AdBlok Comes to Windows Edge

While technically AdBlock for Microsoft Edge is still “coming soon” for many users, if you have been running the most recent version of the insider build of Windows, Windows Insider 14332, you can try out the new AdBlock and AdBlock Plus before everyone else.

According to an announcement from WinBeta, current users of the latest Windows 10 build can now download AdBlock and AdBlock Plus from the Windows store and begin using it immediately. The two pieces of software have received overwhelmingly positive reviews, averaging around four stars and up per review.

An Attempt to Bring Users Back

Microsoft has been playing with ways to draw users back to its internet browsing platform for years. Edge, which is the successor to Microsoft Explorer, the once super-popular default browser which has since become the butt of many jokes, memes, and overall ridicule from younger and more computer-savvy users.

Edge is a big improvement over Internet Explorer in a variety of ways, which include:

No legacy support. IE had a lot of issues with backwards compatibility with add-ons such as ActiveX, Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) and VBSscripts, among other legacy features, are not compatible with Edge, meaning that many performance and security issues have been done away with, as well.
Edge is much, much faster. As a result of not having to support older technologies, Edge is significantly faster than IE and, though many users don’t realize this, Edge is also faster than Chrome and Firefox.
Edge offers browser extension support. IE had essentially nothing in the way of browser extensions, and Edge allows users to customize their browsing experience and personalize their layout.

However, even with all of these benefits many users are still wary of using a Microsoft-supplied browser, and the inclusion of AdBlock and AdBlock Plus with insider builds of Edge is one of the ways that Microsoft is attempting to draw back the users they have lost to other browsers, such as Chrome, Opera, and Firefox over the years.

In fact, even with all the perks of using Microsoft Edge users have old slowly drifting back. According to data from Net Applications, Edge holds just 3.9% of the browser market as of February 2016, which accounts for 8.8% of all Microsoft browsers in use.

Are Extensions Enough to Bring Users Back?

One of the biggest draws which initially pulled users to browsers like Chrome and Firefox was their support for third-party extensions, as well as their speed compared the outdated and clunky Internet Explorer.

Edge initially shipped without any extension support, but in recent months Microsoft has been hinting that third-party support would be coming to the browser, and now we’re starting to see it rolled out to users of Windows Insider 14332.

Eventually AdBlock and AdBlock Plus will be available to all Microsoft Edge users, but whether or not adding this support will bring users back remains to be seen.

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