Administrator Mode - Implications on Security, Performance or what?

[davidenco]

Edge is the only browser that has ever informed me about not using it as an Administrator. Other browsers, including Chrome Canary (v78) do not mention anything about running as an Administrator, yet Edge is special it seems.

The popup in Edge is misleading; it suggests running Edge in non-Administrator mode for best performance (no mention of security) but then other websites suggest it is actually a security issue. What exactly is the reason?

Surely if this is such a bad idea then the popup would not be so low-key and carry more justifications as to why one should not be running in Administrator mode? Also, why do no other browsers, including Chrome Canary/Dev stipulate the same warning?

We don't run in non-Administrator mode because UAC is restrictive and certain legacy applications we're running do not support UAC. I'm sure we are not the only ones too. Edge should make exceptions for those of us who have little choice but to run in Administrator mode, such as an option to disable the warning. I don't see the need to keep reminding us we are running in Administrator mode - a single warning should suffice, or at the very least a single warning for the duration of the logged-in user's session.

[#2]

Well, I think Edge is aiming to be a security-oriented browser (unlike Chrome), and that's why it's ideal for Edge to remind people to follow best practices with regards to security. Perhaps they're mentioning performance rather than security in order to draw people's attention to it without alarming them too much? Not sure why it would be a performance issue rather than a security one.

I think there should be at least one prompt reminding people that it's a risky practice, but if you're getting recurring prompts throughout the browsing session that could be an issue.