How To Block Internet Explorer From Accessing The Internet

Because you will never need to use it

Internet Explorer is now only included with Windows 10 as a legacy product, and most users would never have any reason to use it.

If you want to block Internet Explorer from accessing the internet on your system, there are a few simple ways you can do it. These include:

Block Internet Explorer Internet Access With Windows Firewall

One of the fastest and easiest ways to block Internet Explorer from accessing the internet is using theWindows 10 built-in firewall.

Windows firewall settings let you define how specific applications on your computer can access the internet. You can set up a detailed rule to block all incoming and outgoing internet connections with Internet Explorer.

Note: If the path above doesn’t work when you complete the wizard, then change this path toC:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe.

Now that you’ve blocked all outgoing internet connections from Internet Explorer, when you open IE you’ll see that you can’t access any websites anymore.

Completely Disabling Internet Explorer

There are a few ways you can disable Internet Explorer completely on any Windows 10 PC. Windows Internet Explorer isn’t a standard Windows app. It’s considered a feature within Windows. Because of this, you need to disable it in Windows Features.

Windows will prompt you to restart your system to fully complete disabling and removing IE from your windows system.

An alternative to using Windows Features is a command you can run to disable or enable Internet Explorer.

You’ll see a confirmation message stating that the operation completed successfully.

Use Windows 10 Family Parental Controls

You can block Internet Explorer from accessing the internet by using IE’s built-in parental controls. But before you can do this, you’ll need to set up a Family in Windows 10.

Note: Microsoft will need to charge your credit card 50 US cents to confirm you’re an adult in the family.

You’ll only be blocking Internet Explorer from accessing the internet for the family members you’ve set up – but it’s one option if this is what you’d like to do.

Block Internet Explorer With a Third Party Firewall

If you’re the kind of person that prefers keeping the Windows Defender Firewall turned off, you can use a third-party firewall tool instead, such asFree Firewall.

Many firewall apps load on top of Windows Firewall to give it extra features, but don’t let you control individual apps. Free Firewall lets you block internet access for individual applications, like Internet Explorer.

Now that this is enabled, Internet Explorer won’t have any access to the Internet, while all other browsers still will.

Block Internet Explorer By Updating The Proxy Server

There is another option that’ll block internet access from Internet Explorer, but it’ll also block internet access from all other browsers as well.

All port 80 internet communication (web browsing) goesthrough the proxy serverconfigured by your ISP. This works because of a LAN setting on your PC toAutomatically detect settingsfor the correct proxy server.

Now no browser on your PC will be able to access the internet. Keep in mind however, that any savvy computer user who wants to re-enable internet access could just go into the LAN settings and move these settings back to normal.

Ryan has been writing how-to and other technology-based articles online since 2007. He has a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering and he’s worked 13 years in automation engineering, 5 years in IT, and now is an Apps Engineer.Read Ryan’s Full Bio

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