Microsoft to add VPN to Edge browser

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[Alex5723]

Use the Microsoft Edge Secure Network to protect your browsing

Microsoft Edge helps keep you safe online. However, the networks you join may not be adequately secure. Microsoft Edge Secure Network can help you protect your device and sensitive data as you browse.

Note: Microsoft Edge Secure Network is a preview feature. Preview features are services that are in development and are made available on a “preview” basis so users can get early access and send us feedback.

Microsoft Edge Secure Network:

Encrypts your connection
Helps prevent online tracking
Keeps your location private
Is free to use:

Get 1 gigabyte of free data every month when you sign into Microsoft Edge with your Microsoft Account..

• This topic was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by Alex5723.

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Lars220, lmacri

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Alex5723 wrote:

Get 1 gigabyte of free data every month when you sign into Microsoft Edge with your Microsoft Account

Use / sale of your data is worth 1GB/month to MS.
Can I have the money instead please?

cheers, Paul

4 users thanked author for this post.

Lars220, DrBonzo, Alex5723, PKCano

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Microsoft doesn’t sell data.

Satya Nadella says Microsoft Is Not Like Google and Facebook and Won’t Sell User Data

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I see nothing in that article (apart from the title) that proves that they don’t sell data. It seems they do monetize data in some way since “Satya Nadella said Microsoft does not over monetize data.”

The article is also 3 1/2 years old so maybe they’ve changed their minds in the meantime…

Windows 10 Home 22H2, Acer Aspire TC-1660 desktop + LibreOffice, non-techie

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samak wrote:

I see nothing in that article (apart from the title) that proves that they don’t sell data.

Perhaps you missed this bit?

Satya Nadella insists Microsoft is committed to maintaining user data by only using the information to improve the user experience. Furthermore, the company will not send data to an unrelated third-party.

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And what is the point?

I hate VPNs. I don’t understand why they have suddenly apparently become so popular. I say “apparently” because I suspect the popularity is mostly among the ignorant of computers users.

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Mele20 wrote:

I don’t understand why they have suddenly apparently become so popular.

VPNs became popular due to public awareness to privacy.
You should choose a VPN service wisely away from US (and 14Eyes countries) jurisdiction which makes Microsoft’s offer a no option.

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GeeBeeDee, Lars220

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From Mayank Parmar’s 28-Apr-2022 review at https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/hands-on-with-microsoft-edges-new-built-in-vpn-feature/ :

“In our tests, we observed that Edge’s VPN doesn’t let you choose your location. It only protects your traffic with encryption and uses 1.1.1.1 to optimize your DNS for a faster connection… Edge’s Secure Network is safe, reliable, and useful, but it is currently not a good alternative to the more traditional VPNs out there or the built-in VPN offered in Opera.“

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Alex5723, windbg, Lars220

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One of the comments at the Bleeping Computer website mentions the Cloudflare WARP product: “A VPN for People Who Don’t Know What V.P.N. Stands For” Cloudflare offers both free and paid versions. The vpnMentor website has an in-depth review by Husain Parvez | Cybersecurity Researcher – Updated on 10th April 2022 titled: “WARP Review 2022 – Keep This in Mind Before Buying” with opening line: “WARP isn’t like a regular VPN. It isn’t meant for advanced users, but it’s good for beginners because it’s so easy to use.” and “The Bottom Line – Final Verdict: WARP has great potential with decent security, speeds, a strict privacy policy, and easy-to-use apps. However, it falls behind in some key areas.” One drawback is that it is based in San Francisco USA and therefore it is subject to the spying 14 Eyes jurisdiction that Alex5723 warns about. A rather long, but very informative review for those that may be interested. Remember, the free version may be you that is the product (?) there is a paid version also. The vpn Guru website asks: “The New Microsoft Edge Built-in VPN Feature – Is It Worth It?” Last Updated On: April 29, 2022 – “Edge Secure Network – Not That Cutting Edge; We’ve seen what this tool can do, and we’re impressed. However, just like many built-in browser VPNs, you can never treat it as an alternative to your traditional VPN.” Also, other comments at Bleeping Computer warn about Opera built in VPN is a data collection service in disguise. Gift from China ? yikes…

Amazing Truths Revealed: Link to Simply Magnificent AskWoody Knowledge Bases

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windbg, lmacri

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A VPN is to keep your business data on your PC and on the business servers. Anything else is just fiddling around the edges for people overly concerned about privacy – you don’t really have any.

