Table of Contents
Recently on Windows 11, Microsoft developed a Sandbox version for Microsoft Edge called Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
What is Application Guard?
Using Windows 10 you will probably know Windows Sandbox, the feature of creating a separate virtual environment for the system to install and test unstable or unsafe programs.
You can open untrusted, even dangerous websites in Microsoft Edge under the protection of Microsoft Defender Application Guard. Basically, you can now open suspicious websites in isolated mode. Even files you download in windows protected by Microsoft Edge Application Guard will be kept isolated from system files.
In addition to the main advantage, Microsoft Defender Application Guard is also noted for performance issues. When you use it, it will not affect the system. However, there are some hardware requirements for this, and if you see the feature option greyed out, your computer isn’t enough. It also doesn’t slow down the system and the Microsoft Defender Application Guard window opens as fast and smooth as a regular browser window. The only difference is the isolation.
How to use Microsoft Defender Application Guard
By default, Microsoft Defender Application Guard is not enabled. You will have to activate it manually when using it.
Step 1: You open Settings > Apps > Optional features > More Windows features.
Or you can enter Windows Features in the Search box to open the window Turn Windows features on or off.
Step 2: In the Windows Features window, find and click on Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
(If you see the option greyed out, your computer doesn’t meet the hardware requirements.)
Windows will download the necessary updates and will ask you to restart your computer. You press Restart now to restart the computer immediately.
Step 3: Go back to Windows, open Microsoft Edge > press the three-dot menu button to see a new option that is New Application Guard window.
You click to open a new browsing window, but more specifically when it is independent of the system.
Application Guard’s browsing window is the same as regular Microsoft Edge, only it has the Application Guard icon on the browser toolbar and on the Edge icon in the taskbar. This is a sign that you are browsing the web in Application Guard.
Browsing the web in Application Guard is also normal, but when downloading files, they will be saved in a separate, isolated, separate place. You can find it in C:UsersWDAGUtilityAccountDownloads.
Thus, with the Microsoft Defender Application Guard feature, you can comfortably browse the web anywhere without fear of danger even if the Microsoft Edge browser has vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, the feature is hardware limited and only supports Microsoft Edge.
Note: Microsoft Defender Application Guard is not a new feature because it is already available on Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge Legacy, supports Chrome, Firefox. The way to activate and use it is the same as on Windows 11.
