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Microsoft Edge’s Enhance your security on the web feature reduces the risk of browser attacks that exploit memory-related vulnerabilities. It does this by disabling JavaScript just-in-time (JIT) compilation and enabling additional operating-system protections, including Hardware-enforced Stack Protection and Arbitrary Code Guard (ACG), according to Microsoft Support.
It is a risk-reduction layer, not a guarantee that every malicious site, phishing message, malware download or unsafe decision will be stopped. Its practical effect depends on whether you choose Balanced or Strict, and some sites can lose functionality when the stronger protections are applied.
What Edge enhanced security actually changes
Enhanced security changes how Edge handles web content that could be used to exploit the browser itself. Microsoft describes the feature as protection against memory-related vulnerabilities, a class of bugs attackers may use to corrupt memory and gain control of a browser process. The feature is designed to make those attacks harder, rather than to decide whether every page, download or message is trustworthy.
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JavaScript JIT compilation is disabled
Modern browsers normally use just-in-time compilation to turn frequently executed JavaScript into optimized machine code while a page is running. Edge’s enhanced-security mode disables that JIT path. This removes one performance-oriented code-generation mechanism that can be involved in memory-exploitation chains. JavaScript does not disappear from the web: pages can still run scripts, but they run without that JIT compilation path when enhanced security is applied.
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Additional Windows mitigations are enabled
Microsoft also says Edge enables operating-system protections including Hardware-enforced Stack Protection and Arbitrary Code Guard (ACG). These mitigations add constraints around how browser code executes and how memory can be used during an attack. They work underneath the page, so a site does not need to advertise that it supports them.
The protection is adaptive in Balanced mode
Enhanced security does not necessarily apply to every site in the same way. In Balanced mode, Edge applies the added protections to sites you visit infrequently or that it does not recognize as familiar. Frequently visited sites are left out of the stricter treatment, and Microsoft says most sites should work as expected. Edge can adapt this behavior as your browsing habits change.
That adaptive design is a compatibility compromise: unfamiliar sites receive more scrutiny without forcing the strongest settings on every site you use daily. It should not be interpreted as a reputation verdict. A familiar site can still be compromised, and an unfamiliar site is not automatically malicious.
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Edge presents three choices. The important difference is how broadly the memory protections are applied and how much site troubleshooting you are prepared to do. Microsoft documents these behaviors in its feature guidance.
| Mode | Where enhanced protections apply | Compatibility expectation | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off | Enhanced security is not applied by this feature. | Sites are not affected by this feature’s extra restrictions. | Use only when you have a specific compatibility reason or are testing whether the setting caused a problem. Other Edge protections remain separate settings. |
| Balanced | Added protections focus on unfamiliar or infrequently visited sites. Frequently visited sites are generally excluded. | Microsoft says most sites should work as expected. | A practical starting point for everyday browsing when you want additional protection without managing exceptions for every site. |
| Strict | Added protections apply to all visited sites by default. | Some site parts may not work as expected, and normal web tasks can be affected. | Choose it when broad coverage is more important than convenience and you can handle per-site exceptions or troubleshooting. |
Neither Balanced nor Strict promises that a site is safe. Strict increases the number of sites receiving the memory-hardening measures; it does not turn Edge into a complete phishing, malware or privacy-control system.
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How to enable and manage the setting
- Open Microsoft Edge and select the Settings and more menu (the three dots).
- Open Settings, then select Privacy, search, and services.
- Scroll to the Security section.
- Turn on Enhance your security on the web.
- Choose Balanced or Strict. If the control is already enabled, confirm which mode is selected rather than assuming the initial state.
Microsoft notes that the setting may appear enabled by default for some users as the feature continues to be developed and tested. The mode and site controls visible in your current Edge installation are the reliable indication of what is active.
Set a permanent preference for a site
Edge supports site preferences that always apply enhanced security to a site or never apply it to a site. This lets you keep Strict globally while making a deliberate exception for a web application that cannot function with the added restrictions, or apply enhanced security to a particular site while using Balanced elsewhere.
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Use the address-bar control for the current site
When you are on a site, the address bar can show an Added security control. Use it to switch enhanced security on or off for that site. Microsoft says that turning the feature off from this control automatically adds the site to an exception list, so the change persists instead of silently reverting on the next visit. Review the exception later if you no longer need it.
Why a website may stop working
Strict mode changes browser behavior for every site, so incompatibilities are possible even when a page is legitimate. A failure can affect only one component: a sign-in widget, a document editor, a payment screen, a video player, a browser-based development tool or another script-heavy feature. The fact that one part of a page fails does not by itself prove that the site is dangerous.
A practical troubleshooting sequence
- Identify the affected site and function. Note whether the whole page is blank or only one feature, such as sign-in, file upload or checkout.
- Check the address bar. If Added security is shown, temporarily switch enhanced security off for the current site and reload. Edge records that choice as an exception.
- Retest the task. If the feature works with the exception, the enhanced-security restriction is a likely cause. If it still fails, investigate the site, network or account separately.
