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As you know support for Internet Explorer (IE) is dropped, but I'm still using it for compatibility purposes. Eg. Bypass Webp format and save images in pure jpg or png format.

I still have my windows 7 partition which I can extract the IE executables but am looking at ways to make IE 6-11 portable so I can simply launch it on my Wi dows 10/11 Desktop as needed. Of course for the bulk of my browsing will be on the latest browser due to stability and security issues.

So I assume it would be possible to run IE as a standalone exe on Windows 10/11 as there is forward compatibility rather than backward compatibility.

Any idea how to achieve this?

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    This seems like a really bad idea. Internet Explorer is end of life and you will end up browsing with multiple unpatched security holes. Edge has an IE mode. Alternatively, perhaps you can download the content you need if you change the User-agent string for your browser
    – moo
    Commented Mar 17 at 6:53
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    You can bypass webp in other ways, or you can convert webp to jpg or whatever
    – Gantendo
    Commented Mar 17 at 6:53
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    you should not use win7 and you should not use IE preview.redd.it/… you can batch convert webp to jpg with Irfanview
    – Gantendo
    Commented Mar 17 at 6:53
  • Even if IE is not available, you still have mshtml on your machine for running HTAs. This is equivalent to running IE9.
    – cup
    Commented Mar 17 at 7:27
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    Simply having Internet Explorer installed/accessible compromises the machine it's on - it never even has to be run to compromise the machine. When Microsoft became aware of this ~2017ish they actively told everyone to stop using IE because there is no fixing this specific vulnerability that is exploitable, and was being actively exploited IIRC, as they were no longer patching IE. There is no security patch for this vulnerability, there is no way to mitigate it because it deals with a specific extension that cannot be unassigned from IE - the only thing that can be done is to uninstall IE.
    – JW0914
    Commented Mar 17 at 12:44

2 Answers 2

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This request was already presented Portable Apps Internet Explorer.

The answer there was that no one can legally package IE as a portable app, and it also cannot be done due to its tight integration into Windows, besides the fact that this would require illegal reverse-engineering.

Nevertheless, and for what it's worth, the site oldversion.com contain IE versions from 1.0 to 10. I downloaded and launched the version 10 .exe and it started an installation that I didn't follow through.

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5
  • 2
    Simply having Internet Explorer installed/accessible compromises the machine it's on - it never even has to be run to compromise the machine. When Microsoft became aware of this ~2017ish they actively told everyone to stop using IE because there is no fixing this specific vulnerability that is exploitable, and was being actively exploited IIRC, as they were no longer patching IE. There is no security patch for this vulnerability, there is no way to mitigate it because it deals with a specific extension that cannot be unassigned from IE - the only thing that can be done is to uninstall IE.
    – JW0914
    Commented Mar 17 at 12:48
  • @JW0914: You don't like IE (and you're not alone), but is this a reason to downvote? How do you know that it's not intended for a VM? There are reasons for using IE with all sort of ancient apps, not necessary for everyday surfing. For example, I recently helped someone ask for a visa for entering India, where I needed to do the request using IE, as Edge mode IE didn't work well enough. Luckily I had one lying around.
    – harrymc
    Commented Mar 17 at 13:35
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    I didn't downvote your answer. IE Tab should work in all instances where IE was required. This has nothing to do with a like/dislike of IE - simply having IE installed on a machine, virtual or otherwise, compromises the machine due to an actively exploited file association (for .mht IIRC) that cannot be modified from being assigned to IE when IE is installed. A Microsoft executive even wrote a blog about this exact thing in ~2017ish or ~2019ish telling everyone it would not be patched and to stop using IE because of it.
    – JW0914
    Commented Mar 17 at 15:25
  • @JW0914: Excuse me for my hasty assumption, as your comment came at the same time as the downvote.
    – harrymc
    Commented Mar 17 at 15:28
  • It's a fair assumption, as I'll always comment if I downvote
    – JW0914
    Commented Mar 17 at 15:28
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Found a video showing how. Simply create a VBScript with the following code.

CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application").Visible=true

This launches the IE pre-installed on Windows 10/11. It's bundled with Windows but can't be launched directly by clicking its executable. No need to port.

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  • Why risk compromising the entire machine by enabling IE instead of simply using a product made for this very scenario, IE Tab? Has it been verified whether enabling IE through a VBS script creates the same exploitable file extension association that prompted Microsoft and one of its executives to tell everyone within an official Microsoft blog to stop using IE because of this exploit and to uninstall it because this would not be patched? Until that's been verified, this answer is really, really bad advice because of the very real risk IE poses due to an unassignable file association.
    – JW0914
    Commented Mar 19 at 13:50

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