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What is the Internet Explorer 11 Blocker Toolkit?

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Caution

Update: The retired, out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 desktop application has been permanently disabled through a Microsoft Edge update on certain versions of Windows 10. For more information, see Internet Explorer 11 desktop app retirement FAQ.

Applies to:

  • Windows 10
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 7
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)

The Internet Explorer 11 Blocker Toolkit lets you turn off the automatic delivery of IE11 through the Automatic Updates feature of Windows Update.

Important

The IE11 Blocker Toolkit does not stop users from manually installing IE11 from the Microsoft Download Center. Also, even if you have installed previous versions of the toolkit before, like for Internet Explorer 10, you still need to install this version to prevent the installation of IE11.

Install the toolkit

  1. Download the IE11 Blocker Toolkit from Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 11.

  2. Accept the license agreement and store the included four files on your local computer.

  3. Start an elevated Command Prompt by going to Start>All Programs>Accessories> right-clicking on Command Prompt, and then choosing Run as Administrator.

  4. In the Command Prompt, change to the location where you put the 4 files.

  5. In the Command Prompt, type ie11_blocker.cmd /B and press Enter.

    Wait for the message, Blocking deployment of IE11 on the local machine. The operation completed successfully.

  6. Close the Command Prompt.

For answers to frequently asked questions, see Internet Explorer 11 Blocker Toolkit: Frequently Asked Questions.

Automatic updates

Internet Explorer 11 makes browsing the web faster, easier, safer, and more reliable than ever. To help customers become more secure and up-to-date, Microsoft will distribute Internet Explorer 11 through Automatic Updates and the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites. Internet Explorer 11 will be available for users of the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. This article provides an overview of the delivery process and options available for IT administrators to control how and when Internet Explorer 11 is deployed to their organization through Automatic Updates.

Automatic delivery process

Internet Explorer 11 only downloads and installs if it’s available for delivery through Automatic Updates; and Automatic Updates only offer Internet Explorer 11 to users with local administrator accounts. User’s without local administrator accounts won’t be prompted to install the update and will continue using their current version of Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer 11 replaces Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, or Internet Explorer 10. If you decide you don’t want Internet Explorer 11, and you’re running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, you can uninstall it from the View installed updates section of the Uninstall an update page of the Control Panel. 

Internet Explorer 11 automatic upgrades

Internet Explorer 11 is offered through Automatic Updates and Windows Update as an Important update. Users running Windows 7 SP1, who have chosen to download and install updates automatically through Windows Update, are automatically upgraded to Internet Explorer 11.

Users who were automatically upgraded to Internet Explorer 11 can decide to uninstall Internet Explorer 11. However, Internet Explorer 11 will still appear as an optional update through Windows Update.

Options for blocking automatic delivery

If you use Automatic Updates in your company, but want to stop your users from automatically getting Internet Explorer 11, do one of the following:

  • Download and use the Internet Explorer 11 Blocker Toolkit. Includes a Group Policy template and a script that permanently blocks Internet Explorer 11 from being offered by Windows Update or Microsoft Update as a high-priority update. You can download this kit from the Microsoft Download Center.

    Note

    The toolkit won't stop users with local administrator accounts from manually installing Internet Explorer 11. Using this toolkit also prevents your users from receiving automatic upgrades from Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, or Internet Explorer 10 to Internet Explorer 11. For more information, see the Internet Explorer 11 Blocker Toolkit frequently asked questions.

  • Use an update management solution to control update deployment. If you already use an update management solution, like Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or the more advanced Configuration Manager, you should use that instead of the Internet Explorer Blocker Toolkit.

Note

If you use WSUS to manage updates, and Update Rollups are configured for automatic installation, Internet Explorer will automatically install throughout your company.

Prevent automatic installation of Internet Explorer 11 with WSUS

Internet Explorer 11 will be released to WSUS as an Update Rollup package. Therefore, if you’ve configured WSUS to “auto-approve” Update Rollup packages, it’ll be automatically approved and installed. To stop Internet Explorer 11 from being automatically approved for installation, you need to:

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0.

  2. Expand ComputerName, and then click Options.

  3. Click Automatic Approvals.

  4. Click the rule that automatically approves an update that is classified as Update Rollup, and then click Edit.

    Note

    If you don’t see a rule like this, you most likely haven’t configured WSUS to automatically approve Update Rollups for installation. In this situation, you don’t have to do anything else.

  5. Click the Update Rollups property under the Step 2: Edit the properties (click an underlined value) section.

    Note

    The properties for this rule will resemble the following:

    • When an update is in Update Rollups
    • Approve the update for all computers

  6. Clear the Update Rollup check box, and then click OK.

  7. Click OK to close the Automatic Approvals dialog box.

After the new Internet Explorer 11 package is available for download, you should manually synchronize the new package to your WSUS server, so that when you re-enable auto-approval it won’t be automatically installed.

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0.

  2. Expand ComputerName, and then click Synchronizations.

  3. Click Synchronize Now.

  4. Expand ComputerName, expand Updates, and then click All Updates.

  5. Choose Unapproved in the Approvaldrop down box.

  6. Check to make sure that Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 is listed as an unapproved update.

Note

There may be multiple updates, depending on the imported language and operating system updates.

Optional - Reset update rollups packages to auto-approve

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0.

  2. Expand ComputerName, and then click Options.

  3. Click Automatic Approvals.

  4. Click the rule that automatically approves updates of different classifications, and then click Edit.

  5. Click the Update Rollups property under the Step 2: Edit the properties (click an underlined value) section.

  6. Check the Update Rollups check box, and then click OK.

  7. Click OK to close the Automatic Approvals dialog box.

Note

Because auto-approval rules are only evaluated when an update is first imported into WSUS, turning this rule back on after the Internet Explorer 11 update has been imported and synchronized to the server won’t cause this update to be auto-approved.

Additional resources