Download the IE8 RTW Blocker Toolkit

Internet Explorer 8 has yet to be released to web, but Microsoft is already offering resources designed to block automatic upgrades of the browser served through its Windows Update infrastructure. The Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 8 went live on the Microsoft Download Center on January 5, 2009, and, just as its counterpart for Internet Explorer 8, is capable of disabling the automatic delivery of IE8 RTW bits via Automatic Updates, Windows Update, and Microsoft Update.

Following the standalone release of IE8, Microsoft plans to offer automatically upgrades to IE users running all supported versions of Windows clients and server platforms minus Windows 7 through AU, WU, and MU. IE Program Manager Jane Maliouta explained that there was a way to block Internet Explorer 8 from being automatically installed, with the help of the IE8 RTW Blocker Toolkit.

“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,” Maliouta stated.

“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.”

Microsoft already went through this process, as IE7, IE8's precursor, was also released as a high-priority update through AU, WU, and MU. In this regard, Microsoft also offered an IE7 Blocker Toolkit, which prevented the installation of Internet Explorer 7. Maliouta indicated that the IE7 Blocker Toolkit would only block IE7 and not IE8. As such, users will need to download and deploy the latest version of the Blocker Toolkit, in order to fend off automatic installations of IE8.

“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. 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,” Maliouta added.

The Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 8 is available for download here.

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 2 is available for download here.