Edge (chromium) creates widevinecdm diretory and downloads widevinecdm.dll on startup

Question

I started getting messages from Norton that widevinecdm.dll was safe, and that it was published by Google. Upon investigation, I found it was being downloaded at system startup and Edge shutdown. Adjusting Edge settings, widevinecdm is loaded when Edge starts. There is no direct mention of widevinecdm in the registry. Why would Edge load widevinecdm on startup? How do I permanently prevent widevinecdm from loading on my system? Why would Edge download ANY executable module without notifying the user? Other browsers (Firefox, Brave) do not show this behavior.

I've seen confusing articles on the Internet, some claiming widevinecdm.dll is safe and allows for playing of DRM protected videos, while others claim widevinecdm is a virus. Other browsers are able to play protected videos without widevinecdm, while Edge force-loads widevinecdm on startup before any attempt is made to play video.

Basically, I as a user should be notified and allowed to prevent ANY executable files from downloading onto my systems. I don't want ANY Google content on my system, certainly not anything executable. I don't use any of their services, nor do I want to. How can I have a secure system if Edge allows executable content from third parties to download and run on my system without my knowledge or consent?

Answer 1

Hi @Johnny C

Edge load Widevine Content Decryption Module on startup because it's one of the components of Edge. You can check Edge components by navigating to edge://components/ in Edge.

You can't remove it or prevent it from loading because it's part of Edge browser. If you remove or disable it, it will make the browser not work on some functions.

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Yu Zhou