Microsoft Edge makes 130+ requests to almost 50 endpoints when first launched

[steven36]

Scripts are loaded from Facebook, Reddit, Google and more

 

Microsoft is edging its bets

 

MICROSOFT'S CHROMIUM-BASED Edge browser, which is currently available in public beta, fires off more than 130 requests to almost 50 endpoints when it is launched. 

 

That's according to former Microsoft engineer Jonathan Sampson, who has examined six of the most popular web browsers and the communications they make in the background when web users first start using them.

 

Most of Edge's requests appear to be made to Microsoft properties, encompassing Windows, LinkedIn, Bing, Skype, MSN, Visual Studio, and Smartscreen. The data sent to the address 'activity.windows.com' also includes the email address used when logging into Windows 10.

 

 

The Windows.com entry, Sampson notes, retrieves information from Windows Activity History. This, according to Microsoft "helps keep track of the things you do on your device such as the apps and services you use, the files you open and the websites you browse.

 

"Your activity history is stored locally on your device and, if you've signed in to your device with a Microsoft account and given your permission, Windows sends your activity history to Microsoft," the company continues. "Microsoft uses the activity history data to provide you with personalised experiences… and relevant suggestions."

 

In terms of potential data collection and tracking related to online adverts, scripts are loaded from Facebook, Reddit, Google and other properties, Sampson continues.

 

"This Insider tab also sends data about my device and such to the Double Click servers (Google). There are numerous redirects when Edge calls out to http://px.ads.linkedin.com. All of them set cookies. The last one looks like it assigned a universal ID," writes Sampson, who described his review as "exhausting".

 

That total of 130 requests made by Edge compares to 26 for Firefox, 32 for Google Chrome, 23 made by Brave, and 31 by Vivaldi. Only Opera approaches Microsoft Edge for the number of calls it makes, including 19 calls just to Yandex.ru, the Russian search giant, as well as Amazon, Google, and Walmart.

 

"Back to Yandex though. Opera not only pings them, but informs them that I am setting up a new profile with Opera (via the referer header and query string). This header also goes to Facebook, Google, and Hotjar. All of these now know that I am a fresh Opera user," continues Sampson.

 

 

He also notes that Opera transmits data often used to ‘fingerprint' PCs to create unique profiles of web users.

 

"A closer look reveals that Opera is sending extra bits too, including my native resolution, browser window size, and a lot more. Unfortunately, it isn't clear what the other bits are representing. One parameter is called "gdpr" with a value of 14.

 

Source

[SPECTRUM]

Those resources are in fact coming from the Insider tab, thats all.

[steven36]

15 hours ago, SPECTRUM said:

Those resources are in fact coming from the Insider tab, thats all.

At lest with open source browsers  like Firefox you can edit the browser in the about congfig  and make it not call out much of anything at all . Waterfox removed a lot of that stuff . If you ever used ip sniffing  software before you would know all browsers make request  regardless  if they beta or not .  Windows 10 itself  comes loaded down with 3rd party apps like Facebook  and many others that make request when you install  it .  When i used power shell  and removed all the apps it would install it back unless i blocked it with Windows 10 firewall control. You know why Brave calls out less than the rest of them? iI is because Sampson works for Brave now and runs test like these and tries limit it down as much as he can.

 

Fanboys and there Windows 10  excuses , That the same excuse you guys used before Windows 10 came out in June 2015 and then when they released it in the wild , it was and still is a privacy nightmare .

 

Microsoft faces another European investigation over Windows 10 privacy concerns

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-10-new-privacy-concerns/

 

Microsoft  EDGE  has no open source  version it's built on top of open source chromium    its code can be forked for good or evil for Privacy like Brave it fully lets you control  what it does , Or be forked like ungoogled-chromium  that have maximum privacy  or you can fork it yourself . When Microsoft and Google  do there forks it's done purely for profit so if you use it it's just a matter over witch evil you trust more .

 

Since Microsoft dont really make chromium  and anything they sugesst  if  granted by the maintainers of chromium it will be ported in every chromium fork so i can just use a open source  spin and get the same benefits even the fact being they yet to even to port Edge over too Linux .  i still get anything good they suggest minus the spyware that's the way open source  work . It dont matter if they make EDGE  for Linux i would not use it .  Closed Source chromium browsers  are nothing new too Linux . We had Opera , Slimjet and Google Chrome for years on Linux .

 

Back years ago Google was a needed Evil  if you wanted to watch sites that use DRM  on  Linux  .But it's not so anymore . open Source Browsers like Firefox , Waterfox and Brave all come with Google DRM now if you want to turn it on.  So i dont have no use for closed source browsers in years.

 

Microsoft switching to chromium is typical Microsoft they trying to copy Google again . Everything they try to copy  that Google already dominates the market for  fails . Opera failed  because of it .Firefox is failing because they became too much like them  . And When Microsoft try to make Windows Phone to compete against Google they failed , They failed with IE and Edge classic against Google  , and also they  try to copy Chrome OS with Windows 10 S and failed , They never learn ,

 

No one is interested in Microsoft reinventing the wheel but fanboys    Because if its something that already exist like dozens of chromium browsers already do its not new. Anything thats not new is not a breakthrough  so it just stagnates  technology. When was the last time Microsoft made anything new? Windows 10 itself is just bunch stuff already in Mobile , Mac OS , Linux and Windows 8.1.   They need a new Bill Gates or just fork Windows over to Linux  or end up like Apple with a small OS market share! they allreay behind Android with only 35%  of it before they made Windows 10 they had 51 %  that means 65% of internet dont care about windows anymore !