Microsoft launches Edge 130 with lots of security patches and feature changes

Microsoft released Edge 130 Stable today. The new release fixes plenty of security issues, but it also rolls out the updated Settings page and makes a few other changes.

To update, select Menu > Help & Feedback > About Microsoft Edge, if you are on the desktop. Mobile updates are pushed to user devices by the application stores.

Did you know: you can disable the news feed on Microsoft Edge’s New Tab Page.

Edge 130: the security fixes

Microsoft says that it has fixed nine Edge-specific security issues in version 130. These are added to the 13 Chromium-specific vulnerabilities that got fixed in the new release. In total, Microsoft patched 22 different security issues in Edge.

The Edge-specific vulnerabilities are rated important or lower. Microsoft does not mention exploits in the wild, which is reassuring.

You can check out the official Edge updates website for information on the patched Edge-specific vulnerabilities.

It is still recommended to update as soon as possible.

Edge 130: the non-security changes

The big new feature in Edge 130 is one that you may not see immediately. Microsoft has the habit of rolling out changes gradually over time, even in development editions.

The redesigned settings page is launching in Edge 130. Microsoft says that all functions remain available.

The redesign introduces the following changes:

A new quick access option for the most used Settings when opening the Settings in Edge.
Large pages, like Privacy, search, and services, include quick actions now as well.
Some settings pages have table of contents now that need to be expanded.

In other words, it is adding quick links to often used settings and table of contents with descriptive subtexts.

Other changes

Microsoft hides a hint in the release notes. Live Captions is a feature that is been in testing since Edge 103. It has been on a long rollout and is still not generally available.

You may set the policy ExperimentationAndConfigurationServiceControl to Full Mode on Windows and LiveCaptionsAllowed to True, you may get Live Captions enabled in Edge prior to broad availability.

The word “may” still hints that this is not a 100% thing, but it is better than nothing.

Check out the official release notes for detailed instructions.

Since Edge is Chromium-based, it is also supporting the bulk of Chromium-based changes. One of these is that Edge supports non-special URL schemes now.

Closing Words

Edge users and administrators may want to upgrade to the new version immediately to patch the security issues. It will probably take months before the new settings page reaches all users. It is not really that special, as you may use the search to find settings quickly already. New users may benefit the most from the new page.

It is important to note that Windows users who have not uninstalled Edge should keep the browser up to date to close potential attack vectors.

Have you tried Edge recently? Or do you ignore Microsoft’s browser? Let us know in the comments below.

Summary