Editing Removal of Internet Explorer (section)

== Definition ==
It is unclear what it means to "remove IE" because such a removal depends on being able to determine which files or functions on an installed Windows system are part of IE — that is, to draw a line between IE and the rest of Windows. Microsoft has held that this is not meaningful; that in Windows 98 and newer versions, "Internet Explorer" is not a separate piece of software but simply a [[brand]] name for the web browsing and HTML rendering capacities of the Windows operating system. In this view, the result of removing IE is simply a damaged Windows system; to have a working system without IE one must replace Windows entirely.{{cn|date=March 2020}}

In contrast, some programmers and security writers have held that it is possible to have a useful and working Windows system with IE excised. These people include consultant Fred Vorck, who advocates that consumers should have the choice to remove "integrated" features of Microsoft Windows<ref name="vorck1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.vorck.com/windows/2ksp5.html#download-ie6 |title=Windows 2000 SP5 (And IE free, if you like) |access-date=December 27, 2009 |archive-date=January 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130032753/http://www.vorck.com/windows/2ksp5.html#download-ie6 |url-status=live }}</ref> and participates in the [[HFSLIP]] project; Dino Nuhagic, who is the creator of [[nLite]], a product that allows users to remove Windows components like Internet Explorer and [[Windows Media Player]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msfn.org/ |title=MSFN - Where People Go To Know |publisher=Msfn.org |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916124009/http://www.msfn.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Shane Brooks, who created [[98lite]] and [[XPLite]] to remove and manage Windows components<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.litepc.com/ |title=LitePC Technologies |publisher=Litepc.com |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127103337/http://www.litepc.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> after the installation of the operating system. Some people have suggested the use of alternative browsers instead of Internet Explorer, to try reduce the risk of vulnerabilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsID=439 |title=Redmond &#124; Feature Article: Time to Dump IE? |publisher=Redmondmag.com |access-date=September 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514070352/http://redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=439 |archive-date=May 14, 2008 }}</ref>