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Tell HN: MS forcing Edge shortcut on desktop
Yesterday morning, I powered up my desktop with Win 10 Pro, and I noticed a shortcut for Edge browser on my desktop. I figured it must've been put there during the most recent update and sent it to the recycling bin.
This morning, I power up the same PC, and it's back. So as far as I can tell, the update forces the presence of an Edge browser shortcut on the Windows 10 desktop.
- kotaKat 4y agoSpicy take: I wish the EU would actually look into this hostile anticompetitive behavior from Microsoft before they worry about goddamn USB-C on an iPhone.
- throwaway29303 4y agoCan confirm this is happening as well. I keep deleting it but it keeps coming back. Oh well, I might write a script to delete it automatically.
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y agoBut remember, it's Linux that's only free if you don't value your time;)
- DangitBobby 4y agoDefinitely not to "time sink parity" with Linux just yet. Depending on what you need your machine for, of course.
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y agoEh... Let's agree that it varies by usecase and what bothers you, I suppose.
- joejoesvk 4y agoa script for that? seriously?
- Aaron2222 4y agoWell if you have to delete it regularly, the annoyance of that adds up (as well as the time I suppose), when you could quite easily schedule a task to delete it in Task Scheduler.
- artificialLimbs 4y agoTakes seconds for ChatGPT or Copilot. Why not?
- gus_massa 4y agoI already killed it twice. I remember an old post in the Old New Thing about why the systray has no API to show/hide icons. (Answer: Because if it had an API, application would abuse it to force to show crap.)
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- kencausey 4y agoIt happens when Edge updates which, like Chrome, happens fairly frequently so I can understand why you might think that it is forced. But you can delete it and not have it appear until Edge updates again. Note that Adobe Acrobat Reader is one of many that does the same thing, it used to do it, stopped for a while, and is now doing it again. My errant thought is that this sort of thing happens when the marketing departments gain prominence within an organization.
- capableweb 4y agoIf it keeps reappearing while being unwanted, how can you call it not forced? Sounds exactly like it's forced upon you.
- tux3 4y agoThat's what I keep telling people about consent, but they're not very receptive. Strange. It's not really forced, since it only happens sometimes. Look, I can see you might think something is still done without your consent and without your best interest in mind, but actually you can go an entire night or evening without anything happening! It only happens fairly frequently. We just need to weaken words a bit until bad things that happen every so often are actually just normal things. Consent is not really necessary anyways, people just get used to being screwed with if you gaslight them slow enough. Edge isn't so bad anyways. It's basically Chrome, and you already love Chrome. What you really wanted was an Edge icon on your desktop, so it's helpful that the software improved your experience. If you just try to understand instead of fighting it, you'll get used to it. It's not really forced, it's just anticipated consent. You'll accept these small things eventually, we just haven't made you realize it yet.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- fckthatblsls 4y agoIf a person was doing the same thing we would rightfully call that "harassment". Shame on every single <expletive> at Microsoft involved in this decision.
- FredPret 4y agoNot if you switch to Mac!
- pipeline_peak 4y agoNot if you switch to Mercedes!
- runjake 4y agoYes, switch to Mac so you can get forced “Try Safari!” popups instead.
- sbuk 4y agoWhat? You may see a popup once, on first run after switching default, just like every other browser.
- nicoburns 4y agoYou also get it on OS upgrades. But seeing as these are only once a year this seems like not too big a deal to me.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- im_jerry87 4y agoHaven't seen any of these pop-ups thrown at my face in 3 years of using macOS. Also, your default choice for browser is respected throughout the system unlike Windows. Web links in search not respecting my default and opening in Edge is one of most disgusting things I've seen.
- shrimp_emoji 4y agoAnd now you still don't control your system; you've just swapped your master for a different one. :D Open-source is the only way to freedom. (And, fittingly, it's not the easiest.)
- occam54 4y agoQuestion: Is Edge your default browser? (It isn't mine, but I do have it installed. I have not seen this behaviour on Win 10 Home.)
