Follow for IE: Essential Tips for Web Developers Testing in IE

Follow for IE: How to Keep Internet Explorer Secure and FastInternet Explorer (IE) remains in use in some workplaces, legacy systems, and by users who rely on older web applications. Although Microsoft has shifted focus to Edge and other modern browsers, many organizations still need IE compatibility. This article covers practical steps to keep Internet Explorer as secure and performant as possible while acknowledging its age and limitations.

Why care about Internet Explorer maintenance?

Even if IE is no longer a primary browser, leaving it unmaintained can create security risks, slow workflow, and cause compatibility headaches for internal web apps. Maintaining IE for necessary use minimizes attack surface, improves user productivity, and reduces help-desk burden.

1. Understand the limitations

• Legacy engine: IE uses the Trident engine (and older versions use MSHTML) which lacks modern web standards and security features found in Chromium-based browsers.
• No more feature updates: Microsoft ended active feature development; security updates are limited and tied to OS lifecycle.
• Compatibility trade-offs: Some modern web features, performance optimizations, and security protections (like Site Isolation, modern sandboxing, and improved TLS defaults) are absent.

2. Keep IE and Windows fully patched

• Install all Windows Updates promptly. Many IE security fixes are delivered via Windows Update rather than through standalone IE updates.
• Subscribe to your organization’s patch management process and test patches in a controlled environment before wide deployment if you support many users.

3. Configure security settings appropriately

• Use IE’s Security Zones to segregate trust:
  • Place internal, trusted intranet sites in the “Local intranet” zone with relaxed settings if necessary.
  • Put unknown or risky sites in the “Internet” zone with stricter security (Active Scripting disabled, ActiveX prompting off).
• Disable unnecessary add-ons and toolbars:
  • Go to Manage Add-ons and disable or remove any non-essential or unknown extensions.
• Turn on Enhanced Protected Mode (where available) to isolate browser processes and reduce exploitability.
• Require TLS 1.2 or higher:
  • In Internet Options → Advanced, disable older protocols (SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0/1.1) and enable TLS 1.⁄₁.3 if supported by the OS.

4. Use Group Policy for centralized control

For organizations, Group Policy is the most effective way to enforce secure IE settings:

• Lock down security zones and ActiveX behavior.
• Disable automatic installation of ActiveX controls.
• Restrict use of deprecated features and control plugin behavior.
• Configure homepage and proxy settings centrally to prevent user misconfiguration.

5. Minimize attack surface

• Use a dedicated IE installation or separate user profile for browsing untrusted websites; avoid using the same browser profile for internal applications and general web surfing.
• Limit IE use to sites that require it; encourage users to use a modern browser for general web activities.
• Remove or restrict use of legacy plugins like Java and Flash (Flash is end-of-life and should be uninstalled).

6. Improve performance

• Clean up browsing data regularly:
  • Clear temporary internet files, history, and cookies to avoid storage bloat and stale cache conflicts.
• Manage add-ons:
  • Disable unnecessary add-ons that increase page load time.
• Adjust paging file and memory settings on older systems to reduce swapping.
• Use Compatibility View sparingly — it can improve rendering for old intranet pages but may force legacy behaviors that disable modern optimizations.
• If possible, use an intranet reverse proxy or app modernization to serve optimized, lighter-weight pages to IE users.

7. Use security compensations and modern helpers

• Deploy a web gateway or secure proxy that can:
  • Inspect and filter malicious content.
  • Enforce modern TLS and HTTP security headers even if the client/browser does not.
• Use application virtualization or browser isolation services to run IE sessions in sandboxed environments, reducing risk to endpoints.
• For developers: implement progressive enhancement so apps work in IE with reduced features but without exposing users to insecure scripts or external libraries.

8. Monitor and respond

• Log IE usage and web access patterns via proxy logs or endpoint telemetry to detect suspicious activity.
• Maintain an incident-response plan that includes steps for compromised browsers or endpoints.
• Educate users on phishing and social-engineering threats; many IE compromises start with malicious sites or attachments.

9. Plan migration and long-term strategy

• Catalog sites and applications that require IE. Prioritize those for modernization or migration.
• Consider options:
  • Update applications to support modern browsers.
  • Use Microsoft’s IE Mode in Edge (if available in your environment) to offload compatibility while using a secure, modern engine for general browsing.
  • Containerize legacy apps or provide remote desktop/virtual app access for legacy-only workflows.
• Establish a timeline and budget for removing IE dependency entirely; long-term security and performance gains come from moving to supported browsers.

Checklist — Quick actions to apply now

• Install all Windows security updates.
• Disable unused add-ons and remove Flash/Java.
• Enforce TLS ≥ 1.2 and disable SSLv2/3, TLS 1.0/1.1.
• Use Group Policy to lock down security zones and ActiveX.
• Limit IE to trusted sites; use a modern browser for general web.
• Deploy proxy filtering or browser isolation where possible.

Even well-tuned IE will never match modern browsers for security and speed. Treat the steps above as mitigations to lower risk while you migrate critical apps away from IE. For environments that must keep running IE, combining patching, strict configuration, isolation, and monitored usage gives the best balance of safety and functionality.