So you want to disable IE ...

[Lyx]

Yeah but you can totally unhook IE from the O.S., which is exactly what the person wants. :)

No he doesn't. Learn to read before writing useless replies - otherwise your posts come close to the definition of spam. He clearly stated multiple times that he wants to disable IE _and_ work around the issues which arise when certain apps cannot fine the mentioned DLLs anymore.

- Lyx

[nuhi]

scratch, do you have any links or pointers what needs to be done with the mshtml, i'll be happy to do it (or my colleague) ?
But i don't see how patching Microsft HTML engine will help, isn't it better to use some reg tweaks ?

[Racer]

The point of patching mshtml is that it would allow most programs that require IE (or the IE ActiveX control) to work without running IE.

[saidak]

The condescending remark of Lyx notwithstanding, Racer started this whole forum by expressing "security" concerns, (regarding IE).
So do not acuse MonsterTruck of spreading spam.

First of all, dear Racer, the security issues are with the Active X itself, which, developed by Microsoft as their 1st attempt at Java-like language, has major security problems (not surprising, comming from Microsoft. Interestingly enough, in their second attempt - C#, they decided to pretty much copy Java (instead of trying to develop their own), yet they still managed to F#%k it up).

This is true of all things Microsoft, most of all their pseudo (or should I say quasi?) operating system (Windows). It never was and never will be secure, no matter how many patches or 'service packs' (bigger than the whole os) will be piled upon it...

So let me re-iterate my point again (which I made earlier in this forum): This whole topic is so pointless... Get Linux.

[sasquatch]

Disclaimer
Disabling IE in Windows can cause certain programs to not work properly or to completely break. The following programs are known to have problems if you disable IE:
- Windows Update will not work at all - although automatic update and manual updates can still be made.
- Windows Help uses mshtml to render the help files, so it will not work at all.
- Half-Life using steam has an ad (usually saying "content provided by...") during map loads. This ad will cause a switch back to windows with a request to download the file. If anyone has a suggestion as to how to get around this annoyance, I would love to hear it.
- Any other programs that use embedded web display (many types of adware do this) may not work.
- If you find any other software that does not work after diabling IE as described below, post in this thread. However, you do NOT need to post here to generally warn people against doing it. Thats what this message is for!

Why?
I have been asked a few times why on earth I would want to do this. Well to try to stem the tide of negative comments, "Security" is your answer. This is by far the biggest issue that I see as a reason to disable IE. Even if I never use IE, other programs that I run may do so without my knowledge. This is a security risk that I see no reason to live with give that FireFox is such a good alternative. If you don't like this answer, then feel free to give another or just ignore this topic.

Info
There are many ways to do this, but the simplest way to disable IE completely on Windows is to delete mshtml.dll
Remember that IE (or any programs that use IE) cannot be running when you remove mshtml.dll. If you find out that you cannot delete one of the files, you may have to reboot to free up the file. I recommend that you simply rename the file from mshtml.dll to mshtml.dll.old - that way if you need IE for something, you can rename the file back.

Windows file protection
On most Windows 2000/XP systems, mshtml.dll is located in three places, ...

What about on NT 4.0?

[Racer]

This topic is mainly targeted at Win2000/XP installations.

Windows NT, 95, and 98 do not have the same dependency on IE as the newer versions of Windows do. Therefore, it is probably much easier to remove/disable IE with fewer consequences in the older OSes. However, I haven't tested this, so I do not know what the consequences would be. Certainly, windows file protection is not an issue, as it is not present on the older versions of Windows.

[Robert S.]

Removed so the thread will stay on topic... sorry, Racer.

[Racer]

Please keep the conversation on topic. That is, about removing/disabling IE.
If you want to talk about alternatives to windows, start your own thread.

[edit]wig, I was manly talking to saidak[/edit]