Program information
- Softonic rating:
- License:
- Free
- Added:
- March 6, 2008
- Updated:
- March 19, 2009
- Publisher:
- Microsoft | More programs (121)
- File size:
- 16.1 MB
- Downloads:
- 1,692,730
“Microsoft gets back on track with a promising web browser”
about Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer 8 is Microsoft's incredibly popular web browser. Almost everyone has used some version of it, and you can be sure all websites will support it.
The interface of Internet Explorer 8 hasn't changed that much compared to older versions, except for one small detail; the menu bar is back and shows up by default again. Besides that, everything else is in place: the address bar is again on top of the interface, and Favorites are accessible via a drop-down menu.
As for new features, Internet Explorer 8 includes two main new tools: one is Accelerators (previously known as Activities), and the other is Web Slices. The first one gives you direct access to various online services just by right-clicking anywhere on the web page or on highlighted text. For instance, you can look up a word, map an address or perform a search with those marked words. The main drawback is that all these options use Microsoft's Windows Live services which means that you're stuck with them.
Regarding Internet Explorer's Web Slices, these are a kind of RSS-style tool that tracks changes and updates to selected websites and keeps you informed about them. It comes in really handy for tracking small changes that can't be followed by RSS, without having to visit the site: online auction bids, stock exchange values, weather information and more.
Besides these two tools, Internet Explorer 8 also includes many interesting new features. One of them, the 'Suggested sites' function, recommends new websites you may not know about, based on your browsing history.
Another nice feature is InPrivate Browsing, Internet Explorer's version of the popular Chrome Incognito mode. While InPrivate Browsing is on, the browser won't save data, including cookies, history and temporary Internet files. As for security, Internet Explorer 8 includes the so-called SmartScreen filter, which prevents you from entering fraudulent websites and protects you from online phishing scams.
Internet Explorer 8 is truly a giant step forward, and proves that Microsoft is working hard to offer a more secure, compatible and customizable browser.
Languages:
English
Recent changes in Internet Explorer:
- Web Slices - subscribe to specific content from web pages
- Visual search box
- Suggested sites
- Accelerators
- Improved performance
- New tabs features
- Improved search
- Tab grouping
- Improved zoom
OS requirements for Internet Explorer:
- OS: WinXP/Vista/7
- Standard compliant
- Interesting new features: Accelerators, Web Clips
- New InPrivate browsing
- Protection against online scams and malware
- Accelerators are tied to Microsoft's online services
- Privacy issues in Suggested sites
Featured program
Softonic gives special recognition to software of exceptionally high quality. More information
Internet Explorer screenshots
Posts about Internet Explorer in our blog
- Stay away from Internet Explorer for Mac by Nicholas Mead
- First look at Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview by Elena Santos
- Even governments hate Internet Explorer by Nicholas Mead
- Internet Explorer 8 out: still fails Acid3 test by Tom Clarke
- First look at Internet Explorer 8 RC 1 by Elena Santos
User opinions about Internet Explorer (13)
Sort user reviews by:
Programs similar to Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer options
Reviews for Internet Explorer in other languages
- Internet Explorer (Opinião do editor em português)
- Internet Explorer (Testbericht auf Deutsch)
- Internet Explorer (Análisis en español)
- Internet Explorer (Le test en français)
- Internet Explorer (Recensione in italiano)
- Internet Explorer (Recensie in 't Nederlands)
- Internet Explorer 8 (Recenzja po polsku)
Internet Explorer in other platforms
- Internet Explorer (Mac)
User Rating
56 ratings- Usability
- Stability
- Installation
- Functionality
- Appearance
User reviews
13 reviews-
New Look, Same Outdated...
Internet Explorer comes with a new look an...
New Look, Same Outdated Technology
Internet Explorer comes with a new look and feel built off Internet Explorer 7. However Internet Explorer is also behind in technology in almost any category you can think of. It's one of the slowe... read more
The worst browser in the World.
The worst browser from the big five (Opera, Chromium, Firefox, Safari, IE). Does not support web standards W3C, slow, crashes in complex web-pages with scripts & flash, very slow Java Script engine... read more
_Zak
Though i donot use interent Explorer a lot but this is the only tool that's saves me at the end - I have palyed around it - Tweaked it - Crashed it - Done all sorts of things to it and still at the... read more
er (1 User reviews)
Internet Explorer don't perform
I am a web page developer and each time I design a web page I have to take in to consideration that internet explorer will most likely not support more advanced feathers such as AJAX that is used ... read more
s (1 User reviews)
Re IE8
Lots of crashes appeared after IE8 installation.Previous used IE7 run better than the newest.Soon I will replaced by other searching program.As I heard from my friends Mozila is better than IE8.For... read more
Download Internet Explorer