Newsletter Archives

• Why aren’t you using Edge?

  Posted on October 9, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by Josh Hendrickson • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS

  

  By Josh Hendrickson

  You’re probably reading this newsletter from Chrome. But I’m not. I’m using Microsoft Edge.

  I know, I know. It’s pretty easy to take potshots at Microsoft as a whole, let alone a browser that comes from the company. This is the maker of such “fine” products as Windows Vista, Windows 8, and Internet Explorer. Yes, I agree — the tech behemoth has missed the mark plenty of times.

  But let’s also be fair: for every terrible version of Windows you can name, there is a great one you never wanted to leave (Windows XP and 7, anyone?). The company can put out good products, too, and even good hardware these days (hello, Surface). And the Edge browser is something different — it’s Chrome, but better.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.41.0, 2023-10-09).

  Windows Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Internet, Newsletters, Web Browsers

• More Microsoft Rewards tips and tricks

  Posted on August 14, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  You can earn points by playing games on Xbox — even if you don’t have a Game Pass subscription — or even by learning about new games!

  Last week, I looked at all the ways you can earn daily and weekly Microsoft Rewards points by using the Bing search engine and the Edge browser. But if you have access to an Xbox, you can earn significantly more points, even if you’re not a regular gamer.

  The number of apps involved depends on where you live and how much you travel, because the Rewards program has become attractive enough to exploit.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.33.0, 2023-08-14).

  Microsoft Bing, Edge, Loyalty Programs, Microsoft, Newsletters, Rewards, Travel, Windows, Xbox

• Make the most of Microsoft Rewards

  Posted on August 7, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.32 • 2023-08-07

  MICROSOFT

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  Microsoft will give you points for using Bing, and more!

  Welcome to this first of a two-part series on how to earn rewards points, where to spend or donate them, and how to maximize your earnings.

  You can view the Rewards program as a bit of a bribe to use Microsoft’s search engine and browser, or you can see it as getting your share of the advertising money Microsoft earns on Bing and MSN. Every search engine makes money, but only Microsoft shares it with users through what’s now called Microsoft Rewards.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.32.0, 2023-08-07).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft Bing, Edge, Loyalty Programs, Microsoft, Newsletters, Rewards, Windows

• Getting rid of that pesky bing icon

  Posted on April 22, 2023 at 22:33 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  If you are a user of Edge, but not necessarily of Bing, nor a fan of the menu bar on the right side, be aware that you can now disable these in the GUI without needing a registry key edit.

  Open Edge’s Settings page.  Click on sidebar. Then select Discover. Click on the “Show Discover” on or off, depending on your preference.

  

  Then on the main sidebar setting,

  

  Turn off always show sidebar.

  I’m working on a “all those annoying things I turn off” document which will be in a future newsletter. Stay tuned for more!

  Windows Edge, Patch Lady Posts

• How to manage your browser cookies

  Posted on April 17, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  INTERNET

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Browser cookies can be helpful or harmful, depending on how and why they’re used in your browser. The key lies in taking control of them.

  You probably already know that Web browsers use cookies to save certain information. Over the years, cookies have developed a bad rep because many websites and advertisers use them to track your online activities for the purpose of sending you ads and other targeted content.

  But cookies can also help you by storing key details at websites that you frequently use. The trick here is knowing which cookies are good and which are bad, and how to manage them in general.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.16.0, 2023-04-17).

  Internet Android, Chrome, Cookies, Edge, Firefox, iOS, Newsletters, Privacy, Safari, Security, Web Browsers, Windows

• Microsoft kills off Internet Explorer — mostly

  Posted on February 20, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.08 • 2023-02-20

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Not feeling the love from Microsoft this month?

  That might be because the company is saying goodbye to its aged Internet Explorer Web browser (IE), albeit only on certain platforms.

  For Windows 10, the death of IE is not part of this month’s Windows update but rather part of the update to the Edge browser. That update would have been in the background, silent, and you may not have noticed it. Even if you did, you probably didn’t pay much attention. Unless, of course, you had moved from IE to Edge a while back. For you, the update re-migrated your favorites and bookmarks, making a duplicate list.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.08.0, 2023-02-20).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch .NET patches, Edge, Internet Explorer, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, SQL Server, Web Browsers

• Update fails, and WaaSMedic runs for hours …

  Posted on November 1, 2021 at 02:44 CDT by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  Windows 10/11’s built-in WaaSMedic agent is supposed to automatically detect and repair problems with Windows Update.

  But sometimes, it can’t fix what’s wrong; other times, WaaSMedic itself is the problem!

  Fortunately, there are a number of known solutions — including some new advice from Microsoft — to remedy this and other common Update problems.

