Microsoft has updated Windows 11 to ignore non-Edge browsers when accessing certain links.

Microsoft is up to its old tactics again. A recent upgrade of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system makes it difficult to bypass its built-in browser, Microsoft Edge, for certain links found in the Start menu, Widgets, and so on. Previously, a small software called EdgeDeflector provided a solution to this behavior, but a recently published version, according to the author's blog, forbids his program to work fully.

EdgeDeflector is an app that used to be allowed to be configured as the default app for links titled "microsoft-edge: /", which are Windows shell URLs that would open in Microsoft Edge. The program simply redirected the URLs to https: //, so that they would open in whatever browser you had set by default. If you are unsure, copy this link - microsoft-edge: https: //www.ctrl.blog - and press the Windows key + R, paste it into the Run command, and then press Enter.

The latest Windows Insider Preview version # 22494, according to the software inventor, completely kills his app. There are no solutions or registry hacks you can use to open certain URLs in any browser other than Edge. This link behavior is accompanied by Microsoft's addition of widgets and "web experiences" to Windows 11 that automatically open links in Edge, and if you search for something in the Start menu, any resulting link will only be allowed to be accessed in Edge. Also, as you may have seen before, when you open Edge, the program will often prompt you to make it your default browser (take me back, thank you!). Anecdotally, we recall that we received Windows 10 upgrades that restored a connection to the Edge in our taskbar, so this behavior from Microsoft does not come as a surprise to anyone.

This will, on top of Microsoft's decision, make it harder to change the default browser in Windows 11. If you do not create a new file association to "always use this program" the first time you start it, you will need to change each individual file association for web links to prevent them from opening in the Edge. There's obviously a pattern here, and as the software author points out, it goes back to the time when Microsoft was disciplined for favoring its Internet Explorer browser over competitors' solutions.

As for the future of EdgeDeflector, it seems bleak. "There are still methods I can circumvent the limitation," the author adds, "but any approach that remains in my arsenal would involve making malicious changes to Windows." Changes that could cause problems for the user in the future, as well as difficulties that I honestly do not want to support. "There will be no more software upgrades unless Microsoft adjusts its position on the problem, which is questionable. To be fair to Microsoft, many users prefer to use Edge now that it's Chromium - based, and the company recently changed direction by letting individuals install games purchased from its stores wherever they want, indicating that Microsoft is listening to its customers. Maybe they will do it again here (but probably not).