Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 to Begin Rolling Out to Customers

Microsoft has just announced HERE that IE11 for Windows 7 is available worldwide starting today. They will start updating Windows 7 SP1 customers automatically through Windows Update in the coming weeks. IE11 offers many advantages over earlier versions, however from my testing and use there are a incompatible web sites and web apps that you may have to deal with, so it's best to stick IE11 through a testing process prior to allowing it be installed on end-user computers.  I initially had app shock after installing IE11 over IE10, but after working through the issues for a couple weeks, it's working much better. The Compatibility View Settings function has become a good friend even though IE11 now hides it away in the Tools menu. My issue wasn't with IE11 itself, but instead the clearly evident changes made since IE10 was released with Windows 8. Compatibility is a big issue.

So, if you'd rather not have your Windows 7 computers automatically updated to IE11, you can download the toolkit to block the installation of IE11.

Download it here: Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 11

Of course, if you utilize a WSUS server or Configuration Manager to manage your patching processes, you don't need the Blocker Toolkit. The Blocker Toolkit is only for those computers configured to retrieve and install updates from Microsoft's update servers through Automatic Updates.

To deploy IE11 in a controlled manner you can download the IE11 for Windows 7 bits from the Microsoft Download Center at these links: 

Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 (32-bit)

Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 64-bit Edition and Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit Edition

Internet Explorer 11 Language Packs for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Internet Explorer Administration Kit 11

Administrative Templates for Internet Explorer 11 (for Windows Server 2003 only)

P.S. Thanks to Windows IT Pro community member Tom Kustner for alerting me to the release. He caught it before I did!