- 34679 4y agoFirefox with uBlock
- pjerem 4y ago> I do have it installed. It’s not like you have the choice anyway. It’s impossible to remove it. Well it’s technically possible but it’s not easy and since Windows ignores your default browser settings, it continues to try starting edge and gives you an error when you want to open a webpage from anything windows (start menu, help …)
- oshout 4y agoIt appears as though you can add a registry entry to prevent this behavior. I found details in the ms.edge admx documentation https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-update-policies#createdesktopshortcutdefault https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-... (An admx is for adding group policy templates but group policy is essentially a nice list of registry changes. You (reader) can find the reg entry and enter it manually or might can download and install the admx package and make the change through your computers local group policy (gpedit.msc)
- lopkeny12ko 4y agoWell yes, sure there is a registry setting to disable this behavior, but why? Why is this not opt-in by default? When did I ever consent to having an Edge shortcut on my desktop? Why are we expected to just passively accept this kind of stupid behavior?
- Sakos 4y agoWell, only as long as Microsoft doesn't remove/break this solution.
- pipeline_peak 4y agoIt’s like they want us to hate them. Microsoft Chromium, big deal… What do they gain from use using it, browser tracking?
- tushar-r 4y agoDoes anyone (power users) really use the desktop anymore? Since moving back to windows, I've mostly used the taskbar and PowerToys Run to launch applications, and explorer to find files.
- laserdancepony 4y agoI’ve not been using desktop icons for decades, maybe W98 was the last time. I have never been fond of the cluttering ever since, especially on the larger displays (SVGA does not lend itself to many icons anyway). To run things on Windows nowadays I mostly use the Alt+Space applet that comes with PowerToys.
- neodymiumphish 4y agoI'm the exact same way, PowerRun all the way with desktop hidden. But that's no justification for shifty MS behavior.
- 34679 4y agoI mainly use it for shortcuts to folders that I access often. It saves time.
- ano-ther 4y agoBest defence is to have 100+ icons on the desktop…
- mcswell 4y agoAu contraire, best defense is to hide all desktop icons. Right-click on the desktop, choose View and look at Show Desktop Icons. If there's a check mark next to it, click on it to remove the checkmark.
- nubinetwork 4y agoI don't see the big deal, they replaced IE with Edge and IE has been in the desktop since Win95.
- azeemba 4y agoThe desktop icon being shown once is reasonable but re-adding it after the user deletes it seems excessive.
- RedShift1 4y agoSo you're ok with the OS disrespecting your choices and changing things behind your back?
- nubinetwork 4y agoWhat choice? I didn't get a choice to not have IE on the desktop. Also, I haven't run Windows as a daily OS since 2003-2004.
- chadlavi 4y agoThis is the kind of shenanigan that happens when you use an OS that literally has third party advertisements in its start menu
- nailer 4y agoI wish there was a genuine Pro version of Windows I could pay for that didn’t have any of this.
- intrasight 4y agoI think it's called Windows Server
- bob1029 4y agoI ran 2012 R2 as a daily driver for a long time.
- intrasight 4y agoLikewise - like for 8 years. Now I'm on 2016, and actually just today started to investigate where to go from here. Probably will stick with Windows (2022) as host OS for my VMs.
- LeifCarrotson 4y agoLTSC doesn't, but it's not easily available through conventional retail channels. If you're putting a Windows machine in a kiosk, POS, machine, or similar commercial setting, though, LTSC is the way to go.
- polyamid23 4y agoI wonder what happens in case the desktop is full of other icons or even better: folders with important stuff). Get's one removed randomly to be replaced by Edge?
- gruez 4y agoYou realize that on windows at least, that the "desktop" is just a folder, and what you see as the desktop is just a rendering of that? In other words, there's no concept of limited amount of slots like you suggest, so if your desktop was entirely "full" and another item gets added, existing items don't get evicted.
- polyamid23 4y agoYes, sure. Sorry my comment was not that serious regarding loss of data. Now that I think about it something still has to happen regarding ordering / displacement of icons or something. Maybe it will be added to the folder but will not be shown.
- labrador 4y agoWhen I'm using something free of charge I don't mind small annoyances like this.
- DangitBobby 4y agoI'm pretty sure I paid over $100 for Windows 10.
- rmolin88 4y agoFree of charge??? Since when is Microsoft Windows free?
- Waterluvian 4y agoIt’s not free. They just let people steal more easily these days. And some who steal it consider the ads as a justification. It is indeed a $100-200 OS with ads in the start menu.
- weberer 4y agoLinux is also free and doesn't have this problem.
