Customize the User Agent String

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

Some companies track Web site statistics, such as how many times their content is accessed and what type of Web browsers customers are using. You can track the use of your customized version of Internet Explorer® by using a user-agent string, which is sent in the header of every HTTP request so that Web server for a site can detect what type of browser is being used.

In this dialog box in Internet Explorer Maintenance (IEM), you can customize the user-agent string by adding characters to the end of the string. Customizing the user-agent string is optional, but if you decide to do this, be aware that other companies that track site statistics will see the customized string.

Note

The User Agent String setting is available in non-Preference Mode only. It is not available in Preference Mode.
For Internet Explorer 8, the value MSIE 8.0 (with a space) is used to identify browser type.

You must be a member of the Administrators group to work with IEM and Group Policy objects (GPOs).

To customize the user-agent string for Internet Explorer using IEM

  1. In IEM, expand Internet Explorer Maintenance.

  2. In the left pane, click Connection, and then in the right pane, double-click User Agent String.

  3. Select the Customize string to be appended to user agent string check box, and then in the text box type the characters that you want to use for the customized browser.

Additional references