Microsoft Edge

[jimlj]

A few weeks ago our power went out, and when restarting my computer it did some updates, one of which was the "new" Microsoft Edge. I have HATED it every since. I finally googled how to get rid of the update, which is simple for even a illiterate guy like me.

For the past several months there has been a banner pop up inviting me to upgrade to the new Edge, which I didn't want, but in some zit faced kid's infinite wisdom it was gifted to me with the last update.

Anyone else get it, and what do you think of it?

[cabezaverde]

I actually got used to it and like it.

[.429&H110]

Bill Gates dumped Edge on me.
Froze the poor old thing solid
didn't have enough memory left over.
This Asus is old enough to vote.
Window 7 was a big deal upgrade!
Restart and uninstall.
YMMV

[bangerjim]

Edge is actually pretty good. Many websites and video feeds no longer support Internet Explorer (which I used for years) so you need to adapt to Edge.

Avoid Google Chrome, as they track and sell everything you do and say even more than Edge!

I use a VPN for everything to hide my existence.

[Conditor22]

Firefox is a great browser -- (free download)

[kungfustyle]

^^^+1
Download the new version of edge and set your browser to default to firefox (after you download it too). No more banners/popups.

[StuBach]

Edge is horrible. Reminds me of MSM browser that MS tried to force on us years ago in Windows XP.

Never had any issues with Google Chrome (company standard browser on our work laptops) and always loved Firefox when using PC.

Personal computers are all Macs and Safari has always treated me well.

[dragon813gt]

The new Edge is actually Chromium. Microsoft uses the base code, which is open source, and adds the feature they want. Both Chrome and Brave do the same thing. Chrome is a memory hog and I don’t want it reporting back to Google on everything I do. I prefer Firefox as they are the most privacy focused. I was getting WebRTC leaks w/ Chrome even after disabling it. Not good when you’re using a VPN for legitimate reasons. No leaks w/ Firefox.

I hope the rumors aren’t true that Mozilla might be axing Firefox. They laid off almost all of their staff due to COVID. I don’t want to see them go away.

[oldred]

Edge is horrible.

Edge is HORRIBLE, there fixed that since you didn't spell it in all caps!

Edge noticeably slowed both my and my wife's computers and Googling the problem reveals this to be a common gripe, basically Edge just Stinks! Firefox is way better in all respects, faster, cleaner and is just all-round better!

[psychodad]

I have no interest in Edge although they keep trying to force it on us. Been using Firefox for some time now. I said goodbye to Google too. I use StartPage as my search engine. Their website advertises that it allows users to obtain Google Search results while protecting users' privacy by not storing personal information or search data and removing all trackers. YMMV.

[abunaitoo]

I had the same download.
It slowed everything down.
Changed a bunch of my settings.
Even the screen picture changed.
I turned it off so it wouldn't load at start up.
Found it on the web.
Had to work on changing all the stuff it changed.
What a mess.
I've used Firefox for years.
Neve had a problem.

[mrbigsteel]

+1 for Firefox.

[Hick]

Firefox and DuckDuckGo-- privacy all the way

[fcvan]

I used Firefox for years. Last year, I started using Brave which has a very active tracker/ad blocker you can adjust by individually approving sites you want to view. Sped things up, lets you see just how invasive many websites are to your information. My brother took it to a different level. He has a small computer called a RaspberryPi. When he does searches, it routes through the Pi, blocks and stops anything but the content from the site. Very useful for searches using with cell phones or tablets, routing only content through the virtual network.

[jimlj]

I guess I patted myself on the back too soon. I turned on the computer this morning and found the new and "improved" edge downloaded again. This time I was unable to delete it. I'm giving Firefox a try.

[dragon813gt]

He has a small computer called a RaspberryPi. When he does searches, it routes through the Pi, blocks and stops anything but the content from the site.

Assuming he’s running Pihole which is network wide advertising and tracking blocker. It doesn’t come preinstalled on a Pi so no one gets confused. You have full control of what talks “out” of your network. And you’d be amazed how many devices get mad when you cut them off. My Roku devices try to phone home no less than 10,000 times a day. This is because I cut them off but the amount was high before I did this.

If you pair a Pihole w/ Unbound the Pi becomes a recursive DNS server. This means queries stay local, after initial caching, so there’s one less middleman. Setup is fairly easy if you can follow instructions and don’t have an issue using a command line. The nice part is once setup you tell your network router to use the Pi as the DNS server.

At a minimum people should change their DNS server to something like Cloudfare, they don’t log IP addresses. Otherwise anytime you type www.”xxxxx”.com the request most likely goes through Google DNS. And they log IP addresses and will be collecting data on what sites you visit.

[oldred]

I guess I patted myself on the back too soon. I turned on the computer this morning and found the new and "improved" edge downloaded again. This time I was unable to delete it. I'm giving Firefox a try.

When you start Firefox make SURE edge is not running in the background! My wife's laptop slowed considerably when we first started using Firefox until I noticed the problem was both running at the same time. My son blocked edge from starting and the problem immediately went away, not likely to happen to you but it's something you might want to watch for.

[Jsm180]

Firefox is too slow on our connection, 2.8 mb/s dsl, chrome works but too many trackers. Been using Brave for a couple years, very happy with it and they keep improving.

[shaune509]

ME opened the other day over firefox with a prompt to transfer favorites to ME from firefox, I declined and then removed ME's icon from screen. I did not deleate ME from system but so far its not shown up again.
'Gates10' did do an update and the few problems I was having with firefox got fixed. Before update I could not open Outdoor Life or F&S, after no problem. Only thing I do not like with 'Gates10' is the self powerup at odd hours in the day, TRACKING/SPYING.
Shaune509

[jonp]

Opera, Firefox or Dolphin. Edge came with some stupid edge popups that were beyond annoying. Mostly use Firefox at home and Opera on my smartphone but Dolphin is pretty good and Duck Duck Go blocks a lot of stuff.

[dragon813gt]

Opera is owned by a Chinese company if you weren’t aware. I stopped using it when it was sold to them sometime around 2015-2016.

[Burnt Fingers]

Brave https://brave.com/

Then use DuckDuckGo for searching.