- pipeline_peak 4y ago“ Linux is only free if your time has no value”
- badsectoracula 4y agoMeanwhile with Windows not only you pay for the OS but also with your time to make it approximate a decent environment (with increasingly less options ever new version).
- account-5 4y agoOnly when you start to learn to use it, just like when you start to learn to use Windows.
- liberia 4y agoHere's a guide on how to prevent this from happening: https://www.ghacks.net/2023/01/21/how-to-block-microsoft-edge-from-creating-desktop-shortcuts/ https://www.ghacks.net/2023/01/21/how-to-block-microsoft-edg... > The workaround requires edits of the Registry. There is a global edit that applies to all Edge channels and edits for each individual version of the web browser.
- leeoniya 4y ago> The workaround is to uninstall Windows
- DangitBobby 4y agoGames
- nyolfen 4y agoproton
- DangitBobby 4y agoTried, not good enough. I don't understand why this conversation has to be had ad nauseam.
- nozzlegear 4y agoCounterpoint, I tried it and it was good enough for me. I play games every day and haven’t used Windows since 2020.
- DangitBobby 4y agoI used it for about 3 months for Monster Hunter World with some occasional visual bugs and artifacts, just had to tweak some settings to go from 3 FPS to 60 FPS (seemed to only use my GPU if I selected a particular DirectX version). One day a patch dropped and it went back to 3 FPS. Couldn't find a remedy, so I installed windows. No more visual bugs and artifacts and no more tweaking settings to play the game.
- greenbit 4y agoWhat if you delete it, and then make your own shortcut to something else and give it the exact same name Edge was using? Would it delete your shortcut, to make way for its own? Or would it see your shortcut and mistake it for its own?
- grandpoobah 4y agoI'm guessing it would create a new one called Microsoft Edge (1).lnk
- xnx 4y agoDoes anyone have a list of all the dark patterns Microsoft has used to push IE, Bing, and Edge? It's truly astounding.
- hutzlibu 4y agoWhat I find astonishing is, that they were fined 561 million once by the EU, for not having an explicit "ballot box" where the user was offered different browser as alternative and now they can do way worse, without getting fined. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp._v._Commission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp._v._Commission "On 16 December 2009, the European Union agreed to allow competing browsers, with Microsoft providing a "ballot box" screen letting users choose one of twelve popular products listed in random order.[45] The twelve browsers were Avant, Chrome, Firefox, Flock, GreenBrowser, Internet Explorer, K-Meleon, Maxthon, Opera, Safari, Sleipnir, and Slim,[46] which were accessible via BrowserChoice.eu. The automatic nature of the BrowserChoice.eu feature was dropped in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 in February 2011 and remained absent for 14 months despite Microsoft reporting that it was still present, subsequently described by Microsoft as a "technical error". As a result, in March 2013 the European Commission fined Microsoft €561 million to deter companies from reneging on settlement promises" The only difference is, that back then IE was dominant and is not anymore. But Microsoft is still pretty much in a monopoly position for Desktop market.
- Yoofie 4y agoThis is a failure of the regulatory government agencies to do their jobs. If we actually had regulators that actually did their jobs, MS, Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, etc would have been smashed into dozens of smaller companies.
- easton 4y agoProbably has a lot to do with Chrome being dominant. When it’s clear most people are getting over the hump to go to a not built in browser, it’s not as big a concern.
- Apreche 4y agoJust drag it to the trash and move on with life. It takes two seconds.
- timbit42 4y agoThat would be fine if it only happened once.
- im_jerry87 4y agoRead the post again, but clearly this time. It just takes a minute.
- dosprompts 4y agoJust open up a command line, change directory to your Desktop, and type: attrib +h "Microsoft Edge.lnk" Then you never have to see it again.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- johndough 4y agoThat command sets the "Microsoft Edge.Ink" file as hidden, for those who were wondering.
- jslql 4y agoUnless you have set hidden files as visible as some of us do.
- schroeding 4y agoYou can add +s into the mix for "system file", AFAIK (this may have changed with recent versions of Windows 10 / 11) it is then controlled by the seperate "Hide Protected System Files" setting. (But doesn't help if that setting is also disabled)
- Mikeb85 4y agoMS being MS. Lots on this site said it's a new MS, no more of the old shenanigans and yet here we are...
- mikymoothrowa 4y agoWindows never changed. It was a “new Microsoft” because they stopped making windows the center of their existence. now windows takes a lower priority behind xbox even within it’s own division.
