- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows XP/2003/Vista
- Date added: March 19, 2009
- Total Downloads: 12,818,443
- Downloads last week: 52,845
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 1443 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on March 19, 2009
Internet Explorer 8 addresses just about all of the major concerns that users and critics have had with the world's most used browser. Whether they get answered in a way you like is another matter.
There are several new and interesting features. Web Slices lets you save predefined sections of a Web page for at-a-glance viewing. Instead of going to a traffic Web site for updates, the latest commuting news comes to you. Similarly, Accelerators make repetitive tasks one-click behaviors, for instance finding directions or blogging. InPrivate browsing introduces a cache and history on-off switch, while related tabs are color-coded and automatically reorganized as you open them. There's also tab sandboxing, which means that when a tab crashes, IE itself won't, and it even tries to resurrect the page that crashed.
There's a greater emphasis on Web standards and security than before. The SmartScreen and cross-site scripting filters throw up a red warning page when you're about to visit an unsafe site. There's also domain highlighting, which grays out the name of the URL you're looking at except for the domain itself. This sounds simple, but effectively draws attention to spoofed site URLs. There's also a compatibility button so that sites designed specifically for IE 7 and earlier can still be viewed.
IE 8 lacks a default "smart" location bar that many other browsers have, but you can search your history and most visited pages from there. Also, the installation process still requires a reboot--unimpressive, to say the least. Drawbacks aside, there's no reason to not upgrade if you're an old fan of IE, and there's even a few things in IE 8 for new users.
Publisher's description
From Microsoft :Internet Explorer 8 adds accelerators to provide instant access to information like maps, web searches, translations, email, blogging, and more; faster performance; a smart address bar; improved privacy protection; and Compatibility View for displaying websites designed for older browsers.
CNET Editor's Note: The Download Now link will take you to the Microsoft download site, where you can select your operating system.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 1443 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 346 user reviewsSee all 346 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Internet Explorer 8
Pros: It's very secure and you'll get good and satisfying support from Microsoft, lots of security updates. better integration with other Microsoft products than other browsers. It's my most preferred browser.
Cons: For some tasks you'll just need another browser.
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Version: Internet Explorer 8
Pros: Have yet to find something to like
Cons: Terrible on every score
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Internet Explorer 8
Pros: alright but preferr explorer7
Cons: no auto fill
Summary: I have downloaded explorer8 but I uninstalled it due to the simple fact that they eliminated the auto fill feature of exlporer7 had, which to me is great feature as far as I am concerned it may seem trivulous, but I do use that feature and depend on... read more >>
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Version: Internet Explorer 8
Pros: fast, stable, and packed with features. Intuitive and easy to use.
Cons: Made by MS, recent programs and upgrades have been disasters, buggy and not thoroughly tested.
Summary: Was pre-installed on my new laptop, made for 64bit, W7. Works perfectly so far, borrows some of the best features from other browsers. I use it as a secondary browser to FF with no qualms.
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Internet Explorer 8
Pros: Possibly???
Cons: Almost certainly
Summary: If I can ever get it to load without freezing and crashing I'll let you know.
- See all 346 user reviews Write review
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