  Plus: Edge won’t stay dead! And: A Wi-Fi dongle takes down a keyboard and mouse.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.42.0 (2021-11-01).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Edge, LangaList, USB, Windows Update

• Can you fully delete the Edge browser? Should you?

  Posted on October 18, 2021 at 02:44 CDT by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  The answer is yes, no, and maybe, depending on exactly what you’re trying to do and what risks you’re willing to take. You’ll find the how-to information below.

  However, because Fred thinks removing Edge is a bad idea, this column also suggests a better, safer way to suppress Edge — a way guaranteed not to cause new problems with other Windows apps and services.

  But if you understand the risks and still want to remove Edge, here are the background and links you need!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.40.0 (2021-10-18).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Edge, LangaList

• No Chrome? Easily add full-function Gmail to Edge!

  Posted on August 16, 2021 at 02:44 CDT by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  Setup takes all of about 60 seconds, and there’s absolutely zero old-school POP or IMAP mail-server arcana to figure out.

  With literally a couple of clicks, you can add a permanent, utterly standard Gmail instance to Edge — or just about any other browser!

  Plus: Why some restarts during an update are OK, but others are destructive; and we note a milestone as the IBM PC turns 40!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.31.0 (2021-08-16).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, browsers, Edge, Email, Gmail, LangaList

• Microsoft Edge imports other browsers’ passwords

  Posted on July 12, 2021 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.26 • 2021-07-12

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  When some readers installed the new Microsoft Edge browser — which replaces the old “legacy Edge” — they got a big surprise. They discovered that Edge had somehow magically absorbed all the usernames and passwords they’d carefully saved in their previously installed browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and legacy Edge.

  What’s even more surprising is that Edge — which until recently couldn’t import or export passwords at all — may be doing this new behavior by design.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.26.0 (2021-07-12).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.26.F (2021-07-12).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Edge, Privacy, Security

• Microsoft experiments with pushing Office progressive web apps onto Win10 machines – without your permission

  Posted on October 14, 2020 at 19:12 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I like PWAs, but this is no way to get the ball rolling. (There’s a good discussion of Progressive Web Apps on Wikipedia.)

  Microsoft has PWA versions of five apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. You can manually install the PWA versions of those apps on your Win10 machine by using Edge (navigate to the app in the Windows Store, click Settings, Apps, Install this site as an app). You end up with Start menu entries for each. Click on one of the Start entries, and the web-based version of the app appears, inside a minimal browser shell.

  Mayank Parmar over on Windows Latest noticed:

  Microsoft now appears to be experimenting with a new feature that will add [the PWA version of] Office apps to your Windows 10 device without your permission.

  The rollout isn’t happening on all machines. Says Parmar:

  Over the weekend, Microsoft updated the Chromium Edge (Stable) for Windows 10 to quietly install four Office web apps on some devices. This ‘feature’ appears to be rolling out to select testers in the Windows Insider program, but it could also show up on non-Insider machines.

  Günter Born calls them “Windows 10 behavior as a malware?” He’s got a good point – although, to be fair, it looks like the only machines being targeted right now are actively in the Insider Program.

  Lawrence Abrams at BleepingComputer says:

  Those who do not wish to have these PWAs installed can uninstall them directly in Microsoft Edge through the edge://apps URL or via the Programs and Features Settings page [in Windows 10].

  Surprise!

  Windows News Edge, Office PWA

• Dear Microsoft, could you make Edge a little more obnoxious?

  Posted on September 25, 2020 at 14:02 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  So I’m sitting here plunking away on one of my production Win10 version 1909 machines, when a new update appears.

  2020-08 Microsoft Edge Update for Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems (KB4576754)

  I needed to reboot the system – it had been running for almost two days without a reboot (sarcasm alert) – and when Windows came back up for air, Edge appeared full-screen. I tried clicking lots of things, but it wouldn’t disengage. In the end I navigated through a four-screen “tutorial” that, by default, wanted me to log Edge in to my Microsoft Account and oh-so-helpfully retain Edge surfing information to, you know, make my shopping experiences more tailored.

  When I finally got through unchecking all of the snoop settings, and closed Edge, it showed this on my Taskbar:

  

  And that didn’t go away until I clicked the “X” in the upper right corner.

  It’s entirely possible that Edge is the greatest browser ever – that it’ll make me brighter, more productive and definitely debonair. But it really twists my gizzard when an app takes over my machine and forces me through a series of privacy search-and-destroy questions.

  I’ve been playing with Edge. I think I’ll give it a pass for a while.

  UPDATE: I see that Shawn Brink on Tenforums has a registry hack to keep Windows Update from installing Chredge. Far as I’m concerned, MS can install it — after all, it is their machine (cough) — but I’m not going to use it for a while.

  Windows News Chredge, Edge
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