Just yesterday, Microsoft released the new Edge version 115. Now, they have also released the Security Baseline for Edge. Security baselines are Microsoft-recommended configuration settings that add an additional layer of security to your environment.
As per the official announcement, no further security policy enforcement is required at the moment and the Security Baseline for Edge version 114 is still valid. However, this baseline includes 9 new computer settings and 9 new user settings, which are discussed further in this post.
On this page
What is a Security Baseline
Microsoft describes security baselines as follows:
A security baseline is a group of Microsoft-recommended configuration settings that explains their security impact.
MICROSOFT
Security baselines are a set of additional configurations which give IT professionals more control over their current environment. These new controls are policies that they can configure according to their business and network requirements.
Edge security baselines give granular control of various security aspects to the experts to mold their policies as they want to. Since each individual or organization has different security requirements, these additional policies are configurable accordingly.
Download and install Security Baseline for Edge 115
Use the guide below to download and install the new Security Baseline for Microsoft Edge version 115:
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Open the page for Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit 1.0 and click “Download.”
Download Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit -
Select “Microsoft Edge v114 Security Baseline.zip” and click Next.
Select Microsoft Edge 114 Security Baseline to download Your download will then begin.
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Extract the downloaded file.
Extract the downloaded Security Baseline files -
Navigate to the following location within the extracted folder:
Microsoft Edge v114 Security Baseline >> Scripts
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Right-click “Baseline-LocalInstall” and click “Run with powershell.”
Begin Edge Security Baseline installation To run the baseline for Active Directory, you should run the Baseline-ADImport script instead.
The script will now run automatically. Wait for the PowerShell window to close on its own, and the security baseline for Microsoft Edge 115 will now be installed.
New in Edge 115 Security Baseline
The new settings included in this release of Security Baseline for Microsoft Edge 115 are listed in this table:
| Security Setting For | Details | Location within Windows Registry |
| Machine | Microsoft Edge management enabled | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EdgeManagementEnabled |
| Machine | Microsoft Edge management enrollment token | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EdgeManagementEnrollmentToken |
| Machine | Microsoft Edge management extensions feedback enabled | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EdgeManagementExtensionsFeedbackEnabled |
| Machine | Compose is enabled for writing on the web | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!ComposeInlineEnabled |
| Machine | Manage the indicator UI of the Enhanced Security Mode (ESM) feature in Microsoft Edge | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EnhanceSecurityModeIndicatorUIEnabled |
| Machine | Manage opt-out user experience for Enhanced Security Mode (ESM) in Microsoft Edge | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EnhanceSecurityModeOptOutUXEnabled |
| Machine | Search for images enabled | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!SearchForImageEnabled |
| Machine | Wallet Donation Enabled | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!WalletDonationEnabled |
| Machine | Wallet Donation Enabled | HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\Recommended!WalletDonationEnabled |
| User | Microsoft Edge management enabled | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EdgeManagementEnabled |
| User | Microsoft Edge management enrollment token | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EdgeManagementEnrollmentToken |
| User | Microsoft Edge management extensions feedback enabled | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EdgeManagementExtensionsFeedbackEnabled |
| User | Compose is enabled for writing on the web | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!ComposeInlineEnabled |
| User | Manage the indicator UI of the Enhanced Security Mode (ESM) feature in Microsoft Edge | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EnhanceSecurityModeIndicatorUIEnabled |
| User | Manage opt-out user experience for Enhanced Security Mode (ESM) in Microsoft Edge | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!EnhanceSecurityModeOptOutUXEnabled |
| User | Search for images enabled | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!SearchForImageEnabled |
| User | Wallet Donation Enabled | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge!WalletDonationEnabled |
| User | Wallet Donation Enabled | HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\Recommended!WalletDonationEnabled |
To read more in detail about the new settings in Edge 115 Security Baseline, click on the link below to download the detailed Excel sheet:
Download Microsoft Edge v115 Security Baseline settings.xlsx
Who should install a Security Baseline
Not everyone who owns a Windows computer needs to install these baselines. If you are on a home computer and use it to play games, browse websites online and perform no work activities, you probably do not need to install this Edge security baseline.
However, if you put in your financial or Personal Identification Information (PII), or perform confidential tasks online, you can use the security baselines to make your system and your information more secure.
Ending words
Online threats are constantly evolving, and the stock security policies in Windows can take a lot of time to learn and configure. Therefore, security baselines can be installed to protect your devices from potential threats and maintain your system’s integrity.
The new security policies in the Security Baseline for Edge 115 configure online policies to protect your data as well as your identity while surfing the web. Therefore, it is advised that you install it for an added layer of security.
