Using the IE9 Blocker Toolkit

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Hello everyone!

Many enterprise administrators will want to control how and when IE9 is deployed to their organization through Automatic Updates to give them an opportunity to test their applications for compatibility.  In this post, we cover answers to some common questions related to the IE9 Blocker Toolkit and article on removing IE9 if the standard removal method does not work.

Here are some of the questions and answers you may have when implementing the IE9 Blocker Script or Administrative template (ADM) on your environment.

Question: What is included in the Internet Explorer 9 Toolkit?

Answer: The IE9 Blocker Toolkit includes 4 files.

IE9_Blocker.adm - The Administrative Template (.adm file) allows administrators to import the new Group Policy settings to block or unblock automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 9 into their Group Policy environment, and to use Group Policy to centrally execute the action across systems in their environment.

IE9_Blocker.cmd - The script accepts one of two command line options (block and unblock) and creates or removes the registry key that controls whether Internet Explorer 9 is offered automatically to the system (via Automatic Updates scans).

IE9_BlockerHelp.htm - The Blocker Help file includes the same information found at the IE9 Blocker Toolkit download page. This is helpful for scenarios where you may not have internet access and you have already downloaded the toolkit.

IE9_BlockerHelp-GPFilteringDialog.jpg – This file is used in the IE9_BlockerHelp.htm file. Contains a screenshot of the Group Policy Filter Dialog. Please note that dialog showing the GP Filter is from a Windows XP or Windows 2003 platform. When reviewing the same policy in a Windows 7, Vista or Windows 2008 the filter dialog looks different.

Question: What switches does the IE9_Blocker.cmd have?

Answer: Below, I illustrate the options you have when using the IE9_Blocker.cmd batch file.

The IE9_Blocker.cmd will allow you to set the KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Setup\9.0 registry key outside of using a GPO. If you simply open the IE9_blocker.cmd from Command line, you should see the available switches; See example below:

As you can see, the script accepts a machine name and a switch to block or unblock a machine.

Note:

The customer is free to modify the script to meet their needs. However, supportability does not go beyond what is already included in the IE 9 Blocker Toolkit.

Question: Is there a document that would show me how to implement the IE9_Blocker.adm Group Policy?

Answer: Yes, we have a blogpost on how to implement the IE9 Toolkit administrative template on your environment. The blog post title is How to set IE 9 Blocker policy.

Troubleshooting

Question: We noticed IE9 was installed on many clients in my environment and we have to removed it as we have not perform any testing yet, can I removed IE9 from command line?

Answer: Yes, The official article 2579295 contains information on how to remove IE9 if unable to use standard uninstallation process. The article, also includes a Microsoft Fix it 50778 to help users remove IE9 using a wizard.

Below is the official article on how to remove internet explorer 9 when standard uninstallation process cannot be use or does not work.

 

Regards,

The IE Support Team