Scripting the default browser at startup of Windows 10?

[Elliot B.]

My work laptop uses Windows 10 Professional and it seems that the GPO is making Internet Explorer 11 the default browser each time it is powered on.

 

We are free to change the default browser in Settings > Apps > Default apps but it resets back to Internet Explorer 11 upon reboot.

 

Is there a CMD script I can place in the Startup folder that changes this for me each time? (or, another solution)

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I've done a bit of searching, and for the most part it doesn't look like it's possible. People are saying that Microsoft removed the option in Windows 10 in an attempt to prevent malware from changing the default programs.

 

But I did find this .vbs script on Superuser:

Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "%windir%\system32\control.exe /name Microsoft.DefaultPrograms /page pageDefaultProgram\pageAdvancedSettings?pszAppName=google%20chrome"
WScript.Sleep 1200
WshShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WshShell.SendKeys " "
WshShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WshShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WshShell.SendKeys " "
WScript.Quit

While I would assume that you would just need to change "google%chrome" to the browser you want to set as default, I don't understand how it knows to set it as the default browser and I don't know why it sends the tabs and spaces afterwards.

 

I would say that if the company allows you to change your default browser there shouldn't be a need for the GPO to be in place to change that setting back after each session. Maybe ask your IT security team about turning that policy off?

[Elliot B.]

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:16, Nick H. said:

I've done a bit of searching, and for the most part it doesn't look like it's possible. People are saying that Microsoft removed the option in Windows 10 in an attempt to prevent malware from changing the default programs.

 

But I did find this .vbs script on Superuser:

Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "%windir%\system32\control.exe /name Microsoft.DefaultPrograms /page pageDefaultProgram\pageAdvancedSettings?pszAppName=google%20chrome"
WScript.Sleep 1200
WshShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WshShell.SendKeys " "
WshShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WshShell.SendKeys "{TAB}"
WshShell.SendKeys " "
WScript.Quit

While I would assume that you would just need to change "google%chrome" to the browser you want to set as default, I don't understand how it knows to set it as the default browser and I don't know why it sends the tabs and spaces afterwards.

 

I would say that if the company allows you to change your default browser there shouldn't be a need for the GPO to be in place to change that setting back after each session. Maybe ask your IT security team about turning that policy off?

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It's the NHS we're talking about.

My I.T. team disabled notifications system-wide when they first upgraded to Windows 10 because 'we didn't want to bombard users with notifications'.

[Danielx64]

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:16, Nick H. said:

would say that if the company allows you to change your default browser there shouldn't be a need for the GPO to be in place to change that setting back after each session. Maybe ask your IT security team about turning that policy off?

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Or better yet, stop messing around with company hardware/software configurations.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:29, Danielx64 said:

Or better yet, stop messing around with company hardware/software configurations.

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Haha, well yeah that as well.

[Elliot B.]

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:29, Danielx64 said:

Or better yet, stop messing around with company hardware/software configurations.

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What rubbish are you talking about?

They allow us to change it manually, so why not have a startup script to do it for us?

[Danielx64]

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:33, Elliot B. said:

What rubbish are you talking about?

They allow us to change it manually, so why not have a startup script to do it for us?

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If the IT department set something via GPO, they have done that for a reason. Just because they haven't disabled the option to let you change the default browser it doesn't mean that you want you to change it.

[Elliot B.]

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:36, Danielx64 said:

If the IT department set something via GPO, they have done that for a reason. Just because they haven't disabled the option to let you change the default browser it doesn't mean that you want you to change it.

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That's their issue.

 

I'm not circumventing anything by having a script change the default for me instead of me doing it manually each time.

[Steven P. Administrators]

Most require a program to achieve what you are looking for, example http://kolbi.cz/blog/2017/11/10/setdefaultbrowser-set-the-default-browser-per-user-on-windows-10-and-server-2016-build-1607/

 

What I use is called EdgeDeflector because Microsoft insists on ignoring the default browser choice inside OS dialogs and certain apps and launching Edge instead of my default Chrome preference.

[margrave]

The way I've been doing at my job since MS took away our ability to customize the default profile like we were doing, is by using DISM.

 

Set the defaults the way you want them, and then run:

 

Dism.exe /Online /Export-DefaultAppAssociations:%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\AppAssoc.xml

 

Place that XML file somewhere for use in below command. Then at login, login script, run the following:

 

Dism.exe /Online /Import-DefaultAppAssociations:"FULL PATH"\AppAssoc.xml

[Circaflex]

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:29, Danielx64 said:

Or better yet, stop messing around with company hardware/software configurations.

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This isn't the first topic like this from the OP, nor would I doubt it being the last. He's part of the reason people in IT get frustrated with users, always trying to circumvent their work. You might see something as a small change or unnecessary, but there are reasons policies are put in place. 

 

  On 23/10/2018 at 10:38, Elliot B. said:

That's their issue.

 

I'm not circumventing anything by having a script change the default for me instead of me doing it manually each time.

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I guess the better question is, why not ask them about it? There is obviously a reason they have set this, and if there isn't maybe they give you a kudos for bringing something up that shouldn't be set that way. I probably would've fired you long ago for trying to circumvent policies put in place.

[Elliot B.]

  On 25/10/2018 at 03:56, Circaflex said:

This isn't the first topic like this from the OP, nor would I doubt it being the last. He's part of the reason people in IT get frustrated with users, always trying to circumvent their work. You might see something as a small change or unnecessary, but there are reasons policies are put in place. 

 

I guess the better question is, why not ask them about it? There is obviously a reason they have set this, and if there isn't maybe they give you a kudos for bringing something up that shouldn't be set that way. I probably would've fired you long ago for trying to circumvent policies put in place.

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Oh look, it's Circaflex.

 

Thank you for the help, those of you that tried

Edited October 25, 2018 by Elliot B.