Removal of Internet Explorer
Encyclopedia
Internet Explorer removal has changed over its version history, but the nature of many of its upgrades and installation methods have been a matter of public interest. The first version to be included was version 2
with Windows 95
in late 1996. Later, users who upgraded to IE3 (which came out in 1996), could still use the last IE, because the installation converted the previous version to separate directory.
However, Internet Explorer 4 created a controversy with its shell integration with Windows Explorer
, and with later versions removal (or inability to do so) became more complicated. The idea of removing Internet Explorer
from a Microsoft Windows
operating system
was proposed during the United States v. Microsoft
case. Later, some security advocates took up the idea as a way to protect Windows systems from attack via IE vulnerabilities. By the release of Internet Explorer 7
, some of the shell integration began being reduced, such as changing ActiveX
hosting and a different look than Windows Explorer.
As of build 7048 of Windows 7, Microsoft added the ability to safely remove Internet Explorer from Windows. Dependencies such as the Trident layout engine are not removed through this process, but the Internet Explorer executable (iexplore.exe) is removed without harming any other Windows components, thus preventing Internet Explorer itself from running. It was proposed that a special version of Windows 7, Windows 7 E, would be shipped without Internet Explorer in Europe as a result of EU antitrust investigations against Microsoft. However, in July 2009, Microsoft cancelled the Windows 7 E editions due to negative reactions from computer manufacturers.
The idea of removing a stock install of Internet Explorer from a Windows system was proposed during the United States v. Microsoft
case, and Microsoft themselves acknowledged that many users did not want IE. One of Microsoft's arguments during the trial, however, was that removing Internet Explorer from Windows may result in system instability.
The Australian computer scientist Shane Brooks demonstrated that Windows 98 could in fact run with Internet Explorer removed. Brooks made his work available as a freeware removal utility called IEradicator, which removes all versions of IE from all versions of Windows 9x. Another programmer named Bruce Jensen published a similar utility called "Revenge of Mozilla." Shane Brooks went on to develop more a more sophisticated program for Windows 98 and ME, marketed as 98lite
, which turns IE, along with several other "mandatory" Windows components, into optional components that can be added or removed from the OS at will. He later created XPLite
, which renders many parts of Windows 2000 and XP into optional components. Both of Brooks's programs can remove IE after the installation of the operating system.
There are other methods of removing IE based on modifying the Windows installation process so that IE is never installed in the first place. 98lite
can be used in this way. A method developed by Fred Vorck manually alters the setup scripts for Windows 2000 to prevent the installation of IE. His process has been automated as a feature of HFSLIP
. nLite
and HFSLIP
are automated programs that allow users to modify the Windows installation process, both to incorporate patches and updates and to exclude IE and many other Windows components from installation as desired.
Removing Internet Explorer does have a number of consequences. Some programs bundled with Windows, such as Outlook Express, and some basic Windows components, such as Help and Support, depend on libraries installed by IE in order to function. With IE removed, they may fail to work, or exhibit unexpected behavior. Several common 3rd party applications, Intuit's Quicken
being a typical example, depend heavily upon the HTML
rendering components installed by the browser. For this reason, most of the IE removal utilities offer the compromise option of removing large parts of IE while still leaving behind the HTML rendering engine or "IE core," which allows many of these 3rd party applications to function normally. Also, in versions of Windows before Vista
, it is also not possible to run Microsoft's Windows Update
or Microsoft Update with any other browser due to the service's implementation of an ActiveX
control, which no other browser supports. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, Windows Update
is implemented as a Control Panel
applet.
or the Windows Help subsystem. However, removing the IE libraries will cause these programs, and other software which depends upon them, to cease functioning or even to crash the system.
name for the Web-browsing and HTML-displaying capacities of the Windows operating system. In this view, the result of removing IE is simply a damaged Windows system; to have a working system without IE one must replace Windows entirely.
