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  • Mozilla has issued a warning about Microsoft's design practices, claiming that the company uses harmful design tactics to influence users to switch to its Edge browser.
  • The report highlights how Microsoft interrupts the installation process of Google Chrome on Windows devices, promoting the security and privacy benefits of Edge.
  • Mozilla calls for regulatory action to restore browser choice and competition across major platforms.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/koBY6


Chrome

Windows

Well there's your problem!

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[-] AlmightySnoo@lemmy.world 166 points 7 months ago

Microsoft really wants someone to remind it of these days:

[-] BlemboTheThird@lemmy.ca 36 points 7 months ago

I like that part of firefox's summary was that it's free. Uh, yeah, they all are. Thanks Mozilla!

[-] Aopen@discuss.tchncs.de 48 points 7 months ago

Well, its not proprietary

[-] stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca 24 points 7 months ago

Opera originally wasn't free.

Also, while it is chromium based, Vivaldi is excellent and is essentially a bunch of old Opera team members.

[-] kilgore_trout@feddit.it 5 points 7 months ago

It is the only Free software in that dialog though.

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[-] GigglyBobble@kbin.social 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I don't remember that. Where is it from?

Microsoft never liked competing browsers (not even in the pre-IE6 era when all they had was crap), so it's hard to believe it came from them.

[-] where_am_i@sh.itjust.works 70 points 7 months ago

EU fined the sh1t out of them, and somebody in the regulatory body at the time realized that was not enough. So they were ordered to present the user with a choice of a browser during the OS install.

What I really want to know is why and how it went away.

[-] sugartits@lemmy.world 46 points 7 months ago

sh1t

You can say "shit" here, nobody is going to be a cunt about it.

[-] doubletwist@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

No, but apparently people are going to be a cunt about it if one chooses not to say it.

[-] Specal@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago

Because it's looks stupid to use the word whilst censoring it, say it or don't say it. No point in trying to pretend you're not saying it.

[-] where_am_i@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago

I'd say I got a good habit. Too much of the internet randomly filters "obscenity". Whenever that happens it seems the devs are too fvkin damb to properly implement it.

[-] Melt@lemm.ee 16 points 7 months ago

Yeah god damn the censor shit, even on fucking picture, they censor the swear words to fucking hell by scribing over it

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[-] Patch@feddit.uk 18 points 7 months ago

What I really want to know is why and how it went away.

The move was in place because of the fear that IE was becoming a monopoly. Now Edge is very very far from the most popular browser, and Google Chrome is looking like the overwhelmingly dominant player, there's no reason to make MS prompt people to download rival products anymore.

[-] neclimdul@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

INAL but my understanding was a lot of the fines and penalties hung on IE being part of the OS. I think it was the update functionality but don't quote me.

So with some legal technicalities, later versions of windows made it "not" part of the OS just a bundled application. A legal distinction without meaning but it meant they didn't need to do these things anymore.

[-] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago

The great joke is they are making the same mistakes again with edge, unfortunately the American justice system is a shambles these days so it's probably down to the EU to take the moral high ground.

Microsoft appear to be exposed to monopolistic penalties in several markets currently: browsers, AI / search, teams and office come to mind (although competitors are lacking, here)

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[-] bitwolf@lemmy.one 4 points 7 months ago

Honestly surprised Opera and Mozilla don't strike again together

[-] space@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 7 months ago

Opera gave up a long time ago when they abandoned Presto. Today it is owned by some Chinese company, and they are just chasing the latest buzzwords, crypto, AI, you name it.

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[-] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 107 points 7 months ago
[-] soulfirethewolf@lemdro.id 71 points 7 months ago

The clickbait in this article is so bad, I thought it was a security vulnerability or something, but it's just something else related to Mozilla again.

I'm still genuinely curious if Mozilla is going to actually accept a renewal for the search deal with Google, or if they're actually going to start practicing with a praise and try implementing that search engine selection screen.

[-] Alcatorda@lemmy.world 40 points 7 months ago

practicing with a praise

Not sure what you mean but maybe you were going for "practicing what they preach"?

[-] DarkThoughts@fedia.io 17 points 7 months ago

or if they're actually going to start practicing with a praise and try implementing that search engine selection screen.

You already can change the default search engine?

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[-] Geo_bot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 64 points 7 months ago

Microsoft really trying to get away with what it did in the browser wars again, but it's probably gonna turn out on for them this time

[-] Kushia@lemmy.ml 43 points 7 months ago

Whenever I'm forced to use Edge for work it reminds me of old IE that your grandma installed the Ask toolbar in. Functions about the same too.

[-] Inky@lemmy.ca 6 points 7 months ago

Is there any material difference between Edge and Chrome? I'm forced to use either of them for work and as far as I can tell they perform the same

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[-] Piwix@lemm.ee 33 points 7 months ago

Legit malware shown in this article. Imagine an operating system/browser injecting what are essentially ads into your webpage. Whether or not chrome or edge are any good these are scummy tactics by microsoft

[-] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 31 points 7 months ago

Yeah MS has never done anything like that before...

Looks at MS Word in early nineties...

[-] MashedTech@lemmy.world 18 points 7 months ago

Look at what they did with Internet Explorer. Same shit.

[-] SatouKazuma@lemmy.world 28 points 7 months ago

Can the EU just Thanos snap Microsoft out of existence with a quadrillion euro fine?

