How to safely disabled IE 11 on W2K19 Domain Controllers?

Question

Hello,

Is it safe to disable/block IE11 on W2K19 Domain Controllers?

I cannot find a solid confirmation out on the internet....

Thanks

Answer 1

Hello

Yes, it is generally safe to disable Internet Explorer 11 on Windows Server 2019 Domain Controllers. The domain controller does not require it. However, the impact of disabling it may depend on how much you use it, which isn’t really recommended. Here are the steps to disable Internet Explorer 11:

1. Open the Group Policy Editor.

Go to Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Internet Explorer.

Double-click Disable Internet Explorer 11 as a standalone browser.

Select Enabled.

While it might be a security risk if someone uses it, you should not browse or use any Domain Controller interactively. Instead, please use the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) to administer your server(s) to prevent any security risk from a locally logged on admin.

Also, keep in mind that after disabling IE11, all IE11 activity will be redirected to Microsoft Edge. If you need the standalone IE11 app for specific sites, and want to redirect all other browser traffic to Microsoft Edge, you can configure the Send all sites not included in the site list to Microsoft Edge policy to redirect sites from IE to Microsoft Edge.