10 REASONS YOU MUST SWITCH TO EDGE TODAY
1Block web trackers
Edge has some excellent built-in privacy tools. Click the three dots to the right of the address bar, followed by Settings, then click ‘Privacy and services’ in the sidebar. Here you’ll see three levels of security: Basic, Balanced and Strict. Balanced is selected by default (see screenshot right) and will only block trackers ( cookies that track your activity online) and personalised adverts from websites you don’t visit regularly. Blocking trackers can sometimes stop websites from working properly, so this ensures your favourite sites always work smoothly. The Strict option attempts to block all trackers, while Basic only blocks those Microsoft has identified as malicious.
Click ‘Blocked trackers’ and you’ll see a list of the sites Edge has prevented from tracking you. Below this option, Exceptions lets you choose sites that should be allowed to do whatever they want, regardless of your privacy settings. You should only add a site as an exception if you find that it doesn’t work properly under your preferred settings.
2Get ‘dodgy site’ warnings
You’ve probably often seen a Smartscreen window pop up when using Windows. This is a blue box that warns you the program you’re trying to install might be dangerous. Sometimes it’s because Microsoft can’t verify the publisher of the software in question, other times it’s because the program is on its list of known malicious programs.
It works in a similar way for Edge - warning you when you’re attempting to visit a known phishing site, for example. Smartscreen doesn’t work with other browsers, such as Chrome or Firefox.
To enable Smartscreen in Edge, open Windows Security from the Start menu then click ‘App & browser control’ in the sidebar. Make sure the slider below ‘Smartscreen for Microsoft Edge’ is switched on (see screenshot above right).
Just above the Smartscreen setting for Microsoft Edge, you’ll see a similar option to ‘Check apps and files’, which scans files you download for malicious code. The three options are Block, Warn and Off, of which we’ve chosen Warn on our PC. This stops programs from running or installing before we’ve had a chance to pause and think for a moment, but doesn’t stop us using the programs we need as long as we’re sure we know what we’re doing.
3Mark web pages you’d like to visit later
Whether you’re deciding which printer to buy, planning a local fete or carrying out research online, you’ll probably visit a lot of web pages - some of which you’ll want to return to. Adding them to your bookmarks is one way to keep track of them, but Edge has a better way – its Collections tool. You can add as many pages as you like to each collection, then quickly revisit them or share the list with others. We show you how to use this tool in the Workshop below.
4Convert web pages into apps
Many sites, such as Facebook and Gmail, seem more like programs than web pages, meaning you can spend hours on them and return several times over the course of a day. Edge makes this easier by letting you turn a favourite site into a desktop app with a shortcut on your taskbar so it’s quick and easy to launch. And because components such as the address bar are hidden, they also look more like traditional programs, even though they’re actually running in Edge. You can find out how to use this tool in our Workshop below.
5Make websites easier to read
Some web pages have so many adverts and pop-ups they’re unpleasant – and sometimes impossible – to read. Edge has the answer: Immersive Reader. It doesn’t work on all web pages, but where it does - such as news websites or any with large blocks of text – you can strip away most of the peripheral clutter on the page (including ads). Simply look for the icon of an open book at the right-hand end of the address bar (see screenshot below) - this means the page you’re viewing is compatible with Immersive Reader. Click this icon to activate Immersive Reader mode.
You can tweak Immersive Reader’s layout by clicking the ‘Text preferences’ button at the top of the page, which reveals controls for text size and spacing, as well as page themes. The latter includes five default colour combinations, including black on sepia, white on black and black on green. If none of these suit, click ‘More themes’ to reveal 17 more.
6Have websites read to you
You’ll notice that the Immersive Reader’s open-book icon sits below a speaker icon. That’s no coincidence, as the first option on the reader’s toolbar is ‘Read aloud’. Click it and Edge will immediately start narrating the text on the page you’re viewing (highlighting each word as it’s spoken). Click the ‘Voice options’ button to change the reading speed and choose an alternative voice.
You can also access the read aloud feature via the main menu (by clicking the dots to the right of the address bar).
Edge has its own version of Windows Task Manager. So, if a page freezes, you should be able to quit it without having to close the browser entirely and losing your other tabs. You can also use it to quickly identify which tab is using the most memory (if your PC is running slowly, closing browser tabs that are using excessive memory can help speed things up). Press Shift+escape to open the window, select the tab you want to close then click ‘End process’.
8Add more extensions
Just as you install programs on your PC, extensions (or add-ons, as Firefox calls them) let you add new features to your browser. Chrome’s early success was partly due to its huge extension library on the Chrome Web Store, while the lack of extensions damaged Edge’s initial appeal. Because it’s built using the same Chromium source code, the new Edge can run the same range of extensions as Chrome. To install Chrome extensions in Edge, click the Menu button, Extensions, then switch on ‘Allow extensions from other sources’ (see screenshot below).
In addition, Edge gives you access to
Microsoft’s dedicated Edge extensions library ( https://microsoftedge.microsoft. com). The process of installing extensions from here is almost identical to how the Chrome Web Store works. Find the extension by searching or clicking through the categories, then click the Get button. Edge will tell you what data the extension needs to access to work properly and give you two options: ‘Add extension’ or Cancel.
9Mute audio instantly
You’re listening to a radio stream in one tab, writing emails in another, and keeping your eye on the news in three or four others. But which one is playing that annoying audio? With Edge, it’s easy to tell, thanks to the speaker icon on the offending tab (see screenshot above). Click this icon and you can mute and unmute the audio when you want. It’s quicker than switching to the tab then clicking pause.
Of course, you could mute your whole PC using the buttons on your keyboard, but that’s no good if you still need to use your speakers for an incoming Skype call or to watch a video in another tab. And while Chrome offers a similar feature, it isn’t ideal. If you mute one Youtube tab, for example, all other Youtube tabs in Chrome will also be muted. With Edge, you can control each tab’s audio individually.
10Customise your home page
By default, the Edge home page displays headlines from Microsoft’s news service, as well as the Bing search engine. If you don’t like this, open a new tab and click the cog icon to choose your preferred layout. Options include Focused (this displays a search box along with links to your most visited sites), Inspirational (similar to Focused, but with an image background that changes every day – see screenshot below) and Informational (search box, a list of most visited sites, an image background and news headlines).
You can tailor the content of your feed by clicking Personalise and selecting your interests from the list.