will it mess up my computer if i uninstall internet explorer? PLEASE ANSWER, URGENT!!?

Question

my internet explorer acts weird due to some malware i had a while back, but ever since i got rid of the malware, iexplorer would still act weird. so i got firefox and blocked iexplorer with my firewall, but i still get weird pop up things out of nowhere. of course they dont say anything but its really annoying and it makes my pc run slow.
so i went to remove programs in the control panel and was going to remove iexplorer but it said something like, a bunch of programs use this program or some weird **** like that. so i was wondering if it was safe to uninstall internet explorer?

Answer 1

Depending on your version of Windows, it may be a concern. In later versions, Windows Explorer uses IE. So, in general, I would avoid uninstalling it. Instead, I would use a program like AdAware or SpyBot Search & Destroy (or both) to get rid of the adware and malware on your computer. Both programs are free and available for download - just search for them by name.

Also, an antivirus is a must, and you should run an antivirus scan to start.

Answer 2

If you have Windows, Internet Explorer is a part of that. You can disable IE, instead of uninstalling it. Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. When the list loads, on the left side, click on Add/Remove Windows Components. Give that list time to load, and when it does, remove the checkmark by Internet Explorer. Then close control panel and restart the computer. that should stop the conflict the system is having with both Firefox and IE running. Your firewall, unless it is comodo, does not block anything outgoing, only incoming.

Answer 3

Internet Explorer is, unfortunately, built into Windows in all versions after 98 and can't be fully removed. No matter what you do, IE will still be available in a limited capacity for the purpose of running Windows Update, which requires Internet Explorer to run. It will not be generally available to users, however, and since you set your default browser to whatever you installed earlier, IE will never open on its own when you click a link offline. This is the best you can do; Windows security is all about reducing risk, rather than eliminating it. If you start Windows Update, an IE window will open and you can use it for browsing sites other than Windows Update despite the fact that it's been "removed" and "disabled." This is one of the main problems with Windows -- there are always loopholes like this one that compromise your system's security

Answer 4

With Windows Vista or later, Internet Explorer has been embedded with the system and cannot be deleted without messing up the computer. If you have XP, you can uninstall it by going to control panel and then add or remove program. After the window loads, go to add/remove Windows components. A new window will pop up and uncheck Internet Explorer and click next and it will uninstall it

Answer 5

Make sure you don't remove Internet Explorer (IE.)
Many applications run using IE, such that uninstalling IE would be make those application unusable.

I would recommend the following free and easy programs. They should do a good job of removing any malware and/or viruses.

1. Ad-aware (http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html)
2. Antivir (http://www.free-av.com/antivirus/allinonen.html)
3. Spybot (http://www.spybot.info/)

You should notice both an increase in your computer's performance and most of the malware should be removed.

If you still have any problems, then try hijackthis (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html). Read through the online tutorials and forums on how to use hijackthis. IF you are still unsure of how it works, the feel free to contact me.

Good luck. :)

Answer 6

Your best and safest bet is to do a repair install of your operating system. If you own a PC from a major manufacturer, you should hav a "restore" disk. Insert it into the CD drive and follow prompts. When it is done, go to microsoft.com and run all youor updates. It will take a while, so be prepared to reboot several times. Lastly, run Spybot and AdAware (freeware) that you can get from download.com. Just search the site for those two-between the two of them they will remove 99.9% of the malware out there.

Answer 7

It is safe to uninstall it if there are no other programs that need to use it, but it sounds to me like you still have malware so I would scan your computer with adaware and see if you can remove it first before uninstalling ie. you could also use system restore to restore you system prior to when you got the malware.

Answer 8

Don't uninstall IE, it's useful for backup if something happens to firefox (mine corrupted before and i had to reinstall). But it sounds like you still have malware, maybe run a scan with HiJack this and delete from there anything it finds.

Answer 9

You don't NEED IE on your computer. It's just a web browser. I had the same problem and did the same thing you did except sometimes Firefox loads pages differently than IE and sometimes it has problems with certificates so I reinstalled IE. But your computer should be fine.

Answer 10

Almost certainly, since IE is integrated into Most Windows OS's