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Take your Windows computing setup into your own hands.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 6


April 10, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   Last week I warned readers to avoid Internet Explorer 6 at all costs. Many of you wrote to thank me, but others sent urgent messages reminding me that the "costs" might total more than I had expected. These readers had already installed Internet Explorer 6 and wanted to know how to ditch it.
   Microsoft rides to the rescue in this case. The Microsoft Knowledge Base, an essential source of help for users of all Microsoft programs, tells what to do if you've installed IE 6 but don't want to use it any longer. Microsoft's article has instructions for uninstalling IE 6 that should work in most cases. (If you still can't get rid of IE 6, stick with it until the next time you do a complete reinstallation of Windows.)
   Microsoft's Knowledge Base is on the Web, and the article is at this address: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q293907.
   I'm sure Internet Explorer 6 will behave itself after Microsoft gets the bugs out. The best version of IE is 5.5. If you're still using a lower version, upgrading to 5.5 would be smart. Use the Windows Update function to get the update. You should be able to find a Windows Update launch icon in the Start Menu. If you don't see it there, try running the Update Manager yourself. Click "Start," then "Run." Type "wupdmgr.exe" (without quotes) and click OK.
   Microsoft's Windows Update service is a gem. It does not, as far as anyone can tell, spy on users, and it usually does a good job showing what should be done to fix bugs. But Microsoft did a stupid thing recently when it changed part of Windows Update. You need to know about this, if only to keep you wary of Microsoft's otherwise helpful update methods.
   When users who had uninstalled Microsoft's MSN Messenger went to the Update site, the Windows Update in many cases actually reinstalled MSN Messenger without getting permission to do so. Microsoft fixed the problem (or changed the policy, whichever was the cause) and Windows Update no longer does that. Or so we think.
   The lesson in all this is to take your Windows computing setup into your own hands. Once a week, check to see what's running in the background. (Programs that start up automatically are "running in the background," and we often don't know they are there.) Use Startup Cop (search the Technofile site to find out more about it). After you've done that, check for spyware, using Ad-Aware. (Search the Technofile for it, too.)