There is some value in a VPN if you live / work in a country where access to sites is restricted, but it’s easier / better not to live there – assuming you have a choice.

cheers, Paul

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windbg

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b wrote:

… “Satya Nadella insists Microsoft is committed to maintaining user data by only using the information to improve the user experience. Furthermore, the company will not send data to an unrelated third-party.”

I think “unrelated” is the key work.

I used to use Norton as my antivirus and there were similar discussions about what happened to data collected by their third-party partners Ask.com and Yahoo who provided the search engine for the Norton Safe Web and Norton Safe Search browser extensions. A few years ago Norton updated their privacy policy to specifically state that “it is our Third Party Partner, rather than Symantec, who decides how your Third Party Data will be collected, used, disclosed, retained, or otherwise processed….” (see my 27-Oct-2019 post <here> in the Norton forum for further details). Use of shared data by Norton’s third-party partners has become even more relevant since Norton acquired Avast in 2021, the same company that was caught selling customer data to large corporate clients like Home Depot, Google, Microsoft and Pepsi through Avast’s subsidiary company Jumpshot (see the Jan 2020 PC Magazine article Avast to End Browser Data Harvesting, Terminates Jumpshot).

I expanded the the “Search, Microsoft Edge, and Artificial Intelligence” section of the Microsoft Privacy Policy and it has a similar caveat that states “You should refer to the privacy policies of the third-party services for any questions about how they collect and use data“.  I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Microsoft has little control over any collected data it shares with third-party partners.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1645 * Firefox v99.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19100.5 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.8.191-1.0.1666

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GeeBeeDee, wavy

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oo UGLY 😱🤬

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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b wrote:

Satya Nadella insists Microsoft is committed to maintaining user data by only using the information to improve the user experience. Furthermore, the company will not send data to an unrelated third-party.

Usually good VPN providers state that they don’t keep logs at all and that they are not under US (or 14Eyes) jurisdiction . Microsoft didn’t.

Do federal regulations allow the FBI or any other government agency to request my data from my VPN or any other security feature? If they can request, then are VPNs required to give my data?

“Yes VPN can be asked to give up any data they have on you if needed, that is why you need a non-logging VPN. In this case even though it will be asked to give up data about you they won’t have anything to give up since they do not collect logs about you.”

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GeeBeeDee

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Alex5723 wrote:

Usually good VPN providers state that they don’t keep logs at all and that they are not under US (or 14Eyes) jurisdiction . Microsoft didn’t.

The MS support article  Use the Microsoft Edge Secure Network to Protect Your Browsing includes a privacy statement from Cloudflare, which states in part:

“Cloudflare will observe your source IP, the destination IP address (website) you are accessing, source port, destination port, timestamp, and access token provided by Edge. This data will be stored briefly as part of Cloudflare’s temporary logs, and then permanently deleted within 25 hours of Cloudflare’s receipt of such information. Cloudflare will not log your request data and will not use it for any purpose other than to provide the Proxy service.“

There is also a section in Cloudflare’s privacy statement about government requests for content blocking. After reading that privacy statement, the bigger concern for me is that you must sign in to Microsoft Edge with a Microsoft account in order to use Microsoft Edge Secure Network so that Microsoft can track the data usage for your 1 GB monthly data limit. Signing in with a Microsoft Account will turn on MS Edge’s Sync feature, which will store “browsing history, favorites, settings, form fill data including addresses and more, passwords, extensions, open tabs, and collections” on the Microsoft servers unless the user configures Sync (Settings | Profiles | Sync) so that Sync does not store these types of data.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1645 * Firefox v99.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2203.5-1.1.19100.5 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.8.191-1.0.1666

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windbg, GeeBeeDee, Alex5723

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