Updates 1/12/21 - "Microsoft Tuesday"

For those who need it, you can obtain the Flash UNinstaller from Uninstall Flash Player for Windows (adobe.com)

Note:   This will NOT remove Flash from browsers (like EDGE Chromium) which have Flash embedded into them.

This month's Malicious Software Removal Tool v5.85 added detection/removal of

I previously blocked Microsoft Edge-Chromium from being installed by adding this registry key to Win 10 Pro v20H2:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\DoNotUpdateToEdgeWithChromium
and set its Dword value to 1.

After today's Microsoft Tuesday updates, Edge-Chromium is installed on this PC. So how are they getting around that registry key which is supposed to prevent Edge-Chromium from installing?  I still don't want it on my PC...

@RoHe why don't you want the new Edge?

@Bugbatter  - Don't want it. Don't need it. Won't ever use it. So why waste all that space on my SSD?

And FWIW, even though I removed it -yet again- sometimes ccleaner reports there are cookies and files it attributes to "Edge-Chromium" that can be cleaned. So it's still hiding somewhere and running in the background when I'm not looking. So that's yet another reason not to want it...

Ron:

This behaviour was forecast when Edge Chromium was first released:

"Microsoft will eventually install the new Edge web browser on all Windows 10 PCs via Windows Update. However, as of May 12, 2020, that hasn’t happened yet. If you’re willing to wait, just hold tight—you’ll get the latest version of Edge on all your Windows 10 PCs automatically."
Full text: https://www.howtogeek.com/672726/how-to-update-microsoft-edge/

I also object to this Edge Update, mainly because I don't want browsers that auto-update their software without my explicit permission. I also used that regedit key to block Chromium, but as I delay Windows Updates for 4 weeks have yet to see this Edge Chromium force-installed on my workhorse PC.

Have you tried uninstalling this update in Apps and Features? I was not able to uninstall the update (Edge to Edge Chromium), but was able to uninstall the Edge Browser completely on my test laptop Win10 version 1909. Unfortunately this also removed that registry blocking key. It seems MS is determined to force this browser on us.

Unfortunately MS has coerced some of my professional-related websites to require either Chromium or Edge-Chromium, so I have to use this latest Edge on my backup desktop Win10.

@joe53  - Yes, I tried to uninstall Edge-Chromium in Apps/Features, but you can't -  Microsoft disabled the Uninstall button for Edge-Chromium. And I checked, the DoNotUpdatetoEdgeWithChromium registry key is still there with Dword value 1 (which makes the key active). So MS obviously knows a way around that key.

There is still a way remove Edge-Chromium that reverts the system back to plain old Edge, which I also don't use, but MS didn't make it easy...

1. Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\85.0.564.67\Installer
   NOTE: Subfolder \85.0.564.67\ is an example. The actual name of this folder varies so navigate to ...\Application\"folder number"\Installer on your PC.
   
   
2. While inside subfolder ...\Installer, click File > Open Windows PowerShell > Open Windows PowerShell as administrator
   
   
3. In PS CMD window, type: .\setup.exe --uninstall --system-level --verbose-logging --force-uninstall and press Enter. Don't leave out the dot at the beginning and put one space followed by two -- ahead of each string.
   
   
4. There are no indications of PS activity or confirmation it worked, but give it a few min to complete and then close PS.  Edge-Chromium should be gone and the shortcut reverted to the old Edge icon which will open the old Edge.

I saved a .txt on my drive with all this info, so I can easily remove Edge-Chromium every time they force-feed it to me. And AFAIK, removing Edge-Chromium has no impact on Win 10 function - at least for now...

It's like playing "Whack-A-Mole" against a giant...

I've used EDGE "classic" and then EDGE Chromium.   For me, it's the best browser on my system, in terms of responsiveness --- while FF is by far the slowest to load.   I'm very pleased with EDGE.

But I realize it's a matter of choice... to each his own.

Ron:   If you're concerned about limited storage space available on your SSD (or hard drive), I can certainly understand your desire to free-up space by removing programs you don't use.   But if you do have sufficient space available (e.g., my HD is only at about 20% capacity), it might be wiser to simply let MS do what is wants... and simply not use EDGE... rather than going through contortions to remove it, possibly "breaking" something [else] in the process.

Also, concerning " sometimes ccleaner reports there are cookies and files it attributes to "Edge-Chromium" that can be cleaned", ccleaner likewise reports finding files it attributes to IE... which I don't use anymore.   Just saying.

@ky331  - MS already has way too much control over our PCs now, so why give them even more control, and possibly another route to spy on us?

I should have the right to decide what gets installed on my PC or not, not MS. I wonder if the EU allows them to force-feed Edge-Chromium on users, the way MS is doing it here. When the latest MS update was installed, Edge-Chromium got installed too, and was pinned to my taskbar, totally without permission. That's just not acceptable.

And yes, I know that ccleaner finds IE temp files too, even though I don't use IE11 anymore. So who needs yet another MS app doing the same?

I'm glad you're happy with Edge-Chromium, but you made that decision yourself, not MS. Firefox works fine on my PC and that's all I need/want.

Final thoughts:

Can Windows Chromium Edge (or any other browser, for that matter) really impact our computers if we choose to use another browser as default? I can't answer this question.

I hate any software I don't want or explicitly authorize installed and running, whether I use it or not.