In contrast, some programmers and security writers have held that it is possible to have a useful and working Windows system with IE excised, that is, without Microsoft's implementation of web browsing and HTML viewing. These people include consultant Fred Vorck, who advocates that consumers should have the choice to remove "integrated" features of Microsoft Windows and participates in the HFSLIP
project; Dino Nuhagic, who is the creator of nLite
— a product that allows users to remove Windows components like Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player
, amongst others; and Shane Brooks, who created 98lite
and XPLite
to remove and manage Windows components after the installation of the operating system. Some people have suggested the use of alternative browsers instead of Internet Explorer, to try reduce the risk of vulnerabilities.
Methods have been developed by these programmers and others to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 95 after installing, as well as before install time. Removing Internet Explorer from Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 is also possible at installation time.
trial was that removing Internet Explorer from Windows may result in system instability. At least one commentator supported this argument, and noted that removing Internet Explorer would also disable Windows Update
, leaving the user without vital security updates to the operating system. Almost all Windows Updates can be downloaded from Microsoft
's homepage
independent of the operating system
or web browser
used.
When removing Internet Explorer prior to Windows installation using nLite
, there is a distinction between removing Internet Explorer and Internet Explorer Core. If the latter is not removed, core components needed for displaying HTML help files and other operating system tasks are not removed, but the web browser is removed from the system.
While the dominant market position of Windows and Internet Explorer may cause these arguments to appear insubstantial, this arrangement is not unique to Windows. Safari
, the default browser on Mac OS X
, is similarly integrated into the operating system. While it is possible to delete the application itself without problem, Safari is in fact merely a front-end for Apple's open source
WebKit
framework, which is heavily integrated into the operating system and cannot be removed. However, certain other browsers available for use on the operating system are also built on WebKit, and WebKit can also be used in other operating systems. By contrast, the closed source Internet Explorer core can only be utilized by Internet Explorer, as well as Internet Explorer shell
s, in Windows.
Internet Explorer 2
Microsoft Internet Explorer 2 is a graphical web browser released on November 22, 1995 by Microsoft for Windows 95 and Windows NT and in April 1996 for Apple Macintosh and Windows 3.1....
with Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
in late 1996. Later, users who upgraded to IE3 (which came out in 1996), could still use the last IE, because the installation converted the previous version to separate directory.
However, Internet Explorer 4 created a controversy with its shell integration with Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer
This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows Explorer is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface...
, and with later versions removal (or inability to do so) became more complicated. The idea of removing Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
from a Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
was proposed during the United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
case. Later, some security advocates took up the idea as a way to protect Windows systems from attack via IE vulnerabilities. By the release of Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 7
Windows Internet Explorer 7 is a web browser released by Microsoft in October 2006. Internet Explorer 7 is part of a long line of versions of Internet Explorer and was the first major update to the browser in more than 5 years...
, some of the shell integration began being reduced, such as changing ActiveX
ActiveX
ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality....
hosting and a different look than Windows Explorer.
As of build 7048 of Windows 7, Microsoft added the ability to safely remove Internet Explorer from Windows. Dependencies such as the Trident layout engine are not removed through this process, but the Internet Explorer executable (iexplore.exe) is removed without harming any other Windows components, thus preventing Internet Explorer itself from running. It was proposed that a special version of Windows 7, Windows 7 E, would be shipped without Internet Explorer in Europe as a result of EU antitrust investigations against Microsoft. However, in July 2009, Microsoft cancelled the Windows 7 E editions due to negative reactions from computer manufacturers.
Overview
While a major upgrade of Internet Explorer can be uninstalled in a traditional way if the user has saved the original application files for uninstallation, the matter of uninstalling the version of the browser that has shipped with an operating system remains a controversial one.The idea of removing a stock install of Internet Explorer from a Windows system was proposed during the United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
case, and Microsoft themselves acknowledged that many users did not want IE. One of Microsoft's arguments during the trial, however, was that removing Internet Explorer from Windows may result in system instability.
