Internet Explorer 7 is being delivered through Automatic Updates
Published: July 26, 2006 | Updated: November 8, 2007
To help customers become more secure and up-to-date, Microsoft is distributing Internet Explorer 7 as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates and the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites. Internet Explorer 7 will be available for users of Windows XP SP2, Windows XP 64-bit Edition, and Windows Server 2003 SP1.
This announcement provides an overview of the delivery process and options available to IT Administrators to prevent delivery of Internet Explorer 7 to their organization through Automatic Updates. Customers wishing to block the delivery of Internet Explorer 7 into their organization should have blocking measures complete by the readiness dates provided at the end of this announcement. Distribution of Internet Explore 7 by Automatic Updates will begin slowly and take several months to complete. Customers can expect to be offered the upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 at any time over the next several months. Microsoft will revise this announcement with more information in the future.
Automatic Updates Delivery Process
The automatic delivery process will notify users that an update is available and allow users to choose whether to install Internet Explorer 7. The process is described below and screenshots are included at the bottom of this page.
Automatic Updates will only offer Internet Explorer 7 to users with local administrator accounts. Automatic Updates will notify all such users (including those with Automatic Updates configured to automatically download and install updates) when Internet Explorer 7 has been downloaded and is ready to install. The notification and installation process will not start unless and until a user who is a local administrator logs on to the machine. Users who are not local administrators will not be prompted to install the update and will thus continue using Internet Explorer 6.
After clicking on the Automatic Updates notification balloon, users will see a welcome screen summarizing key features of Internet Explorer 7 and presenting three options - Install, Don’t Install, and Ask Me Later.
- If a user selects "Install": Installation of Internet Explorer 7 will not override a user’s default browser choice and will transfer the user’s previous homepage, favorites, search settings and compatible toolbars. When the user launches Internet Explorer 7, a first-run experience will be offered highlighting new features and changes.
- If a user selects "Don’t Install": The notification process will not re-prompt the user to install at a later time; however, any user who is a local administrator will be able to install Internet Explorer 7 at any time as an optional update from the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites or from the Microsoft Download Center.
- If a user selects "Ask Me Later": The install process will not proceed and Automatic Updates will start notifying the user that an update is available using the same process (notification balloon and welcome screen) within approximately 24 hours.
Internet Explorer 7 will replace Internet Explorer 6 on a user’s machine. However, users may roll back to Internet Explorer 6 by uninstalling Internet Explorer 7 via the Windows Control Panel Add/Remove Programs utility.
Note If a user has installed Internet Explorer 7 and subsequently removes it, Automatic Updates will re-offer Internet Explorer 7 to that machine using the process above in order to bring it up to date. In this case, a user need only select the "don't install" option at the welcome screen. Internet Explorer 7 will no longer be presented by Automatic Updates.
Options for Blocking Automatic Delivery
Microsoft recommends that organizations who are using Automatic Updates in their environments and wish to prevent users from automatically receiving Internet Explorer 7 take one or more of the following steps:
- Download and deploy the Internet Explorer 7 Blocker Toolkit. The non-expiring Blocker Toolkit (available from the Microsoft Download Center here) includes both a Group Policy template and a script that set a registry key to prevent Automatic Updates and the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites from offering Internet Explorer 7 as a high-priority update. (Note: The Blocker Toolkit will not prevent users who are local administrators from manually installing Internet Explorer 7 from, for example, external media or the Microsoft Download Center.)
- Deploy an update management solution that provides full control over the updates deployed to computers in your network. Microsoft offers the free Windows Server Update Services and the more advanced Systems Management Server 2003 update management products. IT Administrators using an update management solution should use the standard features of their product, rather than the Blocker Toolkit, to control Internet Explorer 7 distribution. Also available is the Blocker Toolkit: Frequently Asked Questions.
- Prevent users from running as local administrators on their computers. Users who are not local administrators will not be offered the update and can be restricted from manually installing Internet Explorer 7 (or any other application). (Click here for more information on user account management.)
- Instruct users to decline Internet Explorer 7 when Automatic Updates notifies them that the update is available to install. If the above options are not feasible for your organization, you can also instruct your users to choose “Don’t Install” when prompted by the Internet Explorer 7 welcome screen. Users will not need to take special action to receive notification, and all users will have the ability to decline installation.
Additional information on Internet Explorer 7, including a Readiness Toolkit, technical overview, in-depth feature summary, and Internet Explorer 7 download is available on the product site.
Automatic Updates Delivery Experience Screenshots
Below are example screenshots of the notification experience:
Availability of Internet Explorer 7
Distribution of Internet Explorer 7 by Automatic Updates will begin shortly after the release dates shown below, unless otherwise noted. Customers wishing to block the delivery of Internet Explorer 7 into their organization should have blocking measures complete by the Release Dates below.
Language Version of IE7 | Release Dates for distribution of Internet Explorer 7 |
|---|
English | Oct-06 |
| German, French, Spanish, Finnish, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Hebrew | Nov-06 |
| Sweden, Danish, Norwegian, Polish | Dec-07 |
Turkish, Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, ELL | Jan-07 |
*Note: Internet Explorer 7 distribution via Automatic Updates is planned for Korea and China starting in November 2007, and Japan starting in the first half of 2008.
Information Applicable to Enterprise Patch Management Solutions
Internet Explorer 7 will be distributed through Microsoft Systems Management Server and Microsoft Windows Server Update Services. Information specific to the distribution of Internet Explorer 7 through Windows Server Update Services is may be found here.
Related Links
Internet Explorer 7 Resources