- Choose the narrowest lasting change. Keep Strict for other sites and retain a site-specific exception, or move to Balanced if many unrelated sites require exceptions.
- Remove stale exceptions. When the site is updated and works normally again, delete its exception so enhanced security can apply.
Microsoft does not publish a comprehensive compatibility list or a guarantee that a particular site will work in either mode. Treat exceptions as a configuration decision: you are reducing one layer of protection for that site to restore a needed function.
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What enhanced security helps protect against
| Threat or failure mode | What the feature establishes |
|---|---|
| Memory-exploitation bugs in the browser or renderer | This is the feature’s stated purpose. Disabling JIT and adding operating-system mitigations can reduce attack risk. |
| An exploit delivered by a web page | The added mitigations may make exploitation harder when the attack depends on the protected memory and code-execution paths. They do not establish that the page itself is benign. |
| Every known or future browser vulnerability | Not established. The feature reduces risk; it cannot promise that all vulnerabilities will be blocked. |
Microsoft’s wording is deliberately narrower than “blocks attacks.” The documentation does not provide a feature-specific prevention rate, laboratory success percentage or number of attacks stopped.
What it does not protect against
Phishing and deceptive websites
Enhanced security is not Microsoft’s phishing-warning system. Microsoft describes Defender SmartScreen separately as an early-warning system for phishing and malware sites, with reputation-based protection for URLs and apps. Keep the distinction clear: enhanced security hardens browser execution; SmartScreen evaluates reputation and warns about known or suspected threats. See Microsoft’s overview of Edge security features.
Malicious downloads and unsafe files
A hardened browser process does not make every downloaded file safe. Enhanced security does not claim to scan all files, judge whether an attachment is appropriate for you, or undo a decision to open a dangerous program. SmartScreen and device security controls address different parts of that problem.
Tracking and third-party data collection
Enhanced security is not a privacy setting. Edge’s Tracking prevention feature has its own levels and exceptions, documented separately by Microsoft at Tracking prevention in Microsoft Edge. Changing enhanced security does not select a Tracking prevention level, and changing Tracking prevention does not enable the memory mitigations described here.
Compromised accounts and unsafe decisions
The feature cannot tell whether a password is reused, whether a message is a social-engineering attempt, or whether you intended to authorize a transaction. It also cannot repair a compromised account or protect a device that is already controlled by malware. Those risks require account, device and organizational security measures in addition to browser settings.
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How it fits with Edge’s other security controls
Think of Edge security as several layers with different jobs. Enhanced security addresses browser exploitation. SmartScreen provides reputation and warning signals for phishing and malware. Tracking prevention limits certain forms of cross-site tracking. Microsoft’s secure-browsing guidance also discusses connection indicators and other habits for evaluating a site.
Because the layers are independent, turning on enhanced security does not make it safe to ignore an address-bar warning, bypass a SmartScreen alert, approve an unexpected sign-in request or open an untrusted download. Conversely, a site that passes SmartScreen can still contain a browser exploit, which is why execution hardening has a separate role.
Which mode should you choose?
Choose Balanced for ordinary mixed browsing
Balanced is the least disruptive enabled mode. It concentrates the added protections on sites Edge considers unfamiliar or infrequently visited while leaving frequently visited sites out of the stricter treatment. For a personal computer used for news, shopping, work and occasional new sites, this is a reasonable default when you want additional mitigation without routinely managing exceptions.
Choose Strict when coverage matters more than convenience
Strict applies the protections to every visited site by default. It is appropriate when you accept that a page may need an exception and you are willing to test or reconfigure web applications. Start with the sites you use most often, because those are the places where incompatibility will be noticed first.
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Use Off only for a defined compatibility reason
Turning the feature off removes this particular hardening layer globally. If only one site is affected, a site-specific exception is narrower than disabling the feature for all browsing. If many essential sites fail under Strict and Balanced is still disruptive, document why you changed the setting and revisit it after the site or Edge is updated.
Performance, defaults and evidence limits
Microsoft’s current support pages do not publish a universal performance benchmark for enhanced security. They also do not publish a comprehensive list of compatible sites or a measured percentage of attacks prevented by the feature. Browser speed, battery use and compatibility can vary with the sites and scripts you use, so treat anecdotal changes on one computer as local observations rather than a guaranteed result.
Do not confuse unrelated Microsoft figures with this feature’s effectiveness. A security overview may report Password Monitor alerts, but that statistic concerns exposed passwords, not enhanced security’s memory protections.
Quick Recap
Quick checklist
- Open Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Security and verify the current mode.
- Use Balanced when you want added protection with Microsoft’s stated expectation that most sites should work normally.
- Use Strict when you accept broader coverage and possible site exceptions.
- Keep SmartScreen and Tracking prevention decisions separate from enhanced-security decisions.
- If a site breaks, test the address-bar Added security control before disabling protection globally.
- Remove exceptions that are no longer needed.
- Remember that no mode guarantees protection from phishing, malware, tracking, compromised accounts or unsafe actions.
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