TLDR: You can run Internet Explorer in Internet Explorer via browserling.com/ie. This link will open a virtual IE browser inside of your IE browser so that you can browse while you browse.
What Is Internet Explorer?
Internet Explorer is a proprietary web browser developed by Microsoft, known for its deep integration with the Windows operating system. It supports various web standards and technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, while also offers features like ActiveX controls for enhanced web interactivity. As of today, it's being gradually phased out in favor of Microsoft Edge, which provides improved speed, security, and compliance with modern web standards.
What Is a Browser In a Browser?
A browser in a browser refers to a web-based application that emulates the functionality of a web browser within another browser. This emulation is achieved using HTML5 web technologies such as canvas and web sockets, allowing users to access and display web content independently within the parent browser's interface. This approach can enhance security and efficiency by isolating the embedded browser's activities from the main browser, much like how virtual machines provide isolated environments within a host operating system.
What is an IE in an IE?
An IE browser in an IE browser involves using Internet Explorer to run a web-based application that itself emulates Internet Explorer's functionality. This can be achieved through services like Browserling, which provides a browser-in-a-browser service, allowing users to access different versions of Internet Explorer within an existing IE session. This setup is particularly useful for testing and debugging web applications across various versions of IE, ensuring compatibility and performance in a controlled, isolated environment, which is independent of the host browser.
What Are the IE-in-IE Use Cases?
Legacy Application Compatibility
For enterprises relying on legacy web applications specifically designed for older versions of IE, using an IE browser within an IE browser enables access to these applications without compromising the security and features of the host system. This approach ensures seamless operation of legacy systems while transitioning to modern technologies.
Retro Computing Demonstrations
Enthusiasts and educators can use the IE-in-IE setup to showcase historical web technologies and designs, offering a practical experience of how the web looked and functioned in the era of earlier Internet Explorer versions. This serves both educational and nostalgic purposes, especially for illustrating the evolution of web standards.
Historical Bug Demonstration
Utilizing an IE browser within an IE browser allows developers and tech historians to access and demonstrate specific old Internet Explorer bugs. This is particularly useful for educational purposes, such as teaching browser history or for legacy software developers who need to understand how these bugs might have impacted older web applications. It provides a hands-on experience to study the behavior and impact of these historical bugs in their original environment without needing to install an old browser yourself.
Cross-Browser Testing for Developers
Web developers can utilize an IE-in-IE technology for testing websites across different versions of Internet Explorer (such as IE 6, IE 7, IE 8, IE 9, IE 10, and IE 11). This is crucial for ensuring that web applications perform consistently and as intended on various iterations of the browser, which is especially relevant when targeting audiences that may still use older versions.
Zero-Day Exploit Testing
Security researchers and cybersecurity professionals can utilize an IE browser within an IE browser for safely investigating and analyzing zero-day exploits specific to Internet Explorer. This controlled IE-in-IE environment allows for the execution and study of potentially harmful exploits without risking the integrity of the host system or wider network. By doing so, researchers can enhance their understanding of vulnerabilities in a secure, isolated setting.
What Is Browserling?
Browserling is an innovative web-based service that specializes in providing the browser-in-browser technology. It particularly excels in Internet Explorer within Internet Explorer (IE in IE) testing. Browserling's platform is essential for organizations aiming to ensure legacy application compatibility, as it allows them to run and test older web applications that were originally designed for various versions of IE within a modern browser environment. It also serves as a valuable tool for retro computing enthusiasts and educators, enabling them to demonstrate historical web technologies and bugs in their original context, and for developers who require robust cross-browser testing, including the analysis of zero-day exploits in a secure, isolated setup.
Who Uses Browserling?
Browserling has become the browser-in-browser platform of choice for web developers and security professionals and it's used by hundreds of thousands of users around the world every month. Browserling's customers include governments, states, cities, banks, stock exchanges, universities, newspapers, Fortune 100, Fortune 500 companies, and private multi-billion dollar companies.
Happy browsing!