Microsoft Edge update promises to fend off dangerous web-based attacks

The latest update to Microsoft Edge is set to deliver some important security feature updates.

First up, the web browser has had a boost to its web defence that Microsoft says makes it “more reliable”. The update uses a rewritten ‘Microsoft Defender SmartScreen’ library, which was first introduced in Edge 103. This feature is exclusive to users running Edge on a Windows machine. 

As part of the improvement, the ‘NewSmartScreenLibraryEnabled’ policy is deprecated in Microsoft Edge 106, and will be considered obsolete in the next major release (107). 

Microsoft Edge 106

This follows the news that Edge will enter an ultra-high security mode when users navigate to less popular websites. The settings to enable this are in ‘Settings and more’ > ‘Settings’ > ‘Privacy, search, and services’, where users can pick from ‘Basic’, ‘Balanced’, and ‘Strict’. 

Microsoft’s developers have also been busy updating the work results feature in the browser’s address bar. 

The number of results that can be displayed has doubled from two to four, which should offer “greater visibility into the work content available to you as you search.” To get work results, you will need to enable the ‘AddressBarMicrosoftSearchInBingProviderEnabled’ policy.

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Other updates to the latest version of Edge 106 include three new policies, two deprecated policies, and two that are now obsolete (‘OutlookHubMenuEnabled’ and ‘EdgeDiscoverEnabled’).

Microsoft Edge 106 is available in the Stable Channel now.

Earlier this year, we reported that Edge is finally on the up following the retirement of Internet Explorer. The browser passed the 10% global desktop market share in April 2022 and peaked at 10.92% in August 2022, however it still trails a long way behind Google Chrome at more than 67%.

Unlike Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge can be installed on macOS and Linux devices as well as the Windows operating system. There are iOS and Android versions of the browser, too. 

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