Even though Microsoft Edge is now the default browser for Windows 10, Microsoft still includes Internet Explorer to support legacy content. But what is legacy content? Is it safe to disable IE? In this article, we'll answer these questions and describe additional benefits of disabling Internet Explorer.
Reasons for disabling Internet Explorer
1 – Disk space
When Internet Explorer is disabled, you can free up about 150 MB on your hard drive.
2 – Security
All software and browsers generally have security vulnerabilities. By disabling IE, you will avoid any vulnerabilities that may appear through IE – thus making your system more secure.
3 – Fewer menu items
With Internet Explorer enabled, some menu items are visible. For example, the item “Open with Internet Explorer”. Once IE is disabled, these menu items are no longer visible. Ideal for those of us who prefer minimalism.
Reasons to enable Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer was released in 1995 and many older websites / web applications still rely on this browser to function correctly. Below are the most common issues you should check before disabling IE11.
1 – ActiveX
Possibly the most common ActiveX control is Oracle's Java ActiveX for legacy applications. IE is the last browser that supports Oracle Java in a browsing program. From Firefox 54 onward, support for the old Netscape NPAPI technology stopped and Chrome discontinued NPAPI support in version 45 in 2015.
A good example of what could stop working is older Cisco, as they require ActiveX to load the admin console which is a Java ActiveX/NPAPI component.
2 – SilverLight
Although Microsoft, Flash, will be out of support in October 2021, many websites still require it, as well as IE, to function properly.
3 – Legacy
At its peak, Internet Explorer was extremely popular and many corporate intranets were built around the browser. Keeping this in mind, many are those who need the browser for their applications to run smoothly.
4 – Websites on the Internet
Although best practice is to create a website that works with all browsers, several web pages require Internet Explorer for their smooth operation. Government sites, for example, were built based on IE and were never updated.
5 – HTA
An HTA (HTML Application) runs only on IE.
If you're not sure whether you need Internet Explorer or not, we simply recommend disabling it and continuing your browsing on the sites you usually visit. If you encounter problems, in the worst case you can simply re-enable IE. However, most of us can live without it, as not only will installing Windows 10 be safer, but it will also be a bit faster and have more available disk space.
