Microsoft Offers Web Browser Choice To IE Users

[6Foot2]

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!

[garethEds]

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

[garethEds]

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.

Edited February 21, 2010 by SYNACK

[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?

[6Foot2]

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

[hil]

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

 

I'm trying to find it in WSUS but cant find it.

[PiqueABoo]

So much for a March 1st rollout

 

Uh huh. Have yet to install, but my [standalone] XP pro grabbed this together with the KB979306 time zone update via AU this morning.

[ZeroHour]

Am I right in thinking though that even if a user selects say FF and is only a "user" account and has no admin options it wont work?

[sonic1485]

I had the update this morning. It looks so tacky! I thought it was a virus

[michaelf]

For those without WSUS, so far I've not had much luck locating any registry keys or files to fool this software into thinking that the user's already selected IE as their default browser. We're therefore trying a different approach and one of my colleagues is creating a VBScript to run at login that will take this out of the HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run and delete the shortcut, hopefully preventing it being run in the first place.

[robyholmes]

I have this install at one of my Primary Schools this morning. I found it would only show on 'Admin' accounts (None Domain) and not 'Limited' accounts the pupils use. So when I restarted after updates I closed the menu and deleted the desktop shortcut, after restarting again it didn't load up again. Other machines I unchecked from installing but I should think automatic updates will pick it up again.

[Gatt]

WHY oh WHY should this be forced onto Corporate (including Education) users?

 

I can understand the enforcement for home users so that they have a choice of what browser they want to use..

 

Most corporate customers use IE due tot he fact that it can be locked down via Group Policy, unlike its competitors (I know FF can be locked down but its not that easy IIRC)

 

Surely it would have made more sense for Microsoft to put it out via WSUS as an optional update?

 

Will there be a group Policy update to prevent it from running if it slips through WSUS (as most "high priority" updates tend to do!)

[BrianG]

I have this install at one of my Primary Schools this morning. I found it would only show on 'Admin' accounts (None Domain) and not 'Limited' accounts the pupils use. So when I restarted after updates I closed the menu and deleted the desktop shortcut, after restarting again it didn't load up again. Other machines I unchecked from installing but I should think automatic updates will pick it up again.

 

I noticed is last night at one of my schools. I was setting a laptop up for a member of staff to take home. I ran the updates and i noticed it downloading the new update. But when it came to installing it just popped up with the intstall IE8 setup screen, there was no option screen for any other version.. Am I missing something?

[localzuk]

I noticed is last night at one of my schools. I was setting a laptop up for a member of staff to take home. I ran the updates and i noticed it downloading the new update. But when it came to installing it just popped up with the intstall IE8 setup screen, there was no option screen for any other version.. Am I missing something?

 

Are you sure it wasn't just the IE8 update that ran?

[AyatollahPies]

Sounds like a Malware/Virus writers wet dream.

 

We've all had to disinfect laptops, where someone has fallen for the "Convincing" looking fake Anti-Virus software haven't we?

 

How long until they do the same for this? In it's crudest form, all you'd need to do is take a screen grab of it, and create a hyperlink on each option to pull down a piece of nasty code, rather than the intended browser.