Transcript: Changes to Internet Explorer in Windows XP SP2, August 12, 2004
Published: August 12, 2004
Chat Date: July 8, 2004
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity
Introduction
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
Welcome to today's Expert Zone chat. Our topic is Changes to Internet Explorer in Windows XP SP2. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
For the duration of this chat, we ask that all text posted in this room remain on topic (Changes to Internet Explorer in Windows XP SP2). We welcome you to stick around after to discuss other topics. Questions on other topics may be considered for a future chat.
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
I'll now have the hosts introduce themselves.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Hi, My name is Dave Massy and I work on the Program Management team for Internet Explorer. We've been really busy getting Windows XP SP2 and looking forward to talking about it today. I also Eric Kruller with me who works as a tester on networking.
Host: joedib (Microsoft)
Hi My name is Joe Dibee I work on the IE Security Team as a tester and am particularly interested in cryptography
Host: vidya (Microsoft)
HI, I’m Vidya working with the IE Trident test team. I worked on some of the new features in IE XPSP2.
Host: JeremyE (Microsoft)
Hi, my name is Jeremy Earp and I work as a tester for the IE Trident Test Team.
Host: will (Microsoft)
Hi I'm Will and I'm also working on the IE Trident test team.
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
And I'm Ken McGrath, Web and Communities Producer.
Start of Chat
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Will you be adding better web standards to IE now SP2 has been released
A: Hi Limit, Having just finished up SP2 we are looking at what work we will undertake next. Further work on W3C recommendations is certainly being discussed but we have nothing to announce yet. Let's keep this chat focused on SP2 and we'll address what comes next in a future chat.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: frankcow : were there any changes whatsoever to IE's handling of CSS2?
A: For SP2 we concentrated on security as a primary focus. There are no changes to CSS rendering and parsing in this update. That will most likely be the focus of a future major release. SP2 includes a lot of work to reduce the surface area for attack.
Host: joedib (Microsoft)
Q: will sp2 make it easier to access the security controls
A: the way users access zone security has not changed
Host: vidya (Microsoft)
Q: how does the pop-up blocker determine what constitutes a pop-up? is it examing page code, or using a window open event handler?
A: The logic behind the pop-up blocking is by checking the windows being opened by window.open. We don’t handle the pop-ups created by DHTML or flash technologies
Host: JeremyE (Microsoft)
Q: Will IE SP2 let you selectively block advertisements from servers, whether banner ads or macromedia flash ads??
A: Our changes in Windows XP SP2 do not specifically block advertisements from servers or macromedia flash ads. We do allow you to disable addons that you do not wish to have running using Tools/Manage Add-ons. Just keep in mind that if you disable an addon, the addon is disabled for all pages.
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
Q: will this chat be available in text later for reading offline?
A: Yes, it'll be posted to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/chats/transcripts/default.mspx in 3 to 5 business days.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: ZIenaK9 : Q ome programs and spyware destroys IE. WIll SP2 allow a rebuild to fix IE back to normal?
A: Spyware and Malware is a real problem today. In SP2 we provide an addon manager to allow you to control addons to Internet Explorer. This allows you to enable and disable individual addons such as ActiveX Controls, Helper Objects and Toolbars.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
However if you have something particularly wicked that runs as a service and renames its dll constantly to avoid detection then the addon manager may not help. One of the best defences is to actually not install software you do not trust in the first place. SP2 helps a great deal here by making it really difficult to inadvertantly download and install unwanted software.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: matthew: wot does sp2 alter in internet explore
A: There are lots of changes in Internet Explorer to improve security when browsing the internet. There's a great document at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2chngs.mspx that outlines all the changes. Specifically .in IE we have reduced the surface area of attack so that it is much more difficult to fall victim to the bad guys out there who want to take over your machine and steal your data.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
We'd love to hear feedback from those that have already installed it. It should be coming to a Windows Update near you shortly.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Chuck Has the hijacking of search engine or home page been made more difficult by changes to IE in SP2?
A: Yes. We've worked on a number of security issues as well as reduced the number of ways the bad guys can get to that functionality.
Host: JeremyE (Microsoft)
Q: How has IE SP2 changed the way we download files?
A: Here are some of the main file download changes in IE for Windows XP SP2: 1: We have made certificate checking more strict by default. 2: The confirmation dialogs have all been updated to be easier to understand. 3: If you download a file and save it for later, Windows will prompt you with a confirmation when you try to run it.
Host: vidya (Microsoft)
Q: I have noticed that some pop-ups get around the IE toolbar, will there be future updates to fix this?
A: Yes there are some ways where the pop ups are not blocked right now. We will be considering looking into this in the future releases.
Host: joedib (Microsoft)
Q: does avoiding these bad guys require configuration on my part or is most of the battle going on behind the scenes?
A: It come out of the box preconfigured for improved security
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: frankcow : will IE be taking us to the new Windows Update site?
A: The update to Windows Update (pun intended) is I believe being worked on. That's not directly related to the Internet Explorer so I'm not sure exactly when that will be rolled out.
Host: JeremyE (Microsoft)
Q: Has anything changed in the area of Java support? Am I allowed to mention Java here?
