Since this is a pure security update, it does not bring any new features to the browser. It does, however, address a few crucial vulnerabilities. 16 vulnerabilities have been addressed in total, for which Microsoft has not defined a severity level as of yet. You can learn more about these security patches through Microsoft Security Update Guide. Since Edge is now Chromium-based and these vulnerabilities have been defined by Chrome, Microsoft has not provided many details in the release notes or this update. Let us now dig in detail what significant changes this update brings.
Release Summary
Complete release build: 96.0.1054.53Release date: Friday, December 10, 2021Compatibility: Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.Previous build: Edge 96.0.1054.43
Super Duper Secure Mode (SDSM) in Microsoft Edge
Microsoft is slowly beginning to add a Super Duper Secure Mode in Microsoft Edge. This is a project by Microsoft to address certain vulnerabilities in modern browsers to keep your online experience as secure as possible.
Release Summary Super Duper Secure Mode (SDSM) in Microsoft Edge Download Microsoft Edge 96 Upgrade to Edge 96 Download Edge 96 Installers Use Portable Edge Chromium Updater Final Thoughts
Microsoft is fighting Typosquatting with SDSM – where a user enters a misspelled name for a website and is taken to a different domain than where they wanted to. This is usually done intentionally by criminals that make a similar website to the one that you originally wanted to go to and then get your personal information. That said, they have not added this feature in the current Edge update, but plan to slowly begin rolling it out to the stable channel. At the time of writing this post, Microsoft has already released “Typosquatting Checker” to the Canary channel. Right now, the Typosquatting Checker will warn the users that they may be heading to the wrong website. However, in the future, Microsoft plans to automatically redirect users to the correct domain.
Download Microsoft Edge 96
If you already have Microsoft Edge on your PC, you can simply upgrade it to the latest build. If you do not, use the links given below to install it now. Microsoft Edge comes preinstalled in Windows 11 and 10. Learn how to uninstall Microsoft Edge.
Upgrade to Edge 96
To upgrade to the latest available Edge version, click on the ellipses in the top-right corner of the browser, expand Help and Feedback, and then click About Microsoft Edge. Edge will now begin to scan for an update, and then download and install it if one is available. Once the download is completed, you will need to Restart the browser. Once it relaunches, you can return to the About page and check that it has been updated to version 96.0.1054.53.
Download Edge 96 Installers
If you want to use Edge 96 on any operating system other than Windows 11 and 10, like Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android, you will need to download its offline installers. You can download the latest Microsoft Edge installers (including stable, beta, and dev releases). You can also download the browser in your preferred language using the tips given on the above-mentioned page.
Use Portable Edge Chromium Updater
If you are using Edge’s portable version, it will not update on its own. For that, a small tool known as Portable Edge Updater is available on GitHub that allows you to install or update the existing Microsoft Edge Chromium to the latest build available. Not only that, you can use this tool to download the x64 and x86 versions from all channels, which includes the stable channel as well as the 3 channels from Edge Insider. Download the tool by opening the Portable Edge GitHub page and then clicking on the link provided Portable.Edge.Chromium.Updater….7z. The tool will then download. Extract it and then run the .exe file. Inside the tool, click on the channel and bit architecture that you want to download (the versions are also mentioned). In this case, we shall be downloading Edge version 96 from the stable channel. The browser will then begin to update (or download). Once it is done, you can check that Microsoft Edge Chromium portable 96 is now available on your device.
Final Thoughts
Google Chrome 96 was released last week with a few critical security patches. Now Microsoft has also released a new update for their browser. This clearly indicates that the vulnerabilities addressed in both these updates are significant, and which is why we suggest that you update your browser immediately.
