An insecure browser is ripe for abuse on the internet, which is why Microsoft wants to keep its Edge browser as secure as possible. Microsoft has recently noted that it wants to prevent Edge from running in an elevated state, even if the user asks for it.
Microsoft’s Mission Against Elevation
You can see the request for yourself over on Chromium Gerrit. This may seem like an odd source for Microsoft news, but ever since Edge moved to a Chromium base, its development has naturally gone hand-in-hand with Google’s product.
Moreover, the requester of this feature, Stefan Smolen, uses a Microsoft email in their profile. As such, we can safely assume this is a Microsoft employee wanting to make changes to Edge’s Chromium base.
Smolen wants the browser to automatically scale itself down if it detects itself launching in an elevated mode. As Smolen explains:
1) Downloads run through the browser will run as elevated. 2) Child processes will run as elevated (even though the sandbox still applies). […] 3) Frame merge from subsequent non-elevated browser instances will fail due to access denied
Smolen’s solution is to allow Edge to detect if it’s running in an elevated state in an environment where non-elevated programs are allowed to run. If it is, Edge will then downscale itself so it’s not elevated.
Why Is Browser Elevation So Bad?
The problem that Smolen is trying to tackle here is the problem with running a browser in an elevated mode. When a browser becomes elevated, it gets more permissions over what it can do over your PC.
Usually, elevating a program is a good thing. For instance, when you want admin rights in Windows, you can use an elevated Command Prompt to get the permissions you need.
The problems arise when you download something nasty off of the internet. Because you downloaded it from your browser, the virus also has elevated permissions. This means it can do more damage than if it weren’t elevated.
As such, Smolen wants Edge to only run in an elevated mode when it’s absolutely essential for it to do so. Otherwise, it runs at a normal state to prevent viruses from doing harm.
Keeping Microsoft Edge Safe
An insecure browser is a major weak spot for a PC, and Microsoft wants to ensure that people don’t catch anything nasty while browsing the web with Edge. With Chrome and Edge now sharing the same code-base, will the two companies work together to make their respective browsers better?
With Microsoft Edge taking off, it’s only natural for the software giant to want its users to stay safe. After all, Edge is now more popular than Firefox, which held the spot for second place for years.
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