Microsoft Offers Web Browser Choice To IE Users

[DaveP]

BBC News Web Link: BBC News - Microsoft offers web browser choice to IE users

While the news that a choice would be offered to users I was under the impression that it would be for Windows7 only. Also it seems to be going live a lot earlier than I had expected:

Millions of European Internet Explorer (IE) users will have the option to choose an alternative browser from 1 March, Microsoft has announced.

The software update choice will arrive automatically for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 customers, according to a blog post by Dave Heiner, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel.

[john]

Urgh, I hope there is a GPO restriction to turn that off before it turns up as an update for corporate users.

[AndyD]

Urgh, I hope there is a GPO restriction to turn that off before it turns up as an update for corporate users.

I certainly hope so otherwise a lot of corporates are going to be annoyed!

[garethedmondson]

Urgh, I hope there is a GPO restriction to turn that off before it turns up as an update for corporate users.

Heh - just about to post the same question in the window forum.

Looking for more information online...

GJE

[garethedmondson]

Here's the blog mentioned on the BBC

The Browser Choice Screen for Europe: What to Expect, When to Expect It - Microsoft On The Issues

[SYNACK]

It should be blockable through WSUS and I think that Rayflemming said eairlier that he was going to cover it on his MS UK Schools blog.

Edit: here

Yes, I'm drafting a blog post (which will go on our UK Schools blog) - and when I've got it finished, I'll pop a link here. It's likely to be next week. (Because of the sensitivities, I thought I'd better get some other people to check it for me first!)

The browser ballot screen will be available through WSUS, but of course, you would probably choose not to deploy it, assuming that you don't want every student choosing their own browser

There'll be other ways for you to manage it too, but the articles describing those aren't yet up on TechNet etc. As they are published, I'll drop a link here if others haven't already done so.

The update will not be rolled out until March, and so there is time to get things sorted. Be aware though that it will normally automatically deploy to every Windows XP/Vista/7 computer, through Windows Update, not just new ones.

[john]

Cheers for that, hope Ray gets it posted up so I can make a note to remember to block it in WSUS as I control the browser not the children

[rayfleming]

Yes, it can be blocked through WSUS - you'll see it as an update that you can then choose not to deploy. Phew!

[john]

Yes, it can be blocked through WSUS - you'll see it as an update that you can then choose not to deploy. Phew!

Thanks Ray! I am all for giving choice, but not in my system at work, at home staff and students are free to chose what they like so thats all good

On the work systems we have IE as the default but do have Firefox on the PCs as well so they do have a choice but we cannot use IE8 or any other browser than IE7 or less as the LEA webmail doesn't work with anything newer than IE7 or FF 2.6!

[localzuk]

Is there a non-WSUS method of blocking it? Not all schools have a WSUS server...

[michaelf]

So much for a March 1st rollout, this has just downloaded as a high priority update to one of my workstations. Has anyone else experienced this?

[DaveP]

Looking through WSUS I can't find this update [maybe it isn't there yet]

How could I find it if it were there?

[michaelf]

We don't have a WSUS, making this task a little more difficult for us. However in Windows Update it is listed as a high priority update:

Microsoft Browser Choice Screen Update for EEA Users of Windows XP (KB976002)
Download size: 559 KB , less than 1 minute

I have tried a couple of other workstations and it appears to come up on all of them.

[hil]

Has anyone stopped this in WSUS yet?

[dhicks]

So much for a March 1st rollout, this has just downloaded as a high priority update to one of my workstations. Has anyone else experienced this?

Yep - just re-installed a Windows XP Home computer for a teacher, had the browser ballot thing pop up. Must check WSUS, that could get annoying if it happened on every workstation...

--
David Hicks