Microsoft is moving forward with the process of retiring Internet Explorer, as part of the promotion of the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser.
Microsoft has been suggesting to users for years to retire Internet Explorer, yet 5% still use it as their primary browser.
Now, Microsoft intends to take more aggressive measures to move people away from Internet Explorer.
Automatic redirects in Microsoft Edge for incompatible websites
When a user visits a site that is incompatible with Internet Explorer, they will automatically be redirected to Microsoft Edge to continue browsing.
The list of incompatible sites is managed by Microsoft and currently this list contains 1,156 sites, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, ESPN, Yahoo Mail and many others.
This redirection is carried out through an Internet Explorer Browser Helper Object (BHO) named “IEtoEdge BHO“.
The following files related to the BHO are located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\[Edge_version]\BHO folder:
- ie_to_edge_bho.dll
- ie_to_edge_bho_64.dll
- ie_to_edge_stub.exe
While browsing, the BHO will check if a site is incompatible with Internet Explorer. If it is incompatible, the BHO will automatically open the site in Microsoft Edge, displaying the message, “This site does not work in Internet Explorer!”.
When displaying this notification, Microsoft Edge will also prompt users to migrate their Internet Explorer settings, data , and cookies to Microsoft Edge.
“The following data : Favorites, Passwords, Search Engines, open tabs, History, settings, cookies, and the Home page,” Microsoft explains.
If users do not want to, they can choose not to transfer this data and simply visit the incompatible site in Microsoft Edge.
While browsing, Microsoft Edge will display a banner prompting the user to set the newer browser as the default browser.
Today, Microsoft will introduce new group policy templates that will allow users to control this redirect behavior:
- RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerPreventBHOInstall: Prevents the installation of “IEtoEdge BHO” in Internet Explorer.
- RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerRedirectMode: Allows disabling Internet Explorer redirects in Microsoft Edge.
- HideInternetExplorerRedirectUXForIncompatibleSitesEnabled: Allows administrators to disable redirect notifications that appear in Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft says this redirection will begin with Microsoft Edge 87, which will be released in mid-November.
Additionally, Microsoft plans to disable support for Internet Explorer across several services .
The company has already begun informing its corporate customers that starting November 13, they will no longer be able to log in to accounts via Internet Explorer.
Also, in August it said that Microsoft Teams will not support Internet Explorer 11 as of November 30.
According to Bleeping Computer, full support will end on August 17, 2021.
