Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) top features

Top new features in Internet Explorer 8 are:

· Accelerators. Accelerators give people easy access to the online services they care about most from any page they visit and allow users to browse faster by eliminating most of the clicks required to access desired content and services.

· Web Slices. With Web Slices, people can see the information they want to see most often without going away from the page they are on. Appearing in the Favorite bar, users can identify Web Slices with updates when in bold and they can see a rich Web Slice visualization of their content with access back to the source Web page.

· Instant Search Box. The enhanced Instant Search Box in Internet Explorer 8 is more helpful, making it easier for people to find content of interest and increasing the relevancy of search results. As users type a search term, they can see real-time search suggestions, including images and rich text, from their chosen search provider.

· Smart Address Bar. Provides matches as the user types across History and Favorites searching against all parts of the URL string (and the page title) instead of just the beginning. Allows mistyped entries to be removed from the Address Bar.

· Enhanced Tabbed Browsing.  Tabs are grouped and color-coded so people can quickly discern which are related. It is easy to group or ungroup tabs or reopen closed tabs.

· Performance improvements. We’ve reduced the time that people must wait when starting the browser, opening a “new tab” and loading a page.

· SmartScreen Filter. Built upon the Microsoft Phishing Filter, the SmartScreen Filter helps protect against a broader set of phishing threats and helps protect from sites that attempt to download malicious software. The SmartScreen Filter is now easier to use with enhanced user interface and warning messages to reduce users’ click-through to confirmed sites.

· Domain Highlighting. Internet Explorer 8 highlights the domain name of the URL string in the Address Bar in bold text, making it easier for people to tell which site they are on and aid them in identifying phishing sites and other deceptive sites. The domain name is in black, standing out from other characters in the URL, which are gray.

· Cross-Site Scripting filter. Helps protect users and systems from attacks that can lead to information disclosure, cookie stealing, account/identity theft or otherwise masquerading as the user without permission.

• InPrivate. InPrivate helps to protect people’s data and privacy from being retained locally on the PC they are using. This protects against third parties who might be in a position to track their online activities.  The consumer has the ability to use either of the features (InPrivate Browsing or InPrivate Filtering) independently.
  • InPrivate Browsing. When activated, InPrivate Browsing helps ensure that History, temporary Internet files and cookies are not recorded on a PC after browsing. When in InPrivate Browsing, toolbars and extensions are automatically disabled and browsing History is automatically deleted when the browser is closed.
  • InPrivate Filtering. InPrivate Filtering helps protect privacy by enabling the consumer to block content coming from third parties that are in a position to track and aggregate their online behavior. Users are provided with notice, choice and control of which third parties to allow and which ones to block.