- chamwislothe2nd 4y agoI think it was really just residual PR intended to try and shake off the stink of Balmers run.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 4y agoSame issue. This morning I'll check if it happens again. I was thinking I could mark it as hidden to solve the issue
- modzu 4y agoheres how you fix it: getfedora.org
- mgbmtl 4y agoSpeaking of, I'd love to get rid of the mandatory search bar on the Android home screen.
- ikekkdcjkfke 4y agoI think android let's you install whatever home screen you like
- londons_explore 4y agoIt does, although some devices (Samsung?) will force you back to the default homescreen with every reboot. Other devices force you back to the default homescreen whenever you activate the google assistant via long pressing the home button, and you can't disable it. Luckily both behaviours seem to be a minority.
- downsplat 4y agoTry an open source home screen launcher, I use this one, it's configurable to hell and back: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.deletescape.lawnchair.plah https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.deletescape...
- mgbmtl 4y agocool, thanks :)
- transcriptase 4y agoJust once I would like to see whoever is responsible for something like this show up in the replies and be completely honest about how it’s hostile shitty behaviour, but on the other hand they increased Edge engagement by 0.5% which really impressed their bosses boss.
- BuyMyBitcoins 4y agoIt’s certainly possible that the people who came up with this idea lost their jobs because of the latest layoff.
- MrMember 4y agoA man can dream.
- jraph 4y agoThis is one hostile behavior from your OS you actually notice. How many you don't?
- detinho 4y agoAlso windows 11 keeps enabling windows defender real time protection. This behavior is common on windows: do not respect user preferences.
- propogandist 4y agoIf you use windows you must spend a few hours to try and prevent the OS from phoning home to Microsoft to get new methods to ignore user preferences. Then, you can remove all the built in spyware, that’s enabled by default.
- pengo 4y agoIt's just a shame Windows is the only operating system in the world, otherwise we could all use something else.
- mixedCase 4y agoAh, but you see: my edge case. I cannot live this mortal life without my edge case and taking a stance as hellish as firing a VM, or dual booting on an NVMe device where the operation takes less than a minute, is just unimaginable, unendurable pain. I'm afraid there's nothing to be done and Windows must always be a part of life and thus I shall contribute to perpetuate the circle rather than make the slightest effort to slowly erode it over time.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y agoIf the vast majority of what you use your computer for is the thing you'd have to dual boot for, then dual booting buys you nothing as far as alleviating the annoyances and instead just brings you entire new classes of annoyances because Linux gonna Linux.
- pedalpete 4y agoThis isn't just an issue with Edge, Adobe Acrobat, and a few other apps (I forget which ones now) will add a shortcut to the desktop when they update. It's super annoying, and doesn't seem to be a way to just disallow that behavior without uninstalling the apps (which I think with Edge you can't do anymore). I'm very tempted to try a Linux installation on my next device, it might actually be worth the extra effort now.
- heresjohnny 4y agoThis is becoming such a nuisance. Last week I had to invest so much brain power to get around Microsoft’s dark patterns after installing an update. No, I don’t want to use Edge because it’s “safer”. No, I don’t want to redeem one month “free” of 365. No, please don’t “protect” my files with OneDrive. I am getting angry again from just enumerating this.
- nicbou 4y agoI switched to Mac OS during the Golden Years of Windows 7. Every year since then, Windows has gotten worse. Not only has it gotten ridiculously user-hostile, but seemingly none of the standard gripes were addressed. Nothing seems to have meaningfully improved in the UX department. You'd think that in a decade, they'd slip in some quality of life improvements, but the thing feels like a 2002 car built in 2012 with a tablet taped to the dashboard.
- btgeekboy 4y agoIt really bugs me about Edge that it's actually a decent browser (well, Chromium under the hood is, but I also like the built-in vertical tabs), but Microsoft keeps going crazy w/ the shenanigans. Example: I typically use Firefox on MacOS at work, but figured I'd give Edge a try. I've set my default search to DDG, but there's still plenty of ways to "accidentally" search via Bing. I also had to install an extension to make the new tab interface be about:blank. Like come on. You've got a good, solid wrapper around Chromium, and this is the nonsense you make your users deal with.
- johlits 4y agoThey slowly bullied me into using Edge which I have used for some time now. Congrats, MS you won.