this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2026
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Microsoft has apparently found the free time to build a standalone app whose only job is switching your default search engine to Bing across every browser on your PC. It is not force-installed through Windows Update yet, and it is not available in the Microsoft Store either. It is a standalone executable hosted on Microsoft’s official download servers, and we wonder why it even exists.

The app is called Microsoft Recommended Search Settings, and once installed, it prompts you to add extensions to all your installed browsers, which does the job of switching to the Bing homepage experience. After finishing installation, you also get redirected to the Microsoft Rewards page, which is basically a bribe for switching.

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[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 minute ago* (last edited 1 minute ago)

Calm down guys, it's just some random exe on their server they made sometime in history.

Maybe they wanted to push it, but then reconsidered. Maybe the fines would have been larger than the revenue from this move or whatever. It's how those megacorps work (and why they shouldn't exist).

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago

I do not understand Linux. I do not understand terminal. Logically I should be using the more popular, easier to understand, financially backed operating system. The pattern used to be 1 bad windows release then 1 good release. XP was good, Vista was bad. 7 was good, 8 was bad. So I expected 10 to be good. And it just wasn't. And the thing is, it never got back to how amazing XP was for it's time. 7 was good, but it felt lacking. It should have been better. I didn't switch from XP until the very end. And then I think I went another year or two unsupported. Until finally that PC died, and then I bought a Windows 7 PC almost into the days of Windows 10. And used that until 2023. I still use the PC hardware, but now I have ZorinOS. Which is fine. I almost know how to do things after 2 years. I still can't figure out installing Audacious. Keeps telling me the package requires dependancies, but won't install them. But day to day browsing, and various other tasks I get by reasonably well enough.

So you'd think I should have stuck with windows, but FUCK THAT SHIT!!! I will pay for a good operating system. I don't care about the money. What I care for is a minimalist UI, with a start button and a task bar. Clock in the lower right, along with a shortcut to various other toggles, like bluetooth, wifi, display settings, ect. and next to the start button should be 3 shortcut program buttons. Right now I only have two. Firefox and the file manager. I need to right click the taskbar to have a context menu to give the option to start the task manager.

Zorin has all of that. It's been two years, so I don't remember how much of this I customized. I know for the first month I STRUGGLED. Then I finally got things the way I like. I know my current task bar is a mod. My setup feels very Modern day Windows XP. Except instead of "Start", my start button says "Fuck", because it makes me giggle that I can do that. All in all, I feel functional in someone elses home. You know when you stay with your friend on the other side of the country? And you're there for like 2 weeks, and by day 10 it starts feeling like you kinda sorta know your way around everything in the house? But maybe you don't know how to work the stereo system to work with the TV. So you just watch it with the TV speakers. That's how I feel with Linux. I can get things done, but I don't feel at home.

So when I see microsoft headlines like this, where it's just straight up bullshit, I feel bad for those who still use windows. Then suddenly Linux starts to feel a lot more like home than Windows does these days. So good job Microsoft. You legitimately drove me away as a customer, and continued to keep me at bay simply by existing as you currently are.

[–] stevles@aussie.zone 3 points 1 hour ago

Micro$lop doing more anticompetitive monopoly tactics? Why I never!

[–] ekZepp@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago

Laughing in Firefox's Forks on my Linux distro.

[–] green_goglin@thelemmy.club 1 points 1 hour ago

Microslop does a Microslop more at 11

[–] snausagesinablanket@lemmy.world 17 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

We Are Microsoft.

You Will Be Assimilated.

Resistance Is Futile.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 9 points 3 hours ago

This sign won't stop me because penguins can't read.

[–] goatinspace@feddit.org 20 points 4 hours ago
[–] cannedtuna@lemmy.world 15 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah I feel like this is getting close to violating anti trust laws like when they got into trouble with Microsoft Explorer.

[–] Eldritch@piefed.world 10 points 4 hours ago

They didn't really get into trouble though. George Bush said it was cool. And Bill went partying with Epstein to celebrate.

[–] yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca 7 points 5 hours ago

lmfao, they really don't know how to stop failing, i see

[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 hours ago

I clicked uninstall on Windows years ago.

[–] PiraHxCx@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 hours ago

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