[WinPartners] Internet Explorer 7 release update

[Alex Kozlov]

Good Afternoon,

Microsoft has announced the release of Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) for Windows
XP. Beginning October 18, 2006, IE7 will be available for download from
Microsoft and beginning November 1, 2006, Microsoft will deliver IE7 as a
critical update via Windows Automatic Update.

Information Services and Technology (IS&T) has been testing and evaluating
IE7 beta versions over the past three months and has found that most MIT and
ECAT vendor's web sites function properly with the IE7 default settings
(that is, security level set to Medium High). We have noted that a number of
sites fail when the security level is raised to High. The MIT Certificate
works as expected, although users need to enable ActiveX to generate a new
one.

Microsoft states that: 
"Internet Explorer 7 is highly compatible with web sites, extensions, and
applications available today and has made significant improvements in
security, rendering, and usability. However, some of these improvements and
new features may cause some sites to not render properly or change how the
user interacts with your site, extension or application."

Based on IS&T findings, we anticipate most things will continue to work with
IE7.

IS&T Recommendation:
IS&T strongly recommends that staff in Departments, Laboratories and Centers
(DLCs) who maintain web applications test their web sites, extensions, and
applications as soon as Microsoft releases IE7 tomorrow to make sure they
are compatible with IE7. IS&T will work with you to assist in finding an
appropriate solution if you run into a problem. Please contact
ie7-release at mit.edu for assistance and to share your findings.

If you determine that your environment is not ready for IE7 deployment you
can use Internet Explorer 7 Blocker Toolkit at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=65788 which will prevent installation
of IE7 via Automatic Updates on November 1. If a problem develops after IE7
is installed you have an option to uninstall IE7 and roll back to IE6.

Getting Help:
Pointers to tools, resources, and solutions are available from IE7 release
notebook: http://web.mit.edu/swrt/releases/ie7/index.html

We would appreciate hearing about your experiences with IE7 and if you
encountered any issues with web sites, particularly those you use for MIT
business and learning. Please send any test results and/or feedback to
ie7-release at mit.edu.



Alexander Kozlov 
Windows Platform Coordinator
Software Release Team
Information Services & Technology
MIT
W92-148, Cambridge, MA 02139
 
Tel  (617) 253-5103
Fax (617) 258-8736