eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
When I tested Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, I found that it was a significant improvement over previous versions, but it lagged behind competing browsers-such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Opera Software’s Opera-in some features and capabilities.
However, there is one area in which IE 8 has a big advantage over its competitors, especially when it comes to using browsers in corporate environments: The Internet Explorer Administration Kit makes it simple for any business to create highly customized installations of IE 8 and deploy them to employees seamlessly.
When it comes to building customized versions of a browser for business use, Microsoft IEAK 8 far surpasses the customization options for other browsers. There is a Firefox extension called CCK Wizard that allows for the creation of customized Firefox browsers, but this is pretty basic when compared with IEAK. Companies can also leverage software management platforms to customize and deploy browsers, but this adds cost and complexity.
Click here for a look at Internet Explorer Administration Kit 8 in action.
IEAK 8 is free for businesses to use, though the capabilities and license vary based on intended use. There are versions of the IEAK available for ISPs, Websites, software providers and businesses, and the permitted level of customization varies with each.
For this review, I used IEAK 8 Corporate Version, which provides the highest level of customization options available.
Easy to use
In tests, I found the kit to be very easy to use, and I was able to quickly build highly customized installations of IE 8 that I could deploy to employees.
The first thing to do when getting started with IEAK is to perform some customization of the version of IE 8 that you have running on the system with IEAK installed. In some instances-especially when it comes to search providers, add-ons and Favorites-IEAK will pull information from the IE browser on the same system. So a good first step is to make sure that the browser on that system has all of the add-ons, search providers and Favorites that you want to add to your custom install.
The next step is to fire up the Customization Wizard, which walks users through the entire process of building a custom IE 8 installation.
One somewhat tedious aspect of building custom IE installations is that you need to run the wizard for each different version of Windows that you need to support. This means that you might need to build custom installations for Windows XP, Vista and Windows Server 2003, and then different versions for each of these platforms for x86 and x64. However, this has more to do with IE itself than with IEAK.
One of the first steps in the wizard is choosing the platform the IE installation will run on. The deployment of the custom IE 8 installation can be done through CD-ROM, downloadable file (in .exe and .msi) or as a configuration file to be applied to systems that already have IE 8 installed.
Running through the full Customization Wizard can be a bit time-consuming, so I appreciated that one of the first screens let me choose which areas of the browser were to be customized. By deselecting browser features that would be untouched, I could greatly cut down on the number of steps in the wizard.
Another nice feature of IEAK 8 is Automatic Version Synchronization. By using this feature, I could make sure that my networked installation of IE 8 would always stay up-to-date with the latest versions and patches.
IEAK 8 User Experience and Security
End-user experience
IEAK gives businesses several options for how an employee will experience the IE 8 installation.
One option is for the installation to work as it normally does, with the standard options screens displayed. However, it is also possible to choose a hands-free install (where users don’t choose options) or a completely silent install.
Basic branding options are available, though there’s nothing that greatly changes the look and feel of the browser. I was able to change the top title bar of IE 8 to say “Windows Internet Explorer Provided by eWEEK Labs.”
IEAK 8 does a good job of leveraging IE 8’s ability to customize the integrated search capabilities within the browser. I could define which search providers would be available, and also add company Website or internal search servers to the browser.
All of the standard links and home pages used in the browser can be predefined with IEAK. For example, I could preset the home page, browser favorites and the links shown in the link bar in the browser. For the most part, these are pulled from the browser installed on the IEAK system (although they can be customized from within IEAK). It was also possible to configure the pages shown to users after they completed the installation.
New IE 8 features such as Accelerators (which provide additional in-line capabilities within the browser window) and Web Slices can be predefined with IEAK. I was able to import Accelerators into IEAK and add them so they would appear when employees installed the customized IE 8 package.
Also interesting was that it was possible to set up IE 8 so that it would run in IE 7 compatibility mode by default. I guess this would be attractive to businesses that rely on Web applications that require IE 7 compatibility.
Security settings
With IEAK 8 Corporate Version, it is possible to control and lock the security settings of IE 8, predefining security zones and content ratings. Legacy security settings, such as proxy servers, also can be controlled with IEAK.
The final screen of the wizard is the Additional Settings screen, which, despite its bland name, is probably the most powerful feature. From this screen, I could configure nearly any aspect of IE 8, from autocomplete to cache controls to language settings.
Once the wizard is finished, IEAK generates installation files for IE 8 as .exe and .msi files; for those choosing a CD installation, IEAK creates a CD image complete with autorun defined.
Also part of the IEAK 8 is the Profile Manager. This tool makes it possible to open already-completed configurations and make necessary changes to them after initial deployments (for example, if a company Web page changes or new company Web applications are deployed).
Click here for more information and to download IEAK 8.