Norton Snubs Microsoft Edge Browser Over Lack Of Extensions Support In Windows 10
“People still use Norton Antivirus?” That was my first thought when this latest bit of news came across my desk, but millions of users indeed are subjected to the resource-draining antivirus program on a daily basis (usually, because it comes installed on a large percentage of brand new Windows PCs).
With that said, Norton Antivirus can’t stretch its legs and get comfortable without a ready and willing browser to rest its feet upon. So in order to better protect customers, Norton Antivirus installs extensions in web browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome to “protect” users if they stumble upon seedy parts of the Internet. However, with the upcoming release of Windows 10, Norton Antivirus has run into an impenetrable roadblock.
You see, while Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser supports browser extensions, that functionality won’t be enabled when on the brand new Microsoft Edge browser, formerly known as Project Spartan, when Windows 10 launches on July 29th. Instead, extensions support in Edge will come later down the road in a future OS update.
Until then, Norton Antivirus won’t be able to “protect you from phishing and other risky site,” so the software company is recommending that you ditch Edge and using a competing browser like Firefox or the old and tired Internet Explorer (yikes!). If given the choice between Norton Antivirus and Edge, I’d choose Edge.
The lack of browser extensions is definitely a bummer for those that have grown accustomed to using them over the years, but Microsoft is hoping that the improved security and performance afforded by using Edge will be enough to win over diehard Internet Explorer users. And when support does arrive this fall, Chrome and Firefox extensions can be easily ported to Edge, which sounds like great news in our book.
