With Windows 11, it is often very complicated to switch to Firefox or Google Chrome instead of Microsoft Edge. Now Microsoft wants to put further obstacles in the way of users if they want to switch browsers. Particularly annoying: The change is now apparently also being rolled out for Windows 10 users.
The default browser on Windows 11 is known to be Edge. It is relatively time-consuming to set a new standard browser. You have to tick a lot and overcome pop-up hurdles. Some functions are even forcibly executed with Edge, such as the search function in the task bar.
To get around this there are tools like the EdgeDeflector (for download) that create a diversion. Where Windows would normally activate Edge, EdgeDeflector starts the preferred browser.
While such tools had already been blocked in an Insider version from November, the block has now been quietly introduced for both Windows 11 and Windows 11 users with the December update, as Dr. Windows discovered.
Edge constraint under Windows 11: Microsoft sees itself right
A spokesman for Microsoft said in November: “Windows openly enables applications and services on its platform, including various web browsers. At the same time, Windows also offers certain end-to-end experiences in both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The search in the taskbar is an example of an end-to-end experience that is not intended to be redirected. If we learn of an improper redirect, we’ll take care of a fix. “
The makers of EdgeDeflector are of course not happy about this announcement. Developer Daniel Alexandersen wrote on his blog: “These are no longer the actions of an attentive company that takes care of its product. Microsoft is not a good administrator of the Windows operating system. The company puts advertising, bundleware and subscriptions above the productivity of its users. “
Microsoft has had to pay fines several times
Another affected product is Mozilla Firefox. A system has been developed there that makes the Broswer standard with just one click and also uses it for Edge-exclusive functions. With the latest changes, this is no longer that easy.
In the past, Microsoft has often been criticized for not allowing fair competition in the browser market for Windows. In Europe, Microsoft has therefore already faced fines running into the millions.