Microsoft pushing Internet Explorer users to Edge

Microsoft Edge
(Image credit: Microsoft)

According to a report released by ZDNET, starting next month, Microsoft will be redirecting Internet Explorer users who try to use certain websites to their Edge browser. That includes YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Yahoo Mail just to name a few of the big ones which many visit daily. 

When Internet Explorer users try to visit those sites the browser will redirect the URL and automatically open the site in Edge instead. This new forced behavior has been in the works for a while as Microsoft hopes to nudge users to start transitioning from Internet Explorer to their Chromium based Edge Browser. 

Microsoft engineers have come up with a list of 1,156 sites where if an Internet Explorer user attempts to open they will get the forced redirect and opening of Edge. Of course, this is all being done due to compatibility issues with the aging web browser. 

Although some may wish to stand their ground and not let go, Microsoft has given them away to evade and disable the forced redirect and they've published a group policy to explain everything which you can read here.

One sure way to avoid the issue is not to have both browsers installed on your workstation or computer. However, most times when there are updates to Windows 10, the Edge browser is also added to your system. 

With most modern websites designed to take advantage of Chromium-based browsers, Internet Explorer's time is soon coming to an end. It's had a nice long run, it outlasted several of the main competitors from its heyday. 

Mark Anthony Ramirez

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.