Wednesday, September 2, 2020

How To Disable Microsoft Edge On PC


Upon rebooting I discovered that Microsoft Edge once again is shoving itself into my face. Here's how to stop it from doing so, at least until the next Windows 10 update that tries to mandate it.

First off, once Windows 10 loads you'll notice Microsoft Edge has opened a window by default extolling its alleged virtues, offering some tips to get started, and smugly pinning itself to your taskbar like so:

 

No thanks, Microsoft! Here are steps to remove it.

  1. Right-click on the Microsoft Edge icon on the taskbar, then right-click the Microsoft Edge icon in the pop-up menu and click Properties.




  2. From the Microsoft Edge Properties dialog, click Open File Location.




  3. Right-click the msedge Application and then click Rename.




  4. Change the name of the executable file to something other than "msedge.exe". In this example, I rename it to msedgeNOPE.


That's it! Now the next time Windows tries to open Edge after a reboot it will fail because it won't find the filename it expects.

Caveats:

  • You will likely need to repeat these steps anytime Microsoft releases updates to Edge.

  • This is a quick and dirty way to disable Edge. A more elegant way might be to restrict Windows using file permissions to prevent Windows from accessing let alone executing the file, but Microsoft might as part of its update process reapply default access permissions just in case, so beware. 

  • You might also be able to restrict Edge from opening by creating a manual entry in whatever anti-malware software you use to prevent it from executing altogether.

Microsoft tried to monopolize the web browser business through Internet Explorer in the past, and now apparently they're feeling cavalier enough to try again, touting that it's Chromium-powered to make like they're playing nice and engaging with the open source community. 

While commendable on the surface, I really dislike people let alone apps that insist upon getting in my face and being irritating as Microsoft Edge does.