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Microsoft is using "protected associations" to keep people using Edge, but I think people are forgetting how badly this used to be abused before Microsoft added

Microsoft is using "protected associations" to keep people using Edge, but I think people are forgetting how badly this used to be abused before Microsoft added this feature. Applications would regularly change default associations without any user notice or consent. For example, installers would bundle Adware and even Google Chrome (hidden with common dark patters of the time), setting your default browser or changing your homepage.

Semaphor 5y ago
I think it’s less that they block this (as much as us powerusers might prefer them not to), and more that they decided they obviously deserve to be exempt.
Someone1234 5y ago
You're right. The issue is mostly one of fairness: If Microsoft played by the same rules as Firefox/Chrome, then there is no issue (e.g. UI pops up, you have to select Edge). The problem is that Microsoft has one rule for them and another for everyone else, then designed an incredibly hostile defaults UI on Windows 11 to make changing it to non-Edge time-consuming.
- sdflhasjd 5y ago
  Yup, the fact the settings dialogue behaves differently if your current browser is Edge is clearly unfair, and Edge has already been doing what Firefox is doing how, and skips the UI entirely by spoofing the signature in the registry that served to protect against non-consensual changes.
josephcsible 5y ago
The concept of protected associations is reasonable. What's completely unreasonable is giving Edge an exception to the protection.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
  The concept of protected associations is only reasonable if you ignore the fact that there will be a default. It is, de facto for many users, making it impossible to change that default.
  - josephcsible 5y ago
    If it were just unreasonably hard to change default browsers, I wouldn't even care that much. The problem is that it's unreasonably hard to change away from Edge, but really really easy to change back to Edge.
dralley 5y ago
Sure, fine, put in a generic "are you sure you want to do this" prompt. But that's not what they have right now. What they have now is designed to promote and nag you about using Edge, specifically. https://www.itsupportguides.com/wp-content/uploads/Windows10-ChangeBrowser.gif https://www.itsupportguides.com/wp-content/uploads/Windows10...
- sdflhasjd 5y ago
  > Sure, fine, put in a generic "are you sure you want to do this" prompt. That's how it used to work (and how it works with non-browser associations) before the more recent Edge-pushing dark patterns.
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    > before the more recent Edge-pushing dark patterns. They're not even all that "dark"... I mean, in the sense of how glaringly obvious they are, they're garishly bright.

Semaphor 5y ago

I think it’s less that they block this (as much as us powerusers might prefer them not to), and more that they decided they obviously deserve to be exempt.

Someone1234 5y ago

You're right. The issue is mostly one of fairness: If Microsoft played by the same rules as Firefox/Chrome, then there is no issue (e.g. UI pops up, you have to select Edge). The problem is that Microsoft has one rule for them and another for everyone else, then designed an incredibly hostile defaults UI on Windows 11 to make changing it to non-Edge time-consuming.

sdflhasjd 5y ago
Yup, the fact the settings dialogue behaves differently if your current browser is Edge is clearly unfair, and Edge has already been doing what Firefox is doing how, and skips the UI entirely by spoofing the signature in the registry that served to protect against non-consensual changes.

josephcsible 5y ago

The concept of protected associations is reasonable. What's completely unreasonable is giving Edge an exception to the protection.

tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
The concept of protected associations is only reasonable if you ignore the fact that there will be a default. It is, de facto for many users, making it impossible to change that default.
- josephcsible 5y ago
  If it were just unreasonably hard to change default browsers, I wouldn't even care that much. The problem is that it's unreasonably hard to change away from Edge, but really really easy to change back to Edge.

dralley 5y ago

Sure, fine, put in a generic "are you sure you want to do this" prompt. But that's not what they have right now. What they have now is designed to promote and nag you about using Edge, specifically. https://www.itsupportguides.com/wp-content/uploads/Windows10-ChangeBrowser.gif https://www.itsupportguides.com/wp-content/uploads/Windows10...

sdflhasjd 5y ago
> Sure, fine, put in a generic "are you sure you want to do this" prompt. That's how it used to work (and how it works with non-browser associations) before the more recent Edge-pushing dark patterns.
- CRConrad 5y ago
  > before the more recent Edge-pushing dark patterns. They're not even all that "dark"... I mean, in the sense of how glaringly obvious they are, they're garishly bright.