An apparent bug that plays into criticisms of how Microsoft pushes Edge.
Users of Google Chrome on Windows 10 and 11 are reporting that they have suddenly found themselves using Microsoft Edge, with their Chrome browsing sessions appearing in Edge.
This may be due to a bug or an accidentally clicked-through dialog box related to a feature in Edge that imports browsing data from Chrome.
The setting, called "Import browsing data from Chrome," continually imports data from Chrome every time Edge is launched, unlike the one-time import offered for Firefox.
There have been concerns about Microsoft's tactics for pushing its own browser, including notifications, pop-ups, and full-screen messages promoting Edge and Bing.
Microsoft has become more aggressive in pushing various subscriptions and features in recent years, making a "clean" Windows install feel less so.
It remains unclear whether the Edge data-import issue is intentional or a bug, highlighting concerns about Microsoft's methods for promoting its own software.
I think that governments should be tackling both Edge and Chrome at the same time. One of them for underhanded tactics, another for being a monopoly. Tackling only one of them is not enough.
I also think that Microsoft's strategy is worse than just underhanded - it stinks stupidity from a distance. It's clearly backfiring - this is not the first Browser Wars any more, people nowadays have a good grasp on what a browser is supposed to be. And while some pressure might convert a few users, too much pressure is bound to create resistance, even on users that would be otherwise inclined to follow you like cattle.
Here's the summary for the wikipedia article you mentioned in your comment:
A dark pattern (also known as a "deceptive design pattern") is "a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying overpriced insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills". User experience designer Harry Brignull coined the neologism on 28 July 2010 with the registration of darkpatterns. org, a "pattern library with the specific goal of naming and shaming deceptive user interfaces". In 2021 the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Consumer Reports created a tip line to collect information about dark patterns from the public.
I was against all regulation and IP at some point, and yes, in such a situation MS would have much less power, because nobody would buy, say, Windows, only pirate it. Similar with many other products.
But the next best thing is to split and regulate the crap out of Apple, Google, MS etc.
But then the question arises:
When, say, regulators split AT&T, they did have some understanding of what they were doing.
Today all these companies are dealing in things which most lawmakers are unable to comprehend and won't ever be able.
So maybe the way to deal with this all still is in aggressive action against IP laws, and not in anti-monopoly regulations, simply because there's no way socially to make the majority of people - the pool from which lawmakers come - understand what exactly they are regulating.
I love how Outlook opens your links in Edge and gives you a little message about how it knows it's not your default browser but it thought you'd like to open in Edge anyway.
This has been annoying the shit out of me recently. I use several different computers so I keep running into this dumb shit. I feel like I'm in an endless fight to not use Edge. Microsoft knows I don't want to use it but they keep shoving it in my face again and again regardless. I really wish regulators would step in and put a stop to this nonsense.
Same thing with MS Teams, except it didn't give me any messages. It just started opening all my links on Edge overnight. I was very confused when I double checked my OS settings and Edge wasn't my default browser. I had to manually set Teams to use the same as my OS default instead of Edge.
This whole thing reeks of higher execs pushing stuff no one wants or needs, while a poor dev has to implement shit like this and cry in bed at night.
Definitely had this happen. Edge imported all my plugins and tabs and started auto launching when I logged into windows. The auto launching made it obvious they were trying to confuse you into just picking up where you left off without hopefully noticing you weren't actually in chrome anymore. Had been meaning to move to Firefox anyway, this just give me the kick I needed to do it asap.
chrome and edge use chromium, so everything is 1:1 compatible. you can't do the same with firefox: extensions work differently, several options will be different, any custom layouts will be missing so things look different, etc
Seriously, this is a massive MASSIVE security violation. Trying to trick me into putting my passwords into your client instead of where I usually do? Lawsuit. Lawsuit now.
I didn't even think of that point! That could have teeth in a lawsuit if someone had the time and funding. I'm sure there's a lot of security and privacy related things with this bait and switch tactic that wouldn't fly with courts.
It's 2024 and yet, user programs can still steal data from each other. There should be some kind of permissions system in Windows, like in Android and additionally apps should ask if they can access data of other program.
I think there is, but 90% of windows apps resolve not to use that framework out of fear of the MS Store, even though you can theoretically install UWP apps outside of it.
If there was a fiable framework for that in use by most applications, it's fairly safe to say it would still have exceptions for the OS's provided apps, "to improve the user experience".
I'd never heard of S mode until my aging mother needed to get on a Zoom call with her doctor, and I couldn't install the app on her laptop because of it.
I set her up to use the web browser mode instead. Leaving it on was for the best at that point. I kinda figured S mode meant senior mode like for old people or something, idk. It certainly prevented her from installing anything bad by accident: and it was just a youtube and email thing for her anyway.
I think locking apps to only their own files is a terrible idea.
If a program creates unencrypted, unsecured files on disk, those files should absolutely be free game for any other program. Because if they're not supposed to be read, they should not be unsecured files on disk.
I’m decently sure that macOS already does something somewhat similar. If a program wants to access files outside its own directory, you get asked for explicit permission to do that.
