Windows Internet Explorer 7, frequently abbreviated IE7, is a proprietary, graphical web browser released by Microsoft in late 2006 for Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1. Internet Explorer 7 is part of a long line of Internet Explorer versions and the first major version of the browser in over 5 years, coinciding with the release of Windows Vista. It surpassed Internet Explorer 6 in market share by the end of 2007, although combined Internet Explorer market deteriorated.

Overview

Version 7.0 of Internet Explorer has been renamed Windows Internet Explorer (as opposed to Microsoft Internet Explorer) as part of Microsoft's rebranding of components that are included with Windows. It is available as part of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and as a separate download via Windows Update for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Server 2003 with SP1 or SP2. Internet Explorer 7 can also be downloaded directly from Microsoft's website. Large portions of the underlying architecture, including the rendering engine and security framework, have been significantly reworked. Partly as a result of security enhancements, the browser is a stand-alone application, instead of integrated with the Windows shell, and isthereforeno longer capable of acting as a file browser. The first security advisory was posted only one day after the day of release, but it turned out to be a security problem in Outlook Express, not in Internet Explorer 7. The first vulnerability exclusive to Internet Explorer 7 was posted after 6 days.

On Windows Vista, Internet Explorer operates in a special "Protected Mode", that runs the browser in a security sandbox that has no access to the rest of the operating system or file system, except the Temporary Internet Files folder. When running in Protected Mode, IE7 is a low integrity process; it can't gain write access to files and registry keys outside of a user profile's folder. This feature aims to mitigate problems whereby newly-discovered flaws in the browser (or in Add-Ons hosted inside it) allowed hackers to subversively install software on the user's computer (typically spyware).

The Windows Vista and XP version of Windows Internet Explorer 7 additionally feature an update to the WinInet API. The new version has better support for IPv6, and handles hexadecimal literals in the IPv6 address. It also includes better support for Gzip and deflate compression, so that communication with a web server can be compressed andthereforewill require less data to be transferred. Internet Explorer Protected Mode support in WinInet is exclusive to Windows Vista. On October 8, 2007, Microsoft removed the Windows Genuine Advantage component of IE7 and opened it for all users of Windows.

Criticism

Criticisms regarding security

Internet Explorer comes under heavy scrutiny from the computer security research community, in part due to its sheer ubiquity. Exploitation of Internet Explorer's security holes has earned IE the reputation as the least secure of the major web browsers.

Microsoft has addressed this problem in two distinct ways with Windows Vista: User Account Control, which forces a user to confirm any action that could affect the stability or security of the system even when logged in as an administrator, and "Protected-mode IE", which runs the web browser process with much lower permissions than the user.

Criticism of Phishing Filter

Some users have criticised the Phishing Filter for being too easy to circumvent. One successful method of bypassing Internet Explorer's Phishing Filter has been reported by redirecting a blacklisted web page to another, nonblacklisted page, using JavaScript. Because the Phishing warning is displayed after page loading completes, a redirect will cause the warning not to be displayed, or only to be displayed momentarily.

This flaw means that Phishers can keep links from previous emails functioning by simply moving to a new server when their original web page is blacklisted and adding a redirect.

This has been criticised as doubly serious as the presence of a phsihing filter lulls users into a false sense of security when the filter can be bypassed so trivially.

Usability and accessibility

Comparatively speaking, the default Internet Explorer interface is less cluttered than some of the Internet suites such as Netscape Communicator, and Mozilla Application Suite. With IE7, the interface has become even more streamlined, redesigning the interface to the most minimal possible. The interface can be modified should the user prefer it that way.

Since it is tightly integrated with the operating system, Internet Explorer makes full use of the accessibility framework provided in Windows. Internet Explorer is also a user interface for FTP, with operations similar to that of Windows Explorer. However, with version 7.0, FTP sites are rendered in a hyperlinked page, with the folder-like view available if the site is accessed from Windows Explorer. IE7 can itself lauch Windows Explorer for FTP sites.

The ability to limit scripting functions, such as those that modify the status bar or adjust the size or position of the browser window was introduced with IE7.

Tabbed browsing functionality was introduced with IE7, augmented with an ability to view these quickly with "Quick Tabs", an RSS-rendering capabilities, feed discovery, and intelligent print layouts, with the shrink-to-fit feature resizing page layout to fit in the paper margins. Tabbed browsing can be added to previous versions using add-ons, like MSN Toolbar, which added tabbed browsing functionality, though much less refined than the native implementation in IE7, to IE6.