The Australian computer scientist Shane Brooks demonstrated that Windows 98 could in fact run with Internet Explorer removed. Brooks made his work available as a freeware removal utility called IEradicator, which removes all versions of IE from all versions of Windows 9x. Another programmer named Bruce Jensen published a similar utility called "Revenge of Mozilla." Shane Brooks went on to develop more a more sophisticated program for Windows 98 and ME, marketed as 98lite
98lite
98lite is a utility for Windows 98 and Windows Me written by Shane Brooks without Internet Explorer. Components from Windows along with several operating system components that require IE to be present. 98lite was one of the first programs to provide a method for removing Internet Explorer...
, which turns IE, along with several other "mandatory" Windows components, into optional components that can be added or removed from the OS at will. He later created XPLite
XPLite
2000-XPLite is a computer program produced by Shane Brooks based on 98lite which removes components of the Windows 98/Me operating systems that are not intended to be removable...
, which renders many parts of Windows 2000 and XP into optional components. Both of Brooks's programs can remove IE after the installation of the operating system.
There are other methods of removing IE based on modifying the Windows installation process so that IE is never installed in the first place. 98lite
98lite
98lite is a utility for Windows 98 and Windows Me written by Shane Brooks without Internet Explorer. Components from Windows along with several operating system components that require IE to be present. 98lite was one of the first programs to provide a method for removing Internet Explorer...
can be used in this way. A method developed by Fred Vorck manually alters the setup scripts for Windows 2000 to prevent the installation of IE. His process has been automated as a feature of HFSLIP
HFSLIP
HFSLIP was an open source Hotfix and Service Pack slipstreaming utility designed to update Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003 installation sources. HFSLIP could be considered a command line interface version of other GUI software like nLite. Its open source code and flexible options presented a...
. nLite
NLite
nLite and vLite are freeware applications which create customized installation CDs or DVDs for Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. nLite lets users customize and remove components from their Windows installation disc thus creating a custom version, this is...
and HFSLIP
HFSLIP
HFSLIP was an open source Hotfix and Service Pack slipstreaming utility designed to update Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003 installation sources. HFSLIP could be considered a command line interface version of other GUI software like nLite. Its open source code and flexible options presented a...
are automated programs that allow users to modify the Windows installation process, both to incorporate patches and updates and to exclude IE and many other Windows components from installation as desired.
Removing Internet Explorer does have a number of consequences. Some programs bundled with Windows, such as Outlook Express, and some basic Windows components, such as Help and Support, depend on libraries installed by IE in order to function. With IE removed, they may fail to work, or exhibit unexpected behavior. Several common 3rd party applications, Intuit's Quicken
Quicken
Quicken is a personal finance management tool developed by Intuit, Inc.Quicken runs on Windows and Macintosh systems. Previous versions ran on DOS. An online version is also available. The last version of Quicken for Macintosh computers was Quicken Essentials for Mac released in February 2010...
being a typical example, depend heavily upon the HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
rendering components installed by the browser. For this reason, most of the IE removal utilities offer the compromise option of removing large parts of IE while still leaving behind the HTML rendering engine or "IE core," which allows many of these 3rd party applications to function normally. Also, in versions of Windows before Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, it is also not possible to run Microsoft's Windows Update
Windows Update
Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft that provides updates for the Microsoft Windows operating system and its installed components, including Internet Explorer...
or Microsoft Update with any other browser due to the service's implementation of an ActiveX
ActiveX
ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality....
control, which no other browser supports. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, Windows Update
Windows Update
Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft that provides updates for the Microsoft Windows operating system and its installed components, including Internet Explorer...
is implemented as a Control Panel
Control Panel (Windows)
The Control Panel is a part of the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls via applets, such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options...
applet.
Vulnerabilities
Simply installing and using another browser does not prevent third party programs and core operating system components from using IE libraries. Thus, a user who does not use IE to browse the Web can still be targeted by attacks against vulnerabilities in these libraries—for instance, via Outlook ExpressOutlook Express
Outlook Express is an email and news client that is included with Internet Explorer versions 4.0 through 6.0. As such, it is also bundled with several versions of Microsoft Windows, from Windows 98 to Windows Server 2003, and is available for Windows 3.x, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 95 and Mac OS 9...
or the Windows Help subsystem. However, removing the IE libraries will cause these programs, and other software which depends upon them, to cease functioning or even to crash the system.
