The old browser is never gone

IE Return 3.0.0 in Windows 10, Browser Control tab shown

Internet Explorer is back

Once the most widely used browser, Internet Explorer quickly lost it's popularity and was deprecated by Microsoft in the year 2015. Subsequently, it was replaced by a new Blink-based Microsoft Edge web browser. After some time, Microsoft decided to completely disable the outdated and deprecated web browser. No one protested against such actions. However, if you want to enable Internet Explorer again, there is a solution.

IE Return is a small utility that allows you to enable and set Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 11 and Windows 10, where browser was hidden from users. However, Microsoft did such a bad job that IE is still accessible via several easy actions, which are all collected in this program.

Launch and set everything you couldn't

IE Return utilises several ways to launch the old browser. For older Windows 10 versions (prior to 21H2) you just need to disable IEToEdge Browser Helper Object (BHO) module (controlled through Windows Registry) and then launch IE as an executable file. In newer versions of Windows 10 (since 21H2) and Windows 11, where Microsoft changed the ieframe.dll file, the browser is not accessible as an executable. However, there is a simple trick: just launch the browser through a VBScript, this option is available in IE Return as well.

Not only can you launch Internet Explorer, but set it up as well. Microsoft removed the ability to set up homepage in Internet Options applet of Control Panel. IE Return brings this feature back, with the entire functionality and appearence ported from the aforementioned applet. You can enter the url of the page and set it, use the default website (MSN) or use the blank tab. Also, there is an option to set how will the browser launch: either with tabs from previous session, or with home page. For ease of use, you can launch the Internet Options applet from the utility as well.

From a technical point of view

The software comes with an important file besides the executable itself: a VBScript (.vbs) file for launching Internet Explorer in newer Windows 10 and Windows 11 versions. Windows SmartScreen will protest when you will use this file through the software, but don't worry about it.

For all Homepage and Startup, as well as BHO settings, registry keys are used. When you change a setting, the program changes the corresponding key in the registry. But you are gonna ask: why do you need to change the registry? Because Internet Explorer stores all of its settings there: the IEToEdge BHO module is stored as a "{1FD49718-1D00-4B19-AF5F-070AF6D5D54C}" key in the path "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext\CLSID" and homepage settings are stored in "Start Page" key in the path "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main".

My browser has detected a virus!

It's obviously not a virus. Windows Defender is angry because the program is unsigned and because it changes your system's registry (for BHO, home page and startup settings). 3 out of 71 security vendors (Bkav Pro, TEHTRIS and CrowdStrike Falcon) on VirusTotal describe the .exe file as a malware. But read the above statement as the following: 68 out of 71 antiviruses do not see IE Return as malware. Jack Pomi Software does not produce any malware or other harmful software.

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