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Annoying 'Open PDF In Edge' Default Option Puts Windows 10 Users At Risk (softpedia.com)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via Softpedia: Microsoft fixed today a serious security flaw in the Windows PDF Library, a standard library used by Windows 10 to open and render PDF files, embedded by default in Edge. Exploiting this flaw allows attackers to execute code on the user's machine and take over the device, just by tricking a user into accessing a PDF hosted online via Edge. Since Edge is not only the default browser in Windows 10, but also the default PDF reader, this flaw puts countless of users that have not changed those settings at risk. Even worse, Microsoft has the annoying habit of resetting your personal app preferences once in a blue moon, always reverting Edge as the default browser and the default app to open PDF files.
I don't want to use Edge and I want my settings to stick. Why are they obviously purposefully reverting my settings? I go out of my way to change a normal default setting and MS switches it back. Many times this has happened. There's no excuse for this horseshit.
At risk of opening a PDF? Why not automatically open the PDF in protected mode? Surely Edge is advanced enough not to open a PDF with full access permissions to running macros and such?? I mean, Edge can even do WebRTC so at long last Microsoft is catching up to the rest of the world. Surely security considerations can't be far behind. Right? GUYS??
slashdot: A failed experiment.
I use Ubuntu and Windows10 for differing tasks, but I really dislike Edge, and I have since the beginning been using IE11 on Win10. Not that I am disputing it happens but I've not had my defaults reset from what I chose when I 'upgraded' my laptop from Win7 to Win10. In favor of Win10 both the sleep and hibernate function work well now, whereas under Win7 they froze or locked up quite frequently.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Because fuck you, that's why. - S. Nadella
...Since Edge is not only the default browser in Windows 10, but also the default PDF reader...
This is so wrong on so many levels.
.
But fundamentally, why, oh, why, is the browser being promoted to being a viewer of non-HTML documents?
Convenience over security still seems to be the rule at Microsoft.
Has Microsoft learned nothing in the past two decades?
And Windows 10 was supposed to be the paradigm of security for Windows....
Yep I am sure it would be much safer people switching to the more preferred and common alternative of Adobe Reader. that never has vulnerabilities.
Case closed.
Easy: it's ALL about money. What you want or need is *completely* irrelevant. Every update, they'll revert the privacy settings to spy on you more, they'll reinstall the metro/whatever apps you uninstalled because you WILL use the appy apps! Then they reset the defaults to those appy apps. All that, because they'll make 30% cut of the appy app sales. Now, be a good consumer and keep using Windows 10! It's been going in that direction steadily for 5 years (since Windows 8) and it'll keep getting worse. MS no longer cares to even pretend they care about what people want or need. Users are there for the milking and that is all.
MS is just doing what it thinks is the, uhm, needful.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
I think the bigger surprise was that Microsoft claims that UWP apps are sandboxed, only they're not.
It could be worse, they could flag your preferred program as incompatible and helpfully uninstall it for you.
And we still can't make a robust computer. But then I have to remind myself that we rode horses and even had the wheel for over ten thousand years before we invented an automobile with fine Corinthian Leather. So, I guess I should be patient.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Why are they obviously purposefully reverting my settings?
Think of it as early onset of dementia. Microsoft is just becoming a bit forgetful, and left its dentures in the refrigerator again.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
When I'm buying old Win98/2000 books and am finding they mostly do a good enough job of teaching you how to make programs that are just as good if not better than the programs made using the most up-to-date libraries then something's very wrong.
Which I had mod point, certainly, you have nailed it.
rename the edge executable and watch it fail instead of loading. You have to kill the persistent edge process and open a cmd prompt as administrator to do the deed.
It's entirely ridiculous that I had to go to such lengths, but it worked.
Microsoft wants you to use Edge and wants their settings to stick. Why are you obviously purposefully reverting their settings? They go out of their way to create a normal default setting and you switch it back. Many times this has happened. There's no excuse for this horseshit.
FTFY.
I'm definitely sticking to Windows 7 then.
