Block windows update from automatic updating to IE7

It seems that Microsoft added the upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 to the automatic upgrade feature of Windows XP. Automatic Updates will notify you whenever a new version of a program is available and give you options to install or don't install the update, or postpone the decision.

It seems a pressing matter to Microsoft to get most Windows users to update their browsers to Internet Explorer 7, not only because it is the company's newest browser, but also to protect the browser's market share against the rising Opera and Firefox web browser.

Many users that use Firefox or Opera do not care about the new Internet Explorer 7 which means they probably want to get rid of this message altogether. Blocking windows update from automatic updating to IE7 can be done by changing one key in the Windows Registry. All you need to do is create a new Registry file and import it to the registry:

Create a new textfile, paste the following lines of code into it and save it with the extension .reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Setup\7.0]
"DoNotAllowIE70"=dword:00000001

This creates a new Registry key that blocks the automatic update to Internet Explorer 7. You will not see the annoying window pop-up again on the system. Simply change the Registry key from 1 to 0 if you want to enable Internet Explorer updates again.

Update: It may make sense after all to upgrade Internet Explorer 6 to a newer browser version, considering that third party software may make use of the rendering engine of the Internet browser. The reason should be obvious: if you use an outdated version, you may experience performance, compatibility and security issues which you would not experience with the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

Update 2: Internet Explorer 7 is not the state of the art web browser anymore. Microsoft since then has moved to IE8, and IE9, with Internet Explorer 10 being expected to ship with the upcoming operating system Windows 8.

Advertisement