Edge 109.0.1518.52/55; enables password transfer to the cloud …

[German]Microsoft has updated the Edge browser in the stable channel several times since Jan 12, 2023 (on Jan 12 to version 109.0.1518.49, on Jan 13 to 109.0.1518.52). In addition, Edge 109.0.1518.55 seems to have been waiting in the wings since 1/16/2023 (I haven't found any release notes yet). I now have a report that the Edge suddenly enables the transfer of passwords to the cloud when a Microsoft account is set up. And the Edge 109.0.1518.55 puts a shortcut icon on the desktop, which only administrators can delete.

Version 109 is a new development branch that follows suit with the Chromium team's release. The 109 is the last version that still runs with Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 as well as the server counterparts. From version 110 onwards, trouble threatens in other places (see my post Edge 109.0.1518.49). The changes in the new Edge 109 can be read here.

Edge 109.0.1518.52 Stable Channel

According to the release notes for the stable channel, the update to version 109.0.1518.52 from Jan. 13 only fixes various bugs and resolves performance issues. There are probably no security fixes (the release notes for security updates in the stable channel do not list the new browser version). Edge should update automatically.

Edge 109.0.1518.55

I haven't found anything in the release notes for the stable channel yet, and there's no entry in the release notes for security updates either. But it looks like January 16, 2022 is when Edge 109.0.1518.55 was distributed. I base this on a couple of different notes. Once there is from 1/16/2023 this German comment:

The crap browser has just earlier by itself (!) put a shortcut for itself on my desktop!

And an anonymous user mentioned here the release of Edge 109.0.1518.55. Third indication is the message of a user via e-mail, who told me the following observations. The download is avaiblable at Microsoft Business site.

Edge 109.0.1518.55 creates desktop shortcut

Beside the above comment, in which it was reported that the Edge had dropped a desktop shortcut. The blog reader who informed me about the following settings in cloud sync added in a follow-up email:

H

Hello Günter,

in the meantime I have had the following experience:

#1. with the update to Edge version 109.0.1518.55 (Official Build) Microsoft sets a desktop icon on the whole system, which you can only remove as administrator. (And delete it again …)

This ultimately confirms the observation of the first reader in the comment above.

The Edge PWA desaster

Addendum: Blog reader Snape says below in a comment, that the new edge version 109.0.1518.55 keeps creating desktop shortcuts for the PWA's you have deployed if "create_desktop_shortcut" parameter is set to true.

A German blog reader says, that the shortcuts of the PWA apps stored via GPO are newly created on the desktop with every Edge restart. So users sometimes collect up to 40 identical PWA shortcuts on the desktop after one working day…

Temporary solution is to set the string for shortcut desktop creation to false in the same GPO. Isn't it funny? Microsoft always says "We know what u need, users …" – guess they lost track.

Automatic password sync in Edge?

I haven't been able to try it out yet (been a bit knocked out for 2 days health-wise). But the second blog reader emailed me to point out an unpleasant experience. The reader wrote:

Hello Günter,

when using a Microsoft account, data in the Edge browser can be synchronized with the Microsoft account beforehand. This I have disabled so far in principle, even if I was logged in with a Microsoft account (also in Edge).

After update to version 109 I have received 2 updates so far. With the 2nd update today to version 109.0.1518.55 I was shown after startup that synchronization is enabled and all data was on the page

Settings > Profiles > Synchronization

activated.

The reader wrote that this was only shown to him briefly in the upper right corner when he first started the browser, but then disappeared. I would be interested to know if anyone else noticed this.

In the German blog post Edge 109.0.1518.49 someone had pointed in this German comment to a list of settings that he considered critical – quote:

Several settings should be predefined, and are partly critical – e.g. write support that is mapped via any clouds, and possibly also applied in password fields.

If you don't want your credentials to be synchronized, there's no getting around logging out of your Microsoft account. The blog reader wrote about this:

To disable synchronization, you have to log out of Edge with the Microsoft account in the meantime.

Microsoft Windows increasingly no longer shows itself as an operating system, but determines the use of the computers without the involvement of the owner / user.

In a second addendum, the user added the following information:

#2. If you have been logged into Edge with your Microsoft account without syncing, you can reset the sync and choose not to be logged back in for sync. This should also delete all data synced with the cloud in the Microsoft account.

#3. As an alternative to resetting the sync or afterwards (to delete the data in the cloud), one can also log out in Edge under Profile. (Usually with using the Microsoft account, all applications are also logged in with it). This should (hopefully) put an end to the issue of unwanted synchronization, even with subsequent updates.

The observations should be kept in mind in any case (especially in the corporate environment). The reader thinks that Microsoft apparently wants to say goodbye with Windows 10/11 to people who want to use a secure operating system without uncontrollable access and cloud copies.

Addendum: Edge 109.x has also massive printing issues, when the printer name contains special characters like German umlauts. I've compiled the facts within my blog post Printing issues in Edge 109 branch – special characters like umlauts are the problem.

Similar articled:
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Edge 109.0.1518.49
Windows 10: End of support for Internet Explorer 11 on June 15, 2022
Windows 10: Microsoft disables Internet Explorer 11 on Feb. 14, 2023
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