Microsoft has added a total of 11 new policies to the app

Apr 14, 2020 20:14 GMT  ·  By

The latest version of Microsoft Edge for the stable channel, namely version 81, comes with a total of 11 new policies for Windows 10 that allow administrators to configure certain capabilities of the browser on devices in their network.

The administrative templates are available in the Microsoft Edge Enterprise landing page and can be enabled on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise – Windows 10 Home lacks the Group Policy Editor, therefore using these policies is not possible; certain capabilities can be used with the help of settings in the Registry Editor.

The new policies are specifically introduced to make it possible for IT admins to enable and disable certain features like the importing of extensions, cookies, and shortcuts.

Furthermore, these policies allow them to control the audio sandbox, TSL 1.3 for local trust anchors, and Ambient Authentication for InPrivate and guest profiles.

The following policies have been added in the new browser update:

  • AmbientAuthenticationInPrivateModesEnabled - Enable Ambient Authentication for InPrivate and Guest profiles.
  • AudioSandboxEnabled - Allow the audio sandbox to run.
  • ForceLegacyDefaultReferrerPolicy - Use a default referrer policy of no-referrer-when-downgrade.
  • GloballyScopeHTTPAuthCacheEnabled - Enable globally scoped HTTP auth cache.
  • ImportExtensions - Allow importing of extensions.
  • ImportCookies - Allow importing of Cookies.
  • ImportShortcuts - Allow importing of shortcuts.
  • InternetExplorerIntegrationSiteRedirect - Specify how "in-page" navigations to unconfigured sites behave when started from Internet Explorer mode pages.
  • StricterMixedContentTreatmentEnabled - Enable stricter treatment for mixed content.
  • TLS13HardeningForLocalAnchorsEnabled - Enable a TLS 1.3 security feature for local trust anchors.
  • ConfigureOnPremisesAccountAutoSignIn - Configure automatic sign in with an Active Directory domain account when there is no Azure AD domain account.
Installing the new policies on Windows 10 is easy, as Microsoft offers them in a .cab archive, so you can extract the new settings to import them on your device.

The Chromium Microsoft Edge is Microsoft’s recommended choice for both home users and enterprises. It’s also the new default on Windows 10, replacing Edge Legacy (originally known as Project Spartan), and comes with support for macOS, with a Linux version also believed to be in the works – Microsoft has already confirmed that it’s looking into bringing Edge to Linux, but an ETA isn’t yet available.

As far as enterprises are concerned, Microsoft Edge comes with several features supposed to address possible compatibility concerns.

Since Edge is the third browser of the company, many enterprises might be reluctant to install it because their internal apps were developed for Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge Legacy. Microsoft, however, has included a dedicated IE Mode that makes it possible for users to run a specific app in Internet Explorer right within Microsoft Edge, thus addressing any potential compatibility issues.

Additionally, there are lots of enterprise-focused features and security tools bundled with the new Edge. In other words, Microsoft has tried to make its browser the best choice for everybody, targeting both home users and enterprises with what’s now considered one of the best alternatives to Google Chrome.

In addition to the stable version of Microsoft Edge, which brings all the aforementioned policies, the browser also comes with Canary, Dev, and Beta builds that anyone can install to try out new features in advance. These represent an opportunity for enterprises to prepare for new updates for the browser before they are released, thus making sure that the improvements Microsoft delivers in the browser don’t cause any compatibility struggles on the devices in their networks.

Microsoft Edge testing builds in these channels can be installed side by side with the stable version. The Chromium Edge also supports Window 7 and Windows 8.1.