What's special about Microsoft Edge browser?

When Windows 10 arrives, the default browser will not be IE, but the latest Edge browser.

According to the latest information provided by Microsoft, Edge will not only bring a new interface, experience and rendering engine, but will also bring innovations in information security, web standards, and compatibility with previous codes. Recently, in the Microsoft Edge development blog, the Edge development team announced more information about this browser.

ActiveX and BHO are no longer supported

For developers, the biggest difference in Edge is the removal of outdated browser technologies, including ActiveX and browser helper objects (BHOs), both of which date back to the early days of Internet Explorer in the 1990s.

ActiveX was launched in 1996 and can embed native Windows technologies into web browsers. Many other web technologies, such as Flash, Java, Silverlight and PDF, are integrated into browsers in this way. ActiveX was abandoned because Microsoft believed that the development of HTML5 made such control technology no longer necessary. HTML5 enables code that can be executed across browsers.

The abandonment of ActiveX does not mean that Flash is about to die. Microsoft will integrate Flash directly into the browser, similar to Google Chrome. In addition, Edge will also support native PDF rendering.

At the same time, Microsoft will no longer support the previous extension module, namely BHO. BHO is mainly used to develop third-party search toolbars, but in fact users do not have much demand for it. Therefore, in Microsoft's new browser, users will no longer see annoying toolbars.

However, Microsoft will still provide a way to assist in the development of plug-ins. This is similar to the HTML/Javascript hybrid model used by Mozilla, Google, Apple and Opera. Microsoft said that it will enable this model later this summer, so that developers can develop plug-ins for Edge in a timely manner.

Discard the useless parts

Microsoft also said that it had removed 220,000 lines of code and more than 300 application programming interfaces (APIs) during the development of Edge. At the same time, Microsoft added more than 300,000 lines of new code, 49 new features and 4,200 browser interoperability features to the new browser.

In Edge, Microsoft has also abandoned the vendor prefixes, which means that if developers want to develop special HTML5 or CSS features, they do not have to use special Edge prefixes, but can program according to web standards.

This is the right direction for Microsoft, and some of its recent hires show that the company is supporting and promoting open web standards.

Introducing the security sandbox mode

On Monday, the Edge team unveiled some of the browser's security features, showing how Microsoft is making the browser better at dealing with online threats and why the latest model is better than before.

In fact, abandoning ActiveX and BHO has made the browser safer. In the past few years, third-party information security agencies have repeatedly discovered ActiveX vulnerabilities, some of which can damage the browser and some can even threaten the system. After switching to plug-ins based on the HTML/Javascript mixed mode, Microsoft will limit the permissions of plug-ins to prevent plug-ins from gaining control of the system.

However, the most important information security feature of Edge is that Microsoft released Edge as a "universal Windows app." This means that Edge will run in a sandbox. Microsoft said that every Internet page accessed by Edge will be rendered in the application container, which is "Windows' newest and most secure client application sandbox."

As a "universal Windows app," Edge will be upgradeable from the Microsoft Store. Users will no longer have to upgrade the browser through Windows Update. Separating browser upgrades from the rest of the system will help keep the browser up to date. This also means that Edge will be able to automatically upgrade like Chrome and Firefox.

Edge will be released with Windows 10 later this summer.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.