New features and changes

Windows Internet Explorer 7's "Quick Tabs"Favorites Center in Favorites view, Feeds view and History view

For security reasons, Internet Explorer is no longer integrated with the Windows Explorer shell. Local files typed in IE7 are opened using the Windows Explorer shell and websites typed in Windows Explorer shell are opened using the default web browser.

Protected Mode (available in Windows Vista only), whereby the browser runs in a sandbox with even lower rights than a limited user account. As such, it can only write to the Temporary Internet Files folder and can't install start-up programs or change any configuration of the operating system without communicating through a broker process. IE7 Protected Mode relies on the User Account Control technology.

Version 7 supports tabbed browsing, a popular feature in competing web browsers. Also new is a feature called "Quick Tabs", which displays a thumbnail preview of opened tabs. Since the release of Beta 3 onwards, the user has been able to manually rearrange the tabs by dragging and dropping them as desired.

Version 7 adds support for internationalized domain names (IDN) with included anti-spoofing protection. If the user visits a website whose name is in a foreign language (non-Latin characters), it will be displayed in punycode if the user does not have support for the language installed. Also, non-Latin characters can, with certain restrictions, be mixed with Latin characters. In the latter case, punycode is used if support for the non-Latin script is not installed. This helps prevent phishing scams, where some characters are replaced with a similar looking character from a different alphabet.

A search box has been added to the top-right corner. The default search engine is inherited from Internet Explorer 6's settings, which various search engine toolbars override to give search capabilities on the address bar, but extra providers may be added (Google, Altavista, Yahoo!, Live Search, Wikipedia, etc). Microsoft supplies a list of common providers. The search box uses A9.com's OpenSearch technology to import search providers. The use of an open standard makes it easier for websites to include their pre-defined search queries in the search box. Also available is a comprehensive list of popular search providers that can be added to the search box. With the release of Windows Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft updated its list of common providers with a tool that enables users to manually create and add a search provider to the search box.

Support for per-pixel alpha channel transparency in PNG images has been added.RSS Feed Reader in IE7Feeds Plus Notification

An integrated feed reader is included, so that users can read web feeds (RSS or Atom) without a separate RSS reader. Features include automatic feed discovery and the ability to retrieve feed updates even when the web browser isn't running. The web feeds feature set is also available to third-party developers through API's, so that the list of subscribed feeds (as well as their current contents) can be used. And add-on to IE7, Feeds Plus, is provided by Microsoft itself that provides enhanced notification capabilities for the RSS platform.

ActiveX Opt-In blocks ActiveX Control unless it allowed to be installed. This feature improves security from unverifiable and vulnerable controls. ActiveX controls can be chosen to be installed on Information Bar. User can turn on and off ActiveX Control by using Add-on Manager.

A number of improvements to CSS, DOM, and HTML support have been made. Microsoft's stated goal with version 7 was to fix the most significant bugs and areas which caused the most trouble for developers, and then improved coverage of the standards would come later.

The known problem of having the right-hand portion of a web page cut off when the page is printed has been fixed. Page content can also be "shrunk" to fit more text on a single page. The revamped "Print Preview" interface will also let users drag the page margins around and see the results immediately.

A Page Zoom selector has been added to the bottom-right corner of the user interface. Unlike the "Text size" feature, this will zoom the complete contents of the web page, allowing for easier reading on larger displays. Fonts are rendered at higher resolution.

ClearType can be enabled or disabled separately from the rest of the operating system.Browsing to a site which IE deems to be a phishing site is blocked by default. The user has to make an explicit choice before continuing.

The new Phishing Filter offers protection against phishing scams and other websites that may be thought of dangerous for a user to enter their personal information into. When enabled, every website the user visits is checked against a master list of known phishing sites. If a site is listed, the user is informed. In light of the privacy implications of this feature, it is not enabled automatically; the user is asked when they start Internet Explorer 7 if they want it enabled. Microsoft is working in conjunction with companies that specialize in identifying phishing schemes to ensure the list of known sites is accurate and quickly updated.

The address bar and status bar appear in all windows including popups which helps to block malicious sites from disguising them as trusted sites. Also the address bar features a color code to visually designate the trustworthiness of the page. The address bar turns red when a page, with invalid security certificate, is accessed. In case of sites not using any encryption, the address bar is white. And if the page uses high security certificate, the bar turns green.

Modal windows such as dialog boxes are shown only when the tab that has generated them is selected (in such situations, the tab color becomes orange). On the other hand, the save window is modal and when saving the page shown in a tab, the user can't browse other tabs.

