What to do about IE and .NET?

It looks as if Internet Explorer (IE) will soon be gone from our PCs and .NET 4.5.2, 4.6 and 4.6.1 will drop out of support on April 26. So, we should just rip out IE and .NET from our machines, right?

Not so fast. First, you might have an application that relies on an older version of IE or .NET; removing them might not be wise – especially if you’re still using Windows 7. Or you can wait for updates from important vendors. Case in point: I recently received an email from a key vendor saying it will be providing software updates to remove a dependency from IE. The vendor is going so far as to provide updates to older software releases that date back to 2017. (The software is released annually and, thus, needs updates to use older versions.)

But Microsoft is not deprecating or removing the Trident engine, which provides support for software including forms.webbrowser and iemode. In fact, the Trident engine will be supported until 2029 and  Microsoft itself is already providing support for Webview2 to Chromium and Trident engines. (If you’ve suddenly wondered why Webview2 was installed on your computer, you probably have a Microsoft 365 application installed.) These days, I strongly recommend having multiple browsers installed one your PC; use one for general surfing (with the highest restrictions and privacy plug-ins) and a fallback browser with default settings intact that you can use for any websites that refuses to work with your settings.

As for .NET 4.5.2, 4.6 and 4.6.1, they’re going away “because the .NET Framework was previously digitally signed using certificates that use the Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1), and we are prioritizing support to newer digital certificates.”

Don’t remember what the .NET framework is? It’s the original implementation of .NET and provides a framework for developers to code with (and deliver the software you use routinely).

As Microsoft notes, it “provides a consistent object-oriented programming environment whether object code is stored and executed locally, executed locally but Internet-distributed, or executed remotely. It provides a code-execution environment that minimizes software deployment and versioning conflicts. Lastly, it provides a code-execution environment that promotes safe execution of code, including code created by an unknown or semi-trusted third party.