So Microsoft still continues old ways of Swiss cheese out f box practise. No offence to real Swiss cheese, its actually very good cheese. Considering how massive amount of money Microsoft has and how they could hire best programmers, etc... Im surprised they still keep making same damn mistakes again and again. Almost like design practise is: Lets sell them broken product and then release fix to some issues later...
They should first finish the browser before trying to compete.
Last time I checked, Edge didn't support desktop drag&drop, which all major browsers (including Internet Explorer) have for many years.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
> MS no longer cares to even pretend they care about what people want or need. Users are there for the milking and that is all.
How is that different from any profit organization?
I've had absolutely zero trouble with settings sticking or Edge being magically reset to the default browser. Installed FF and Foxit on day one and have never had that change.
Nanny knows best!
Damn it man, don't give them ideas.
Because Facebook conditioned people to expect settings to reset randomly. So why wouldn't companies take advantage of that?
Your ad here. Ask me how!
Did you disable Windows Update? I've seen Edge reset to default under two conditions:
1. If there's a problem with my default settings, for example when I upgraded Firefox to the 64 bit version and uninstalled the 32 bit version because the two interfered. Not only would it not let me set Firefox as the default any more using the Windows 10 interface (the old Windows 7 defaults window, which is still available but hidden, worked) but it reset everything to Edge until I found the latter workaround.
2. Whenever a "Big" update occurs, such as the Fall Update and Anniversary Updates.
The first is completely understandable (minus the not being allowed to select Firefox using the Windows 10 UI). The second... not so much.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
"Annoying 'Open PDF In Edge' Default Option Puts Windows 10 Users At Risk "
Only for the few Windows 10 users who use Edge.
You have two types of Windows 10 users... those who use Chrome, and those who still want to use IE.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
What is the best PDF display choice for Windows 10?
I'll admit to using Edge just out of sheer laziness on a fairly new Win 10 laptop just to avoid Acrobat Reader. From file explorer, I usually point them to Chrome.
It seemed like for years Reader was a big security problem. The last time I looked at third party PDF display software, it was a maze of spyware and nagware with no obvious great replacement.
Force your shit OS down everyone's throat
Claim the spying and pnwage of people's computer is 'for their own protection'
Claim forcing updates on everyone is 'for their own protection'
Still manage to get pwned by hackers
Microsoft, you fucking fail IN SO MANY WAYS that I can't even begin to count them. You didn't 'improve' anything. You didn't 'secure' anything. You're not 'protecting' users. You just forced your gods-be-damned piece of shit OS on everyone like a gods-be-damned date-rapist, and didn't even bother using a gods-be-damned CONDOM when you did the dirty deed. FUCK THE HELL OFF, MICROSOFT!
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Moral: Quit trying to change the way Microsofts computer runs and use it the way you are supposed to.
Ah, rebooting into Ubuntu.
If you're not using Linux or a similarly rights-respecting OS then you're literally one of the reasons this is happening.
Fools stay in an abusive relationship and complain about it.
If you actually try to install a third party app to handle PDF's, (tested with sumatrapdf), windows 10 will intercept the file association change and revert it because it sees it as a hacking attempt. You must change it manually by going to the Default Programs option.
Open Source Java Web Forum with LDAP authentication
I have not disabled Windows Update and I have installed the Anniversary Update without any change.
Now, setting new defaults through the Windows 10 interface is difficult, and, yes, you must use the Windows 7 interface to do so. That is pretty shitty. I went through it the other day to change defaults and noticed you couldn't pick an executable, only from their preset list of apps through the Windows 10 setup control.
He isn't. Microsoft already has papers written up with that idea in mind.
What is up with the Softpedia? Isn't that the website that distributes malware laden software?
I though that was sourceforge
---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
They already did it with the Windows 10 Anniversary update, which helpfully uninstalls Classic Shell so they pump ads at through that abomination of visual vomit that replaced the Start Menu.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
The best way to solve this problem is to change default PDF viewer setting & open PDF in any supported viewer like Microsoft Edge, Adobe Reader & Adobe DC. Follow the step in the blog of PDF file not opening in Microsoft Edge. To change default PDF viewer setting.