To be fair, Microsoft learned from their mistakes and wound up giving us IE 5.5 - the final version of that browser (SP2) is everything that IE4 was proported to be - secure, stable (on most systems, anyway), and includes
current Java code and Server Certificates. Mind you, it took a lot of false starts to get us there!
If you're running Windows 95, especially on a system running at less than 200 MHz, be advised that installing IE5.5 will permanently alter the character of your Windows installation.
(if you should change your mind about it, uninstalling this megalith can cause unintended harm - I would recommend an external program, "IEradicator" for that service.)
If you have tried IE5 (or 4), have gone through Purgatory to get rid of it, and are now interested in keeping IE 3 on your system, you've come to the right place. This page was originally written when this was something a lot
of people wanted to do, and I've left it up for those who (for whatever reason) might still want to. I've included here a list of
tips and tricks to keep it as up-to-date as is possible for a browser that's been off the cutting edge since August of 1997.
The final revision of IE 3.02 shows itself as build number 4.70.1310. This is the version you'll want, according to Entrust (one of many companies supplying on-line encryption services) - a tech there informed me that only
3.02 supports "certificate chaining"; earlier versions do not support that feature. For an explanation of that term, Click
here.
If you don't have that file available to you, there's still hope: I've found some places on the Net that still have IE 3.02 available for download - thanks go to Peter Bergman in Australia for finding some more, and those links are included below:
About encryption: to change from 40-bit to 128-bit encryption, it is only necessary to change one file: "Schannel.dll". You can tell which version you've got by finding it (using the "find"
utility), right-click the file, then highlight and click "properties". The version details will say either "export version", or "US and Canada". The 128-bit version is the one that says,
"US and Canada".
There used to be an update from Microsoft that featured a 128-bit update for this browser; though it's been taken offline there, the fix is still available at "Mid-Mo.net" (thanks again to Peter
Bergman for that link). The encryption strength tests out to be 128, though when you right-click that file it will say "export version" - mislabelling?
There have been reports (in news groups) that a 128-bit version of "Schannel.dll" from IE5.0 can replace the 40-bit version in IE3. I tried it with the DLL from IE 5.5, and it did NOT work. If you are game to try it, though, all you have to
do is to copy the 128-bit version of "Schannel.dll" onto a floppy, and transfer it to the other computer into the "Windows\System" file. As a precaution, keep the old one on your system
(renaming it to "Schannel.old") in case anything goes wrong and you have to change it back.
Lacking any of these means to convert, the best alternative is to look for old CDs of Microsoft Money 98 or Intuit's Quicken Deluxe 98. These contain 128-bit encrypted versions of the IE 3.02 executable.
Once you've got the best version, then you can start with the next step: updating.
Microsoft's Best "Small" Browser
Way back in the Summer of '97, Big "M" abandoned Internet Explorer 3.02 for a hastily produced IE4.0. That newer browser caused more problems (in terms
of stability and on-line security) than the simpler browser that it replaced.Not Just Any Version Will Do
You can find out which version of IE 3 you've got by starting the browser, clicking on the "help" menu, then highlighting the item that reads, "about Internet Explorer". The build
number will show in the upper part of the window. The version of IE3 that most people have on their systems shows itself as Build Number 4.70.1158.Where To Go?
Later Windows 95 CDs, OEM version "B", have an executable on it that will install IE3.02 (found under the name "MSIE302.EXE") on the system. You can run this executable to update your current
version of IE3. CDs of Office 97 also have that file, though various published versions of both Windows95 and Office97 will have different versions of the browser.
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