Download Internet Explorer 8 Blocker Toolkit 1.0

Microsoft is already busy preparing for the launch of Internet Explorer 8. As with the previous release, version 8 will be available from Microsoft’s download pages and also distributed as a critical update via the update function. As a result, Windows systems will install this update by default when the automatic update feature is run. For corporate environments, however, this can sometimes cause unexpected problems, for example when a certain intranet application does not work properly with this new browser. Often one will first have to test the various intranet applications with Internet Explorer 8 before they can be rolled out in the entire company. Therefore, the developers of Microsoft have released the Internet Explorer 8 Blocker Toolkit, which allows you to prevent this critical update from being shown or installed by the automatic update feature. The toolkit announcement looks like this:

IE8 Blocker Toolkit Available Today!

We believe IE8 helps make browsing the web faster, easier, safer and more reliable. To help our users be more secure and up-to-date, we will distribute IE8 via Automatic Update (AU) and the Windows Update (WU) and Microsoft Update (MU) sites much like we did for IE7. We know that in a corporate environment, the IT organization will often want to delay the introduction of a new browser until they have tested compatibility with internal applications and sites. We’ve done a lot of work in IE8 to maintain compatibility with sites designed for Internet Explorer 7, for example compatibility view and the compatibility meta tag. However we know many IT organizations will still want to test the browser before it is deployed. To help prevent users from installing IE8 through Automatic Update before compatibility testing has been completed, we are providing the IE8 Blocker Toolkit. This toolkit has no expiration date and can be configured either by running the registry file on the client machines or via Group Policy in domain joined environments. The Blocker Toolkit is available today from the Microsoft Download Center.

IE8 will be available for users on the following platforms:

• Windows Vista 32bit and 64bit,
• Windows XP SP2 and above,
• Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 SP2 and above

The IE8 update will be released as the highest priority update for each operating system. For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, it will be listed as Important. For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, the update will be listed as High Priority. Delivery of IE8 via AU will begin after we make IE8 available from the Microsoft Download Center. Of course, users can always decline to install IE8 through AU when it is offered. More information for IT Professionals about IE8 delivery via AU is available here.

If you previously used the IE7 Blocker toolkit to block IE7 from being offered as a high-priority update, you will need to run the IE8 version of the Blocker Toolkit to block IE8 from being offered via AU. There are different registry keys used to block or unblock automatic delivery of IE7 and IE8. If you configure the IE8 Blocker Toolkit setting to prevent users from installing IE8 via WU/AU, IE8 will not appear in the list of available high priority or important updates. We believe this approach strikes a good balance by helping customers become more secure and letting organizations control when they are ready to deploy IE8 to their users. Note: The IE8 Blocker toolkit will not block the final version of IE8 being offered to users who already have pre-released versions of IE8 installed on their machine. Also, the IE8 Blocker toolkit will not prevent users from manually installing IE8 from the Microsoft Download Center.

Organizations that use an update management solution such as Windows Server Update Services or Systems Management Server 2003 do not need to deploy the Blocker Toolkit. Windows Server Update Services and Systems Management Server 2003 allow organizations to fully manage deployment of updates released through WU and MU, including IE8. For more information about the IE8 Blocker Toolkit, check out this link.[break]