Removing
It is unclear what it means to "remove IE" because such a removal depends on being able to determine which files or functions on an installed Windows system are part of IE — that is, to draw a line between IE and the rest of Windows. Microsoft has held that this is not meaningful; that in Windows 98 and newer versions, "Internet Explorer" is not a separate piece of software but simply a brandBrand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
name for the Web-browsing and HTML-displaying capacities of the Windows operating system. In this view, the result of removing IE is simply a damaged Windows system; to have a working system without IE one must replace Windows entirely.
In contrast, some programmers and security writers have held that it is possible to have a useful and working Windows system with IE excised, that is, without Microsoft's implementation of web browsing and HTML viewing. These people include consultant Fred Vorck, who advocates that consumers should have the choice to remove "integrated" features of Microsoft Windows and participates in the HFSLIP
HFSLIP
HFSLIP was an open source Hotfix and Service Pack slipstreaming utility designed to update Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003 installation sources. HFSLIP could be considered a command line interface version of other GUI software like nLite. Its open source code and flexible options presented a...
project; Dino Nuhagic, who is the creator of nLite
NLite
nLite and vLite are freeware applications which create customized installation CDs or DVDs for Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. nLite lets users customize and remove components from their Windows installation disc thus creating a custom version, this is...
— a product that allows users to remove Windows components like Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
, amongst others; and Shane Brooks, who created 98lite
98lite
98lite is a utility for Windows 98 and Windows Me written by Shane Brooks without Internet Explorer. Components from Windows along with several operating system components that require IE to be present. 98lite was one of the first programs to provide a method for removing Internet Explorer...
and XPLite
XPLite
2000-XPLite is a computer program produced by Shane Brooks based on 98lite which removes components of the Windows 98/Me operating systems that are not intended to be removable...
to remove and manage Windows components after the installation of the operating system. Some people have suggested the use of alternative browsers instead of Internet Explorer, to try reduce the risk of vulnerabilities.
Methods have been developed by these programmers and others to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 95 after installing, as well as before install time. Removing Internet Explorer from Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 is also possible at installation time.
Conflicts
One of Microsoft's arguments during the United States v. MicrosoftUnited States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
trial was that removing Internet Explorer from Windows may result in system instability. At least one commentator supported this argument, and noted that removing Internet Explorer would also disable Windows Update
Windows Update
Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft that provides updates for the Microsoft Windows operating system and its installed components, including Internet Explorer...
, leaving the user without vital security updates to the operating system. Almost all Windows Updates can be downloaded from Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's homepage
Homepage
A home page or homepage has various related meanings to do with web sites:* It most often refers to the initial or main web page of a web site, sometimes called the front page ....
independent of the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
or web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
used.
When removing Internet Explorer prior to Windows installation using nLite
NLite
nLite and vLite are freeware applications which create customized installation CDs or DVDs for Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. nLite lets users customize and remove components from their Windows installation disc thus creating a custom version, this is...
, there is a distinction between removing Internet Explorer and Internet Explorer Core. If the latter is not removed, core components needed for displaying HTML help files and other operating system tasks are not removed, but the web browser is removed from the system.
While the dominant market position of Windows and Internet Explorer may cause these arguments to appear insubstantial, this arrangement is not unique to Windows. Safari
Safari (web browser)
Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
, the default browser on Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, is similarly integrated into the operating system. While it is possible to delete the application itself without problem, Safari is in fact merely a front-end for Apple's open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
WebKit
WebKit
WebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
framework, which is heavily integrated into the operating system and cannot be removed. However, certain other browsers available for use on the operating system are also built on WebKit, and WebKit can also be used in other operating systems. By contrast, the closed source Internet Explorer core can only be utilized by Internet Explorer, as well as Internet Explorer shell
Internet Explorer shell
An Internet Explorer shell is any computer software that uses the Trident rendering engine of the Internet Explorer web browser. Although the term "Trident shell" is probably more accurate for describing these applications , the term "Internet Explorer shell", or "IE shell", is in common parlance...
s, in Windows.