IE8 Update Forces IE As Default Browser 311
We discussed Microsoft making IE8 a critical update a while back; but then the indication was that the update gave users a chance to choose whether or not to install it. Now I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes in with word that the update not only does not ask, but it makes IE the default browser. "Microsoft has a new tactic in the browser wars. They're having the 'critical' IE8 update make IE the default browser without asking. Yes, you can change it back, but it doesn't ask you if you want IE8 or if you want it as the default browser, it makes the decisions for you. Opera might have a few more complaints to make to the EU antitrust board after this, but Microsoft will probably be able to drag out the proceedings for years, only to end up paying a small fine. If you have anyone you've set up with a more secure alternative browser, you might want to help check their settings after this."
this wasn't my experience (Score:5, Informative)
i updated IE8 manually on like 20 machines yesterday. it asked every time. it didn't kill my default browser selection.
it there something i'm overlooking, like does automatic updates apply it and not ask you? am i missing something from TFA?
More secure alternative browser? (Score:5, Informative)
If you have anyone you've set up with a more secure alternative browser
Is it not a bit early to be deciding which browsers are more secure than IE8?
Does anyone fact check here? (Score:5, Informative)
If you check the "Custom Settings" it doesn't. (Score:5, Informative)
If you let the IE install do it's thing automatically then it sets itself as default.
Anyone not choosing to customize IE's install deserves to have it supplant their settings.
Re:this wasn't my experience (Score:5, Informative)
Well, there is one question during IE8 setup whether to use some (listed) default settings or the change those settings - maybe setting it as the default browser is one of those defaults?
It didn't override Firefox being the default browser in my XP installation, at any rate...
np: Can - Mother Upduff (Anthology (Disc 2))
IE8 on Vista, not the default (Score:5, Informative)
Is this an XP thing? TFA didn't say which OS he was running.
Re:this wasn't my experience (Score:5, Informative)
Wasn't my experience either. I upgraded my home machines and my office computer to IE8 and do not recall that it became my default browser.
FUD (Score:5, Informative)
I have several machines, all running several versions of Windows (XP & Vista in both 32- and 64-bit varieties) and I have not seen IE8 automagically installed through Windows Update on them. I have Windows Update set to automatically install updates without asking and the result is exactly what happens with IE7 when you get it off of Windows Update: An installer screen pops up asking if you'd like to install IE8 now, would like to wait, or don't want to install it at all, ever. All have updated to Office 2007 SP2, which was released to Windows Update the same day.
However, I can't speak to what happens when you have IE6 installed on your XP machine and this update comes across the wire. I dropped IE6 over a year ago. Still, I doubt such an upgrade would be forced like this. Also, when I did choose to install IE8 on a machine that has Firefox as the default browser, after the restart, Firefox was still the default. This article is simply FUD. Furthermore, what's wrong with replacing a less standards compliant browser with a more standards compliant browser? Provided you don't change the default browser of course.
SOP for all Microsoft products (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft has a long history of forcibly breaking your operating environment.
works on my computer (Score:5, Informative)
Not that I saw. I remember seeing an explicit "Make IE8 your default browser?" dialogue show up. I'm not sure about XP, but on Vista 64, it behaived exactly as I expected it to and did not change any settings that I didn't tell it explicitly to do.
-Rick
Vista/IE8 bug (Score:4, Informative)
Didn't override FF3.5 being the default. (Score:5, Informative)
On a WinXP SP3 box here at work.
Not a problem here (Score:4, Informative)
I just allowed a handful of computer at work to install the update. All of them asked before installing and none of them changed the default away from Firefox.
Somebody needs to explain this.
Bullshit (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, you can change it back, but it doesn't ask you if you want IE8 or if you want it as the default browser, it makes the decisions for you.
This is not entirely true. When you install IE8, it asks you whether you'd like to do an Easy install or if you'd rather do a custom install. The Easy install does indeed set IE8 as the system's default browser, without asking. However, if you do the custom install, it does ask, and it honors what you tell the installer to do.
Even if your default browser setting does get hijacked, the very next time you launch Firefox, it'll let you know it's not set as your default browser, and it's one click to change it back. Not a big deal at all, other than if you're running unattended installs on critical systems which require Firefox to be the default browser for some reason.
FUD (Score:5, Informative)
I allowed the install of IE8 on 2 of my personal machines yesterday. Both of the still have Firefox as the default browser. Vista and XP. Who is complaining that its switching their default browser? What's the setup?
Wasn't true in my case... (Score:1, Informative)
I have an XP virtual machine (SP3) that I use to VPN into work.
Just yesterday I installed the update with IE8 on it.
Firefox 3 was still my default browser after the update.
When I opened up IE8, it did ask me if I wanted to change IE8 to be my new default, but it did so in a totally clear manner that made it easy to decline.
Re:IE8 on Vista, not the default (Score:1, Informative)
I installed on XP and Vista, both 32-bit and if you use custom settings there is an option to set it as default. I'm betting most slashdot users don't go for "express config" when it comes from MS, so no one is having the prob around here.
Not an uncommon practice (Score:2, Informative)
Re:this wasn't my experience (Score:1, Informative)
The only thing worse than Microsoft fanboys is dumbasses who write and later post to Slashdot with clear lies and bullshit. The only way what is discrubed in the article could have happened is if they were clicking to fast and missed the giant screen asking them if they want to set IE8 as the default browser. Yeah, it's checked by default so clicking to fast will make it become default.
Guess what other browser asks and defaults to yes... oh yeah, every fucking one.
Re:SOP for all Microsoft products (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Death to IE6! (Score:3, Informative)
By The Numbers (Score:4, Informative)
Browser Version Market Share [hitslink.com]
IE 7 44.5%
IE 6 17.5%
IE 8 4.3%
IE 5 0.04%
IE 5.5 0.03%
Firefox 3.0 20%
Firefox 2.0 1.8%
Firefox 3.1 0.18%
Firefox 1.5 0.15%
Firefox 1.0 0.06%
Firefox 3.5 0.01%
So call it 50% of the web for IE 7 and IE 8.
Net Applications tracks hits to e-commerce and other mass market websites.
It's not looking at techies. It's looking at guy who watches Fox News and does his shopping at K-Mart.
The geek lives in a bubble.
He believes what he wants to believe.
Re:Death to IE6! (Score:3, Informative)
IE7 and 8 do not natively support xhtml, they treat the document as SGML and apply SGML rules to it. This means that namespaces, MathML, etc. cannot be supported by that browser, and that it will not fail on invalid content as an xml parser should.
Re:Whooooooooosh! (Score:3, Informative)
I let Vista install all 300MB of collective updates last night, including IE8, and it did not change my default from Chrome.
Re:Death to IE6! (Score:1, Informative)
Here's an idea...
DON'T USE FLASH!
Re:possibly this was by-design (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Death to IE6! (Score:5, Informative)
Validate! If you write valid (X)HTML and CSS, IE7 gets pretty close to the mark and IE8 seems to get it spot-on outside of some newer, often browser-specific CSS properties (text-shadow, -X-border-radius, etc). Hell, even IE6 seems to render more accurately if you have a doctype tag and code that validates against said doctype. Your code won't pass validation without a doctype tag.
Re: XHTML flash - if you MUST use it, http://validifier.com/ [validifier.com].