14 DAY TRIAL // A new update to Internet Explorer is designed to make it as easy as possible for users to update their browser add-ons.
Microsoft packaged a refresh for the Internet Explorer Upgrade Advisor list along with the August 2010 cumulative security update for Internet Explorer.
The move is designed to help IE users keep up to date with the latest version releases for the add-ons they are using to extend the browser.
Of course, the update for the IE Upgrade Advisor is already live on Windows Update, and some users might have even already installed it.
In this context, Microsoft offered information about the modifications brought to the manner in which customers running IE will be able to update the extensions for the browsers.
“It’s important to update users to the new versions of these add-ons so they can benefit from improved stability and compatibility. Today we released an updated Upgrade Advisor list with IE’s Cumulative Security Updates to help users do just that,” revealed Herman Ng, IE Program Manager.
A number of users will be able to see the new behavior from IE, provided that they are running certain add-ons.
According to Microsoft, customers using IE with the following add-ons AOL Toolbar, Ask Toolbar, BuySafe Shopping Advisor Toolbar, Comcast Toolbar, Quero Toolbar, XFinity Toolbar, and Yandex.Bar will see a dialog box asking them to update.
As you can see from the screenshot on the left, IE users are presented three options by the IE management window:
“Option 1: Check online for an update
When the user selects this option or closes the dialog without making a choice, the dialog box is dismissed and a web page is displayed in a new window that runs in No Add-ons Mode.
The user can follow the steps in this web page to install the new version of the add-on. If a link to the new version of the add-on is not provided by the vendor, or the new version does not follow the guidelines and requirements, the web page will inform the user that no update is available yet.
Option 2: Always open Internet Explorer without this add-on
When the user selects this option, Internet Explorer disables the add-on, the dialog box is dismissed, and Internet Explorer continues to launch.
Option 3: Keep using this add-on anyway
When the user selects this option, the dialog box is dismissed and Internet Explorer continues to launch with the add-on enabled until the next refresh of the Upgrade Advisor list which occurs approximately every 8 weeks,” Ng explained.
Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) RTW is available for download here (for 32-bit and 64-bit flavors of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008).
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview is available for download here.
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