this post was submitted on 17 May 2024
735 points (98.4% liked)

Technology

59602 readers
4456 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Microsoft is trying to restore Bing as the default search engine on users' browsers by spinning it as a "repair" through a utility app called PC Manager.

PC Manager is designed to boost a Windows PC's performance by freeing up memory and eliminating unused apps and files. It offers "Health check" and "Repair tips" buttons, which users can click on to see the recommended actions.

However, Windows Latest noticed the app pushing a curious recommendation: Both Repair tips and Health check nudge you to restore Bing as the default search engine on the Edge browser.

(page 2) 16 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Blaster_M@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (4 children)

You know, this is a useful tool when you're clearing a malware infection. Everyone seems to be assuming this is fully automatic, but it requires you to accept the change before it commits.

Of course, since everyone here is rabidly anti-Microsoft, anything MS does is automatically the worst thing in existance.

Edit: In this case, it is providing the option to reset Edge's search and home settings back to "known safe" defaults. If you had this tool let you set anything, that's an attack surface that can be exploited by a "tech" from India or a malware running counterops to prevent removal.

Worst case, you use another browser, since clearly Microsoft is the devil and you shouldn't use Edge anyway.

[–] psilotop@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

I think the branding as a "repair" is meant to mislead uninformed users but I am totally with you, I would LOVE to get a list of settings that are going to change after an update so I can approve them. I can't tell you how many times a random update reverts something I set up ages ago when I installed windows. Most of the time I may not notice the setting change for a while, until one day a feature doesn't work as I expect it to.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›