Edge gets option to block unwanted apps

Microsoft Edge gets a setting to block the download of “potentially unwanted apps.” By this, Microsoft means programs such as toolbars and adware. The feature is now included in the business version of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, but will also be available to consumers.

Microsoft developer Amitai Rottem shares the image below of the institution on Twitter. According to the menu, these are apps with a ‘bad reputation’ that may exhibit ‘unexpected behavior’. Colleague Eric Lawrence completes it, by saying it’s not just about malware, as Edge and Chrome are already blocking right now. The new setting should also block programs that are technically not malware, but may still be unwanted.

Lawrence gives the example of programs that are downloaded along with another program. For example, when a user downloads a utility, a cryptominer or notification spammer is also installed. When the new feature is enabled, the browser should recognize this unwanted code and be able to block its download.

It is not known whether the setting is on by default or whether the user has to enable it himself. Rottem says this feature used to be only for Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection users, the business variant of Microsoft Defender Antivirus. It should also be available to consumers soon, but that version is currently being tested.