Experts unhappy over Microsoft’s tactics to gain ‘Edge’ in browser market

Microsoft (MSFT) is now waging an open war against Chrome, Firefox, and Safari by promoting its own Edge browser among all Windows 10 users. Warning messages, advertisement, and pop-ups (often quite annoying) have started turning up in Windows 10 devices, suggesting that users switch to Edge for a safer and faster browsing experience.

Experts believe that these prompts will do more harm than good by irritating users. Microsoft is currently in the midst of the final testing stage of Windows 10 October 2018 update and market pundits hope that the company would do away with these frequent prompts as it is rolled out to the public.

For years, Google’s (GOOGL) Chrome has dominated the internet browsing market with about 60% share, compared to just 2% for Edge and 3% for Internet Explorer, according to StatCounter. Apple’s (AAPL) Safari accounts for 14.5% of market share, while Mozilla Firefox constitutes about 5% of total users.

Despite Edge being rated at the best browser in terms of defending against phishing sites, the company has been struggling to gain user base, as people opt for other browsers for the additional features that they offer.

Meanwhile, Microsoft claims that its browser is better than peers in terms of speed and security.

As per the company’s advertisement, Microsoft Edge is up to 48% quicker than Chrome and blocks 18% more phishing sites.

According to a report from cybersecurity firm NSS Labs, Edge blocked 92.3% of phishing sites, while Chrome managed only 74.5% and Firefox 61.1%. Meanwhile, familiarity continues to weigh on superiority as Chrome continues its dominant status in the world wide web.