tabs and every bookmark opens). I tried this in Edge and it worked too. If I do this in Edge it does use more memory though:

This is with about two dozen tabs. I don't mind the memory usage at all as I have 32GB and free memory is wasted memory!

So before trying Edge I hated it. Not sure why as I had hardly ever used it or given it a chance. Now I am now planning on using it for a month to see how it goes.

Am I crazy for joining the 2% of the market share that actually use Edge? Is Edge a waste of time? Is it more secure than Firefox? (I do use Chrome as a secondary browser but this is rare).

I'm interested to hear the forums thoughts on this!

 

[Andy Ful]

I also see it in Process Explorer:

View attachment 180965

Those are the normal processes related to Edge.
.
When someone uses Process Explorer, he/she can easily check if the application is running in AppContainer:
View >> Select columns >> Integrity level (tick this)
AppContainer entries can be seen in the Integrity column on the main window.
.
Edit
The info about AppContainer was not for you, but for the less experienced users.

 

[Andy Ful]

Can you see if something is running in an AppContainer using task manager?

Check the process properties and look at the path, it should contain:
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps
Also, the process Runtime Broker should be visible along with the application process.

 

[ParaXY]

Check the process properties and look at the path, it should contain:
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps

That's helpful, thanks!

Mine says:

C:\Windows\SystemApps

for Edge.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

Thanks but this info is provided my MS so I wonder if there is independent info that backs up their claims?

In the link I provided is a link to NSS Labs tests. According to NSS Labs. Microsoft Edge blocks more phishing sites and socially engineered malware than Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. See details here
You can also find their test results here. You have to register for these. NSS Labs Research Library - Products

Also look here for many other vendors. NSS Labs Research Library - Home

 

[Andy Ful]

The browser security test results can be different as in the case of antivirus tests. Also, the popularity of the browser has an impact on the user security. The below white papers can help (sponsored by Google):
https://browser-security.x41-dsec.de/X41-Browser-Security-White-Paper.pdf
https://cure53.de/browser-security-whitepaper.pdf
.
It is obvious that the browser security is a very complex problem.

 

[Anker_by]

Well, I still prefer Chrome, because is more for Web development support.

 

[ParaXY]

In the link I provided is a link to NSS Labs tests. According to NSS Labs. Microsoft Edge blocks more phishing sites and socially engineered malware than Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. See details here
You can also find their test results here. You have to register for these. NSS Labs Research Library - Products

Also look here for many other vendors. NSS Labs Research Library - Home

The browser security test results can be different as in the case of antivirus tests. Also, the popularity of the browser has an impact on the user security. The below white papers can help (sponsored by Google):
https://browser-security.x41-dsec.de/X41-Browser-Security-White-Paper.pdf
https://cure53.de/browser-security-whitepaper.pdf
.
It is obvious that the browser security is a very complex problem.

Thanks for the helpful links/reports!

I've also been keen to give Application Guard a try with Edge:

Windows Defender Application Guard (Windows 10)

https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/mi...wser-with-windows-defender-application-guard/

The problem with this is that I use VMware Workstation Pro every day and you can't have HyperV and VMware Workstation running side by side so Application Guard looks like a no go for me currently.

 

[samit]

It is okay to use edge as a backup browser. But I don't think it can be the default browser for me. Not yet.
What I expect from a browser is... well... browsing without interference. I don't need it to send notifications, display ads or fail to play videos when I need. And transfer all the downloads to IDM. Chrome & Firefox are excellent at these tasks and Edge is somewhat struggling.

IDM does have an extension for Edge which transfers all downloads to IDM.
Get IDM Integration Module - Microsoft Store
You can manage permissions like notifications, pop-ups, etc. for each website in the settings of Edge browser.

 

[Faybert]

I can not use the Edge on my other machine with Windows 10, horrible performance, almost always freezes the heavy websites, I simply use this just to download Chrome and Opera

 

[ParaXY]

Next annoying thing about Edge: When you open multiple new tab with YouTube videos they all start playing simultaneously (Firefox always paused and muted all new tabs).

Luckily theres an extension called: Enhancer for YouTube that fixes this and gives you control over new tabs. I'm using 3 extensions now.

I think the next version of Edge does give you the option to natively mute tabs but the current version doesn't.

I do like the feature to "Set these tabs aside". So if you have 10 tabs open and you need to revisit them later (and don't want to bookmark them all) you just clikc this option and you can revisit them later.

 

[roger_m]

Next annoying thing about Edge: When you open multiple new tab with YouTube videos they all start playing simultaneously (Firefox always paused and muted all new tabs).

I didn't know that. But personally, I prefer it that way. I hate it when I open a YouTube video in a new tab in Chrome and it doesn't start playing until I switch to that tab.

 

[ParaXY]

You can also consider Adobe Reader Touch from Windows Store. It is a little bit faster when you read magazines that have many pages with diagrams, graph-charts, and photos.
I also use Edge - no issues at all. I think that actually, Edge is in practice, the safest web browser. In theory, Google Chrome is as safe as Edge, but it is much more popular than Edge. The more popular software, the more popular malware for it.

I had to uninstall Adobe Reader Touch unfortunately and reinstall PDF XChange as it didn't seem to do two things which I need:

1. It didn't remember where I last read up to in a PDF. I tried a few PDFs but after closing the PDF and reopening it it would keep opening to the same page rather than the new page I had read up to
2. Thumbnails stopped working in File Explorer

I did look at other PDF viewers in the Store but nothing seemed to grab me so I installed PDF XChange again.

Today is "Day 2" of using Edge...lets see how it goes

 

[DeepWeb]

You can install uBlock Origin and Smartscreen is incredible. It also runs in a container and with a few tweaks you can even virtualize it completely. I don't see what's wrong with it. I just prefer Chrome.

 

[ParaXY]

You can install uBlock Origin and Smartscreen is incredible. It also runs in a container and with a few tweaks you can even virtualize it completely. I don't see what's wrong with it. I just prefer Chrome.

I currently have this set in Edge for Smartscreen:

What do you mean by: It also runs in a container and with a few tweaks you can even virtualize it completely

 

[DeepWeb]

I currently have this set in Edge for Smartscreen:

View attachment 180986

What do you mean by: It also runs in a container and with a few tweaks you can even virtualize it completely

If you have Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise you can enable Edge running as an Application Guard window.
Turn On or Off Windows Defender Application Guard in Windows 10

 

[ParaXY]

If you have Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise you can enable Edge running as an Application Guard window.
Turn On or Off Windows Defender Application Guard in Windows 10

Ok, got it. If you read one of my previous posts you'll see I use VMware Workstation which can't be used when HyperV is installed for Application Guard. Pity!

 

[neon]

Do You use Defender Application Guard ?
Regards

 

[ParaXY]

Do You use Defender Application Guard ?
Regards

No because I use VMware Workstation.

Has anyone noticed that YouTube can be a bit slower in Edge? It takes a couple seconds to load the videos on the right hand side which I have never noticed in Firefox.

 

[neon]

on my machine, I don't see anything wrong with Youtube in Edge.

 

[212eta]

Am I crazy for wanting to use the Edge browser?

If you really prefer Edge over the rest browsers, then, use it.