Why do I have Internet Explorer temporary files if I never use it?

Hi Leo,

I set up software exceptions under the security applet in the control panel to disable several microsoft products based on their file hash. For example, iexplorer.exe. This seems to have eliminated many issues. The trade off is windows update will not work using Firefox. It has never bothered me, since Windows Update is denied as is any *.dll I believe to be associated with it.

From your previous posts, I make the assumption you are a fan of the security patches sent out via Windows Update.

I have not found any issues (several years) and I believe undesireable software has been blocked (or simply will not run) which would have been supported if I left the machine in its "native" mode.

Its the other way around Curtis.... Windows Update patches areas that used to be exploitable, making them UN-exploitable by the same version of the application. By opting out of Windows Update, you are simply widening that possibility that your machine could get infected/exploited, but that's entirely up to you...

Some people can keep fairly safe internet lives by keeping extremely low profiles on the net and avoiding almost all areas where you can be "used" by another party.

Software and NAT firewalls could help with port scanner searching your ISP's IP range, but once they get through that, your machine is open for business to 100s, if not thousands of exploitable pieces of code. I say Good Luck and God Speed!

Now, I know that to some degree, Windows Explorer uses aspects of Internet Explorer. Could browsing your HD, then, potentially create temporary files?

I don't believe so, with the exception that IE is often the default viewer for images (.jpgs for example) and for ".html" files. If you double click one of those then IE will itself fire up.

25-Aug-2009

i do have Firefox and i have been trying to get update to work and now i understand why not."what other browser do you suggest? your site has been a lot of help to me cheers

Have a Look for a Windows Genuine Advantage Firefox Plugin (its hard to find) it will let you goto Windows Updates.

Thanks for that answer, Leo. I have been wondering that same thing, myself.
I do wonder, however, why MS insists that the OS depends on IE, when obviously it does not, because it appears to work in Europe, without IE.

The only thing that has been removed from those versions of Windows is IE's user interface - the "guts" of IE are still there. As I said, they're required by too many other applications.

14-Jun-2011

Many thanks for this information. I noticed the phenomenon when I started using the disk clean routine in Norton Utilities and wondered why there were so many temp. IE files when I use Firefox.