Updating IE is a non-trivial process [LWN.net]

Updating IE is a non-trivial process

Posted Apr 21, 2005 9:42 UTC (Thu) by simon_kitching (guest, #4874)
Parent article: Security in Firefox

And the most important item of all: updating firefox simply updates firefox. Updating IE is an update of a core piece of the windows kernel that can have interesting and unexpected side-effects.

I worked on a large dynamic-html-based app for a while, and we were pushing the boundaries of IE. As soon as a new version of IE was released, we usually wanted it. But the operations dept were *with valid reasons* refusing to install such upgrades without a full test cycle of the whole desktop + critical apps. Result: we were often stuck well behind where we wanted to be.

Having a browser separate from the OS makes installing system upgrades in business environments *much* easier.

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Updating IE is a non-trivial process

Posted Apr 21, 2005 21:35 UTC (Thu) by mchristensen (guest, #4955) [Link]

I'm not a fan of IE, but this is just technically inaccurate.

Upgrading IE does not upgrade the windows kernel. It does however, upgrade a core piece of the Windows Operating System, because it forms a significant chunk of the standard Windows API. But that does not mean that it is in the kernel.

Microsoft uses this distinction to their advantage all the time. It's an important part of the Operating System when they are asked to remove it, but then when somebody complains about security Microsoft will tell you it's not part of the kernel.

Since it forms a core piece of the Windows API, many desktop apps (and the file browser) depend on it, and it needs to be tested as you describe. However, the kernel itself does not change when you upgrade IE.

The bigest problem is that it runs under a system account with all kinds of unnecessary privileges.

--Mark Ramm-Christensen