Internet Explorer 8: Beta History, Features and What to Use Now

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 arrived in March 2008 as a developer preview, so web designers could prepare their sites for Microsoft’s next browser. This article recalls what IE8 introduced, why you should not download it today, and what to use instead, including IE mode in Microsoft Edge for old sites.

Quick answer: Internet Explorer 8 is a long-retired browser and Microsoft no longer supports it, so installing it today is unsafe. Use Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox instead. If an old website or intranet app only works in Internet Explorer, open it in Edge’s Internet Explorer mode, which Microsoft says it will support through at least 2029.

What was Internet Explorer 8 Beta?

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 was a developer preview for web designers and developers. Microsoft wanted sites ready for the final release, and IE8 aimed to deliver full CSS 2.1 support, better scripting performance and early HTML5 support. Testers could also install a “Report a Webpage Problem” add-on to send Microsoft reports about rendering problems and script errors.

The beta ran on Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 SP2 and Windows Server 2008, but not on prerelease versions of Windows Vista SP1.

New features in Internet Explorer 8

• Safety Filter: built on the Phishing Filter to block known phishing sites and sites known to host malicious software.
• Favorites bar: a makeover of the Links bar, where you could keep links, feeds, WebSlices and even Office documents.
• WebSlices: let you subscribe to part of a web page and get notified when it changed, much like a feed.
• Activities: contextual services you could call from any page, such as mapping or translating selected text, instead of copying and pasting between sites.

Some of these ideas lived on. The Favorites bar is still in Edge, and the safety filter grew into Microsoft Defender SmartScreen. WebSlices and Activities faded away.

Should you download Internet Explorer 8 today?

No. IE8 stopped getting security updates years ago, and even its successor, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop app, was retired on most Windows 10 versions on 15 June 2022, according to Microsoft’s lifecycle FAQ. Old IE installers from download sites are a security risk, and modern websites will not display properly in them anyway.

Use a modern browser

• Microsoft Edge: built into Windows and Microsoft’s replacement for Internet Explorer.
• Google Chrome: the most widely used browser; see why Chrome replaced IE on many computers.
• Mozilla Firefox: a privacy-focused, open-source option.

How to open old sites with IE mode in Edge

If a legacy site needs Internet Explorer, Edge can load it with the IE engine. Microsoft’s IE mode help page gives these steps:

1. In Edge, type edge://settings/defaultBrowser in the address bar and press Enter.
2. Under Internet Explorer compatibility, set “Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode” to Allow, then restart Edge.
3. In recent Edge versions on a home PC, go to Settings, Default Browser, and under Internet Explorer mode pages select Add a page. Enter the site and reload it.

On work PCs managed by an IT department, the option may appear as “Reload in Internet Explorer mode” in the Settings and more (…) menu. Select Leave on the information bar to go back to normal browsing.

FAQ

When did Internet Explorer 8 come out?

Beta 1 arrived in March 2008 as a developer preview, and the final version followed in 2009.

Is Internet Explorer 8 still supported?

No. Microsoft no longer supports IE8, and the Internet Explorer 11 desktop app has also been retired on most Windows 10 versions.

How can I run an old IE-only website?

Use Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge, which Microsoft supports through at least 2029.

Can I still download IE8 safely?

No. Avoid old installers from download sites; they get no security fixes.

For a later chapter of the story, see our old post on Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7.