Microsoft Edge Is Not As Secure As Chrome Or Firefox, Sharing URLs And IDs For Computers: Researchers Find

New research shows that, unlike other common browsers Microsoft Edge is one of the world's least private web browsers, it offers computer hardware-linked identifiers, and web pages visited for users to backend servers. Such knowledge can be used over time to erase anonymity, delete their privacy, and reveal their browsing history to anyone. The trial of Trinity College researchers in Dublin has compared Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Brave Browser, Microsoft Edge, and Yandex Browsers to the less privately-owned Microsoft Edge and Yandex Browsers. Since intrusive monitoring raises concerns about privacy and digital security, Microsoft's lax approach raises questions about how Edge works.

Douglas J. Leith of the School of Computer Science and Statistics reports on the fact that Microsoft Edge and Yandex Browsers had the least private browsers of all tested browsers, while Brave was the most private browser, and others such as Chrome and Firefox are somewhere in the middle. The study says, "Edge sends a clear and permanent identifier, which can not be easily modified or removed, the device's hardware UUID (universally unique identifier). To make it worse, Edge has an automated search feature that shares details of visited web pages, transfers web pages information to servers which are not autocompleted. Fortunately, users can turn this feature off.

The autocomplete option is not just Edge's, but Chrome and Firefox are the same too. However, it is only Edge and Yandex, as far as researchers could find, that tracks user hardware in a manner which can not be disabled.

A similar concern was also posed last year with Microsoft Edge when a security researcher named Matt Weeks who had previously worked for the NSA and the United States Air Force Technology Institute tweeted about the browser defect. It dug in the script and found out Edge's non-anonymous "sending the full URL of pages you visit to Microsoft" (less a few popular web sites). He also posted a screenshot of his web site and username file. It seems like Microsoft has not patched the holes in Edge's stability, even though this has been an issue in the past.

It was also found that Microsoft Edge sends persistent identifiers that can be used for the connection to the back-end servers of requests (and IP address/location). It says, "the findings of this study have led to ongoing debates about browser improvements, including requiring users to auto-complete their search when initially starting and other browser improvements."

Video Source: TechGumbo

In contrast with Apple and Microsoft, researchers have noted that "We have continuously been able to communicate with developers of open-source browser (Chrome, Firefox, Brave)," helping the former companies create and incorporate new safety features with input from a wide audience.