How to Remove Internet Explorer From Mac OS Panther

Mac OS Panther is the last version of Apple's OS (Operating System) to include Microsoft's Internet Explorer. There are various reasons why this once-dominant Internet browsing application is no longer "bundled" with the Mac OS. For one thing, Apple supplies its own high-quality browser, Safari, with Mac OS Panther. However, the most compelling reason is that Microsoft has abandoned the product, stopping Internet Explorer development at version 5.2.3 in June of 2003. MS then discontinued support for Internet Explorer in December 2005 and decided to remove it from the company's Mac downloads page the following month.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Remove Internet Explorer From Mac OS Panther

1. Locate the Internet Explorer application. Unless you moved it manually, it was installed into the "Applications" folder by the Mac OS Panther installer program.

2. Manually drag the "Internet Explorer" icon to the trash, or Control-click (or right-click with properly set up 2-button mouse) and choose "Move to Trash."

3. Use the "Find" command to search for the term "Explorer." This will locate the most common, and largest, installed files that Internet Explorer was using, such as its own, unique preferences folder (which will be named "Explorer" and be located in one of the Mac's "Preferences" folders).

4. Select all the results in the "Find" window by manually clicking on them (hold down Shift key when selecting multiple items), or highlighting a single one then choosing "Select All" from the "Edit" menu. Alternatively, you can highlight one and then press Cmd-A on the keyboard.

5. Right-click (or Control-click with properly set up 2-button mouse) on the highlighted list of Internet Explorer components and choose "Move to Trash." Alternatively, you can select "Move to Trash" from the "File" menu or press Cmd-Delete on the keyboard. Each of these methods will remove Internet Explorer and its various files from Mac OS Panther.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no system-level "uninstall" procedure in the Mac OS as there is in Windows. Mac applications, including Internet Explorer, contain most of their components in what is called a "package," with many of the parts invisible to the average user who doesn't know where (or how) to look for them. Although there may be small bits and pieces of Internet Explorer left after working to remove the application according to these instructions, Apple advises that there is effectively no chance at all that these "bits and pieces" can cause any malfunctions if left alone.
• More advanced users may wish to search out and remove these remaining pieces of Internet Explorer with the "Terminal" program or third-party utilities like "X-Ray" (see Resources below).
• If you have a long list of Internet Explorer bookmarks and have set particular browsing preferences, make sure to save or export these for use with whatever new browser you will use.
• If you are skittish about trying to remove Internet Explorer before installing another browser because you believe you may lose important Internet settings, then install a new browser first and import the necessary info from Internet Explorer when first running the new application.

Resources

• VersionTracker.com for X-Ray utility for finding hidden items