The address bar no longer allows JavaScript to be executed on blank pages (about:blank). This feature is still supported on other pages though, which enables bookmarklets to work properly. A reason for the change has not been given.

The status bar no longer allows custom text to be entered (e.g.: "Formatting C:\ 10% Complete |||||||") and will always show the URL of any link hovered over, for security.

"Delete Browsing History" cleans the complete browsing history in a single step. Previously this was a multistage process requiring users to delete browser cache, history, cookies, saved form data and passwords in a series of different steps. This is useful for improving privacy and security in a multiuser environment, such as an Internet café.

Contextual Go/Refresh button. When any URL is typed into the address bar, the button changes from "Refresh" to "Go" and when "Go" (or keyboard Enter) is hit, the button changes from "Go" to "Refresh". In this way the space taken by the toolbars is minimized.

The "back" and "forward" menus have been combined into one menu which shows the users current position in their history with a bold entry. In most cases, the current page will be at the top, with a list of pages to go "back" to, but if the user has just gone back one or more pages, there will be extra items above the current page to which they can navigate forwards.

Fix My Settings checks at startup or when a setting is changed, if the current settings are unsafe it notifies the user. The user can also press a button in order to fix the settings to a safe state. There is currently no way to disable these warnings.

Old protocols and technologies removed: Gopher, TELNET, Scriptlets, DirectAnimation, XBM, Channels (.CDF files) also known as 'Active Desktop Items', etc. The DHTML Editing Control is being removed from IE7 for Windows Vista to reduce surface area for security attacks.

No Add-ons allows IE7 to launch without the installed extensions.

The menu bar can be hidden to allow more space for webpages.

Improved text selection.

IE7 cipher strength: 256-bit (Only for Vista, IE7 for XP only supports 128-bit)Sites presenting EV Certificates are trusted

The address bar turns red when the certificate presented by a secure site has some problems. In that case navigation to the site is blocked by default, and can only be accessed after the user explicitly confirms the navigation.

IE7 includes support for Extended Validation Certificates (EV). When sites present an EV certificate the address bar is shown in green.

New Group Policy's Administrative Templates (.adm files) for IE7 are loaded automatically onto the Domain Controller when a Group Policy is opened from a workstation where IE7 has been installed. These new administrative templates allow for controlling the Anti-Phishing filter state, for example.

Reset Internet Explorer settings Deletes all temporary files, disables browser add-ons, and resets all the changed settings to factory settings. It can be used if the browser is in an unusable state.

Release history

On January 31, 2006, Microsoft released a public preview build (Beta 2 preview: Pre-Beta 2 version) of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (not for Windows Server 2003 SP 1) on their web site. It stated that more public preview builds (possibly Beta 2 in April) of Internet Explorer 7 will be released in first half of 2006, and final version will be released in second half of 2006. The pre beta build was refreshed on March 20, 2006 to build 7.0.5335.5. A real Beta 2 Build was released on April 24, 2006 to build 7.0.5346.5. In addition, at the MIX'06 conference, Bill Gates said that Microsoft is already working on the next two versions of IE after version 7.

On June 29, 2006, Microsoft released Beta 3 (Build 7.0.5450.4) of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2, Windows XP x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 SP1. It features minor UI cleanups, re-ordering of tabs by drag and drop, as well as noticeable performance improvements.

On August 24, 2006, the Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of Internet Explorer 7 (Build 7.0.5700.6) was released for Windows XP SP2, Windows XP x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 SP1. This was the last pre-release version of IE7 before the final release.

On September 28, 2006, 3Sharp, a privately held technical services firm, published the results of a study, commissioned by Microsoft, evaluating eight anti-phishing solutions in which Internet Explorer 7 (Beta 3) came out on top. The study evaluated the ability to block phish, to warn about phish, and to allow good sites.

On October 18, 2006 the first finished version was released on microsoft.com, and was distributed as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates (AU) on November 1. AU notifies users when IE7 is ready to install and shows a welcome screen that presents key features and choices to “Install”, “Don't Install”, or “Ask Me Later”.

On November 8, 2006 a version of Internet Explorer 7 was released for Windows Vista only (7.0.6000.16386).

On November 11, 2006 another version for Windows XP was made available (7.0.5730.11IC).

On September 24, 2007 Windows Server 2008 RC0 was released with version 7.0.6001.16659.

On October 4, 2007 the latest version for Windows XP (7.0.5730.13) was made available.