Microsoft Updates Edge With New Features To Challenge Chrome

Forbes looks at new features Microsoft added to Edge “as it looks to beat Chrome in the browser wars.”
It’s now going to be possible to search for work files directly inside the Edge browser directly from the address bar. To use this you need Microsoft Search configured, then type “work” and press the Tab key to search your company’s network for…

Firefox 81 Released, Can Now Be Your Default Browser in iOS

Engadget reports:
One big benefit of iOS 14 is that you can set non-Apple-made apps as your default, including for email and web browsing. Hot on the heels of you being able to set Chrome and Gmail as your clients of choice, Firefox is enabling you to make its browser the default on iPhones and iPads. Naturally, you’ll need to have both…

The Best Chrome Extensions To Prevent Creepy Web Tracking

Wired has highlighted several browser extensions that “are a simple first step in improving your online privacy.” Other steps to take include adding a privacy-first browser and VPN to further mask your web activity. An anonymous reader shares the report: Privacy Badger is one of the best options for blocking online tracking in your current browser. For a start, it’s created…

Google Is Pulling the Plug On Paid Chrome Extensions Over the Next Year

Google has announced that paid Chrome extensions will no longer be available and will be phased out over the next year. 9to5Google reports: Following a temporary suspension on paid extensions this year due to fraudulent transactions, Google will pull the plug on paid extensions entirely over the next several months. Developers haven’t been able to submit new paid extensions since March,…

iOS 14 Resets iPhone’s Default Apps To Apple’s Safari and Mail After Reboot

Users have found a major bug in Apple’s iOS 14 iPhone software. The free software upgrade, which Apple made publicly available last week, includes features many users had long asked for, such as better ways to organize apps, living programs called widgets on the home screen, and the ability to change which default apps the phone uses to browse the web…

Browser Extension uMatrix Ends Active Development

Slashdot reader Hmmmmmm quotes Ghacks: Raymond Hill, known online as gorhill, has set the status of the uMatrix GitHub repository to archived; this means that it is read-only at the time and that no updates will become available. The uMatrix extension is available for several browsers including Firefox, Google Chrome, and most Firefox and Chromium-based browsers. It is a privacy and…

How to Play Chrome’s Hidden ‘Dinosaur Game’ and Firefox’s ‘Unicorn Pong’

How-To Geek has discovered three of the world’s most popular web browsers contain Easter Eggs:
It seems like every browser has a hidden game these days. Chrome has a dinosaur game, Edge has surfing, and Firefox has . . . unicorn pong? Yep, you read that right — here’s how to play it. First, open Firefox. Click the hamburger menu (the three…

Microsoft’s ‘Patch Tuesday’ Includes 129 Security Updates, Mostly to Windows

This week Krebs on Security reported that Microsoft “released updates to remedy nearly 130 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating system and supported software.” None of the flaws are known to be currently under active exploitation, but 23 of them could be exploited by malware or malcontents to seize complete control of Windows computers with little or no help from users….

Firefox Will Add a New Drive-by-Download Protection

Mozilla will add a new security feature to Firefox in October that will make it harder for malicious web pages to initiate automatic downloads and plant malware-laced files on a user’s computer. From a report: Called a drive-by download, this type of attack has been around for two decades and usually takes place when users visit a website that contains malicious…

Microsoft’s Transcribe in Word Gives Office 365 Subscribers 5 Hours of Transcription a Month

Last October, Microsoft unveiled a transcription feature — Transcribe in Word — that is designed to let users leverage the power of the cloud to transcribe audio. After nearly a year in development, Transcribe in Word is now generally available in U.S. English at no cost to existing Microsoft 365 subscribers. It will come to Android and iOS later this year….