{"id":37446,"date":"2020-07-03T14:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/?p=2633614"},"modified":"2020-07-03T14:25:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T14:25:00","slug":"with-edge-microsofts-forced-windows-updates-just-sank-to-a-new-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/03\/with-edge-microsofts-forced-windows-updates-just-sank-to-a-new-low\/","title":{"rendered":"With Edge, Microsoft\u2019s forced Windows updates just sank to a new low"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

It undermines Microsoft’s own argument that automatic updates are critical<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If I told you that my entire computer screen just got taken over by a new app that I’d never installed or asked for<\/em> — it just magically appeared on my desktop, my taskbar, and preempted my next website launch — you’d probably tell me to run a virus scanner and stay away from shady websites, no?<\/p>\n

But the insanely intrusive app I’m talking about isn’t a piece of ransomware. It’s Microsoft’s new Chromium Edge browser<\/a>, which the company is now force-feeding users via an automatic update to Windows.<\/p>\n

Seriously, when I restarted my Windows 10 desktop this week, an app I’d never asked for:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Immediately launched itself<\/li>\n
  2. Tried to convince me to migrate away from Chrome, giving me no discernible way to click away or say no<\/li>\n
  3. Pinned itself to my desktop and taskbar<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        4.Ignored my previous browser preference by asking me — the next time I launched a website — whether I was sure I wanted to use Chrome instead of Microsoft’s oh-so-humble recommendation.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/twitter.com\/TaranVH?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1278758217074405377%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F21310611%2Fmicrosoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial<\/a><\/p>\n

    Did I mention that, as of this update, you can’t uninstall Edge anymore?<\/p>\n

    It all immediately made me think: what would the antitrust enforcers of the ‘90s<\/a>, who punished Microsoft for bundling Internet Explorer with Windows, think about this modern abuse of Microsoft’s platform?<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/twitter.com\/icze4r\/status\/1277654094795149312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1277660016103710721%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F21310611%2Fmicrosoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/twitter.com\/im2blame4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1277931163017981953%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F21310611%2Fmicrosoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial<\/a><\/p>\n

    But mostly, I’m surprised Microsoft would shoot itself in the foot by stooping so low, using tactics I’ve only ever seen from purveyors of adware, spyware, and ransomware. I installed this copy of Windows with a disk I purchased, by the way. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I like to think I still own my desktop and get to decide what I put there.<\/p>\n

    That’s especially<\/em> true of owners of Windows 7 and Windows 8, I imagine, who are also receiving unwanted gift copies of the new Edge right now:https:\/\/twitter.com\/DjUchuu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1277892411994386433%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F21310611%2Fmicrosoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial<\/a><\/p>\n

    And I’m not surprised that some angry Windows users are already railing against the fact that this came as part of a forced Windows update, which Microsoft has already had a damn hard time justifying<\/a> without invading people’s desktops as well. It’s going to be harder to buy the argument that forced updates are necessary for security when they’re pulling double-duty as an intrusive marketing tool.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/twitter.com\/paperichie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1277804596610707456%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F21310611%2Fmicrosoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/twitter.com\/totccast?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1278029730378326026%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F21310611%2Fmicrosoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial<\/a><\/p>\n

    Heck, we can’t even get Americans to wear life-saving masks in public<\/a> right now.<\/p>\n

    Microsoft isn’t trying to hide most of this, by the way: it lays out the so-called “First Run Experience” in this update changelog<\/a>. So I figured I’d see if the company might say more. Here is a list of questions I sent Microsoft, which the company declined to substantively answer on the record or on background:<\/p>\n