[-] nexussapphire@lemm.ee 10 points 7 months ago

That would be a sure fire way to get Microsoft to pull completely out of Europe leaving thousands of companies without support and a heafty unpaid fine setting on the table.

It would actually be beneficial for Microsoft to abandon the server farms and offices leaving workers with an email stating the situation and their new job status.

[-] meat_popsicle@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago

You think Microsoft has no assets in Europe? Asset seizure is a sure fire way to get paid when companies refuse to cooperate.

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[-] flying_sheep@lemmy.ml 6 points 7 months ago

You think they make no profits in Europe? Why would they be here if they didn't?

[-] NucleusAdumbens@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

I think it's fair to assume their profits are less than 1 quadrillion euros

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[-] DemBoSain@midwest.social 21 points 7 months ago

What is this clickbait bullshit? Here I was expecting more arguments I could use to move people away from Chrome, but the warning is just typical Microsoft trying to promote their own garbage browser.

[-] DingoBilly@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago

This is a super clickbait title.

Yes, what Microsoft does is pretty shitty but the article sounds like there's some massive zero day hack or something to watch out for when it's just standard business practice.

[-] AnActOfCreation@programming.dev 9 points 7 months ago

Agreed. I would've changed it except I had in the back of my mind that the post title needed to match the article title, but now I don't see that in the rules. Oh well. But yeah the article is not really about Chrome at all.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

You know what else is different about Lemmy? Post titles are editable!

[-] Teknikal@lemm.ee 9 points 7 months ago

I think this will ultimately backfire on them I gave the bing app a chance on my phone and I got so tired of the try edge interruptions I unninstalled everything Microsoft.

The search was actually decent but the constant nagging was very annoying.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

Sorry, team nobody on this one. You both suck and need to stop what you're doing.

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[-] Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca 8 points 7 months ago

I updated my proton app recently and as I was updating it Microsoft edge updater tried installing updates as well for some reason.

I don't even have edge installed. I simply blocked it from having net access but still, they can go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut if they think I'm putting that on my system.

[-] 800XL@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

One time I uninstalled Edge and Cortana from Win10. Some time later Windows Updates started to fail and would rollback. This continued for 6 months and by that time I stopped giving a shit since Win10 is malware anyway.

Another few months went by and I was bored enough to follow the usually useless links to MS knowledge base articles that are given after a failed update.

After another week of trying everything I came across or could think of, I downloaded the install for Edge and reinstalled. Ran the Windows Update again and the god damned thing was successful. Apparently it contained an Edge-specific update but didn't check if it was installed or not and fail gracefully if it was the latter.

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[-] IbnLemmy@feddit.uk 7 points 7 months ago

Now sure how popular this is, but tbh,. Microsoft Edge is way better than Chrome. Yes I get it's chromium underneath, and I also do agree. And no I don't use Firefox, it doesn't play well with our stack.

[-] breakingcups@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago

Firefox beats almost everything else at the moment. Edge managed to make itself worse than chrome. I don't need a browser that detects a credit card form and injects a predatory lending scheme to take advantage of me, no thanks. Not even Google has steeped that low yet.

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[-] soulfirethewolf@lemdro.id 4 points 7 months ago

I have no idea what you mean by stack, but you definitely don't deserve downvotes for this. You can use whatever you want.

[-] transientpunk@sh.itjust.works 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

They are getting down voted because their choice of stack (the set of software that was chosen for use in developing an application) is being used as a means to absolve themselves of the responsibility of supporting the last available cross-platform alternative to anti-consumer, chromium based shit.

If they had just not mentioned it or said they just don't like Firefox, there wouldn't be down votes.

Anyone is free to use whatever they want, but the comment you're responding to is just a shit take.

My last job used a stack that was unfriendly to Firefox, but I still used Firefox as my main development browser so I could catch issues and work toward better interoperability.

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[-] snownyte@kbin.social 6 points 7 months ago

The worst thing Microsoft has done with Edge, was how they tried telling everyone it wasn't Internet Explorer, while using very similar icons for the longest time. Edge functioned a lot like Internet Explorer in how unstable and shitty it was.

Still is.

[-] Cosmonaut_Collin@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago

Edge is just a modified Chrome, so it's not all that bad now, but Microsoft needs to stop micromanaging what people do with computers. The consumer bought it. It should be their PC, not Microsoft's.

[-] Spotlight7573@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Seriously, Microsoft needs to get out of their own way with the marketing and just make a good product instead of trying to force all these things on people. They'd get a lot less negative attention if they just focused on the browser. The times I've tried it, it wasn't bad but I now refuse to use it out of spite for their forcing it on you.

This is also a problem with them overall. They've improved so many things in modern Windows under the hood (e.g. we've gone from installing drivers for every component to needing practically nothing installed manually due to it doing it for you, it rarely bluescreens anymore in my experience, winget is nice) but then they ruin it with stuff like going backwards on the default apps screen (in 10 it was easy to set for common apps like browser/email/media/etc, in 11 its per protocol/file). Making it difficult to switch browsers or using Edge anyways for some things and ignoring the default just pisses people off for no good reason.

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[-] finthechat@kbin.social 5 points 7 months ago

Microsoft ~~Edge~~ Death Grip

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this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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