If my hardware is to be used as a public space then I expect it to be provided for free. While I foot the cost, it's my property solely, and encryption status of the contents remains completely irrelevant. You sound like you've drunk the corporate KoolAid.
On my work laptop, Teams has started to ignore my default browser settings. Firefox is still the default, and everywhere else links open there, but from Teams they open in edge anyway. Its really annoying
Outlook is super buggy on FireFox for my phone. I found that Vivaldi has been running it fine enough though. It still fails to launch on first try from time to time, but I've never gotten frustrated enough to consider downloading the app.
Pretty much every Microsoft service does this. IIRC, it’s a large part of what landed them in court for an antitrust lawsuit in the EU a few months ago. Basically, another company (probably Google) was saying that Microsoft ignoring users’ default browser options and forcing their own services to open in Edge was anticompetitive. And I mean, they’re not wrong.
I’ve noticed that on my work laptop too. If I click a link in a Microsoft program, it doesn’t open in the default browser (Firefox of course), it opens edge.
But I’m doing anything important in a Linux VM anyway.
I had that experience a few updates back. But it eventually allowed to set a preferred browser again in addition to allowing opening office files in the desktop app.
It sounds like they are actually using the PWA and don’t realize it’s Edge under the hood. They are mad Edge is opening links in Edge. Why would it do that?!?!
Oh, that also happened to me at work!
When it first happened, a popup showed up at the right corner of Edge telling me about how it was improving my browsing experience or some bullshit, and at the there was a button to continue opening links in my default browser instead, clicked that once and it hasn't pestered me again.
Unfortunately I don't know if you can call this popup back if you accidentally dismiss it, though there might be a checkbox buried inside Teams or Edge to disable this behavior. Expect it to be called "Improve your browsing experience/Privacy" or some completely obtuse lie like that.
Installed Linux Mint. My Bluetooth works. WiFi, Optical Audio Out, My Corsair Fan controller and many other things don't work. I can't find certain render options in Blender also. How to fix all these? Have been trying driver and software updates for hours now.
I think I would have been better off using Windows with Chris Titus' debloat tools. Everything worked, and Edge, OneDrive, Cortana etc. could be uninstalled in one go too.
I love Linux, but I don't think that Linux users should promote it like it's a free Windows, because it isn't. You should learn Linux because you want to learn Linux, not because you hate Windows.
Frankly, I didn't go 100% Linux right away. I dual-booted for several years first.
There's no standalone fan controller in existence I'm aware of with Linux support unfortunately, blame manufacturers for that. I use an aquacomputer quadro and just fire up a windows VM with USB passthrough to change settings the once or twice a year I need to. What else isn't working?
Regarding blender, what render options are missing? If it's GPU rendering that's missing, are you using Nvidia or AMD? I'm not familiar with how mint does things but you might need cuda or HIP packages for Nvidia or AMD respectively.
It's the telemetry for me. I don't like being researched. I do main windows but secondary Linux fedora KDE. I would say that Linux is good but the compatability and learning curve takes more time than what most are willing to, or are able to dedicate.
You would be way better off. All these just use Linux people are trolls. Every time I’ve installed Linux it has been a massive learning experience for my unique hardware.
Blender render option missing: how did you install blender? from package manager? it could be built using different build options and thus behaves differently from the official build. Try downloading the official linux build from https://www.blender.org/download/
The only way of interaction with edge I got is at my work computer which runs windows 10 😑 every time after an update the edge logo sits itself back into the taskbar until I remove it again. So annoying and and encroaching. For real fuck Microsoft.
Adobe did something similar. It did an invisible update, but suddenly all downloaded PDFs open in acrobat, even if you have a different default app for that, and you have to dig into some obscure settings to make it fuck off.
"We hope you like the new reader layout"
Really? I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing.
“Warren posits that the tab-snatching happened because of a bug or an inadvertently clicked-through dialog box“
so we don’t even know if it was an accidental keysmash or not. i am fully on the side of opposition to ms, but this is a joke of journalism. let’s maybe do our research before posting rage inducing titles next time.
Every once in a while after an update, it will give me the blue setup screen and try to set Edge as a default browser or get me to sign up for Office365 or some shit. I just click whatever tells it to fuck off and not install/sign me up for shit and never get bothered again until the next random update that makes the setup thing run.
But I can also see many users who are forced to use a setup they didn't choose at work getting more issues than I would ever see because their setup is weird or their IT department sucks ass, or both.
Fuck I really have to switch to linux. Shit's accelerating I wouldn't be surprised if this is just the top of the iceberg of what microsoft is doing, analyzing, logging and transmitting all sort of stuff.
As someone who refuses to use windows and who also refuses to use either of these browsers, I find this extremely amusing. Very troubling, of course, but also extremely amazing. 
Both are cancer, but at least Microsoft is pushing out less internet standard monopoly bullshit like Google does... well unless you look into them blocking swapping the default browser on windows lol.
Edit: I agree about LibreWolf. I switched last year. For those that don’t know, it’s Firefox without telemetry and more privacy focused default settings.
Well, they have to make it publicaly copiable. They based it on web kit which is based off on KHTML/KJS which was opensource under GPL license, meaning they are legally required to license their product under GPL too, and offer the source code.