A: Hi frankcow. Yes, you are allowed to talk about Java here. In XPSP2, we made some minor changes regarding security and Java but for the most part the support is the same as previous versions of IE. We worked hard to make sure that XPSP2 supports all the VMs that were supported in previous versions.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: USER : We have some application thru IE, will SP2 have impact to the Web Applications?
A: Hi User, We've done our very bext to avoid anyone havng to make any changes. However there are some cases where we have enhanced security and this has effected functionality. You can learn about these changes and recommended workarounds at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2chngs.mspx and http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/author/dhtml/overview/xpsp2compat.asp
Host: vidya (Microsoft)
Q: Security Settings/Internet Properties for Teenagers who like to shop, chat and dowload clips? Are the medium default settings good enough?
A: The default settings have been recognized based on what the users will be browsing in general. There are definitely some evil sites which will be harmful to the computer when using the medium settings.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Lee: Is this webchat applicable for web developers? Most q's seem to be user-orientated? Is there a developer webchat coming up?
A: Hi Lee, Please go ahead and ask developer questions here. If there is enough interest we can always make this a focus of a future chat. Just let us know.
Host: JeremyE (Microsoft)
Q: can you override the popup blocker temporarily by holding a key? Like the Google toolbar with 'Ctrl'?
A: Yes, we offer similar controls for popup blocking. To change these settings, go to Tools/Pop-up Blocker/Pop-up Blocker Settings.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Any chance of stopping IE from refreshing when choosing to temporarily allow pop-ups? This new design will erase web based emails if you type a message and then try to attach a file
A: Hi Nathan, This is actually something that is very difficult to do without breaking the website. Because very often we need to go and reinitialise the page to get the popups to appear. The best advise is to add the site to your list of web sites that are allowed to use popups.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Lee Thanks Dave. My question is the clientCaps behavior. We use this with getComponentVersion to get the version of FLash and WindowsMedia Player. With SP2, the method returns correct info for IE itself and WMP 6.4, but an empty string for Flash and WMP 9
A: Hi Lee, Yes unfortunately this was changed to protect some privacy concerns with sites knowing what is installed on your machine. Depending on your requirements you can try to instantiate the component and fail gracefully if it is not present.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Hey has anyone got any feedback on SP2? Do you like it?
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
We're now about two-thirds of the way into today's chat Changes to Internet Explorer in Windows XP SP2. We encourage you to repost any questions we may have missed. Thanks all for participating in the chat.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: clientCaps - Thanks Dave - nice to hear it officially Is there a document which says which components are allowed to be tested and which are not? Will the MSDN library be updated soon with this info?
A: Hi Lee, The allowed list is documented for client caps on MSDN. I believe it was a side effect that we allowed its use for other components.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Limit : Dave_MS : Hey has anyone got any feedback on SP2? Do you like it?
A: Its good but i wish it updated IE web standards. It can’t be that hard can it?
A: Hi Limit, Updating the rendering and parsing is actually quite hard. The slightest change can break the millions of pages that rely on funky behavior much of which comes from earlier browsers that we were forced to emulate for that very reason.We do take this issue very seriously though and recognise we have fallen behind in this area. It is hoped we can address this in a future release.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: frankcow So the focus is on security. Does that mean that the DOM remains the same?
A: Hi frankcow, Essentially yes all the functionality stays the same. There have been a few small areas where our security focus has had an impact of funcitonality. We've documented that at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/author/dhtml/overview/xpsp2compat.asp
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Limit : : Dave_MS. K but the web standards have not been updated in nearly 4 years and web developers cannot keep wasting money designing websites that look fine in any other browser but not in IE
A: Limit, Yes we understand the issue. I don't have any good answers at this stage other than we hope to be able to improve this in the future. As soon as we are confident of our plans and ability to deliver we'll let everyone know but at this stage I don't want to make promises.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Yes Dave. I see that Detectable components in the MSDN library has been updated. Am i right that Flash used to appear on this list? Or am I imagining things
A: Hi Lee, I'm not sure actually. I'll see if I can find out after this chat.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: Has true Alpha transparancy PNG been supported in IE SP2?
A: Hi Limit, No I'm afraid not. Again we have heard the requests but the focus of SP2 was security. I blogged a workaround for this on my blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/dmassy/archive/2004/08/05/209428.aspx which I know is far from perfect but we hope to get to this in a future release.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Transparent PNG is another area where the work is actually quite difficult given our architecture which optimises image rendering.I wish we could do this easily but unfortunately we can't. That doesn't mean we won't do this in a future release...
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Q: is there better Better printing support (no need for landscape prints) in IE SP2
A: I'm afraid prinitng remains unchanged. This is another area where we hope to be able to improve the experience in a future version.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
Hey guys if you have suggestions visit the Wiki on Channel 9 http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/default.aspx/Channel9.InternetExplorerFeedback
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
Thanks for joining us today and thanks for the questions. It's time for us to go now.
Host: Dave (Microsoft)
It's been fun chatting guys. Thanks for your time. I hope you all found it useful.
Host: joedib (Microsoft)
Thanks everyone -Joe
Moderator: KenM (Microsoft)
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