Akamai DM or Microsoft FTM fails to initiate in IE11 for MSDN, TechNet downloads

Earlier we had seen how to initiate the Akamai Download manager for MSDN, TechNet downloads in our earlier article : Akamai Download Manager fail to start in MSDN / TechNet downloads . Many of the readers were using the method mentioned there. But recently many users starting to find that the method was not working for them. They were using the latest version of Windows with Internet Explorer, that Windows 8.1 Update with IE11.0.11. And when they pressed the Download button of MSDN, TechNet subscriber downloads, nothing happens. So this workaround I have tried on this ver and it works for me! This method is same for using Akamai Download manager or the Microsoft File Transfer manager (FTM)

So here’s the workaround. Open your MSDN, TechNet page in IE11. Press F12 to open Developer tools. Or you can press Tools > F12 Developer Tools. Now from Emulation (Ctrl+8) , change Document Mode to 9 , User Agent String to Internet Explorer 9

Once you do this, your open page will reload. Minimize this Developer tool. Now again login to your required page of MSDN, TechNet download and now when you press ‘Download’ button of your required download from the site, you’ll get the pop up either to install the add-on or a Security pop up window to allow Microsoft FTM. So accordingly click ‘Install’ or press ‘Allow’ . Similar window pops-up for Microsoft FTM. Have noticed that if Akamai doesn’t gets initiated, Microsoft FTM add-on will be asked to install. So Install it and Allow it to open web content

Now it launches the download manager and you can start your download. Please note that if you want to resume the paused download, you’ll have to emulate again to Internet Explorer 9 as said earlier as we have not persisted with Emulation Settings.

Hope this helps.

Akamai Download Manager fail to start in MSDN / TechNet downloads

Some of the MSDN and TechNet subscribers have issues with the Akamai Download manager while downloading subscription files.

What is Akamai Download manager & why do I have to use it?

To help you download large files with reduced chance of interruption, some downloads require the use of the Akamai Download Manager. You can easily pause, resume, and stop the download process. Use the Download Manager for efficient installations, time-saving features, and automatic restarting if the download process is interrupted.

MSDN and TechNet has provided Akamai Download Manager help with answers to various issues. One can refer to it at Akamai Download Manager help

But for me none of these helped as I tried to download the subscription files from MSDN/TechNet. The Akamai Download Manager did not even appeared or offered to install, though it has been installed since long time. Had faced the issue earlier too in Windows 7 & followed similar steps. I’m using Internet Explorer. And now on Windows 8.1 Pro Preview running IE 11 Preview, happened the same. I checked with security settings, still did not help. Then tried these steps which allowed me to download subscription files using Akamai Download Manager on IE.

Open your MSDN subscription page in IE, and from Tools > Click on ‘Compatibility View Settings’ and add Microsoft.com to Compatibility View.

Since you have opened the MSDN page, it’ll list Microsoft.com in ‘Add this website’, add it.

Now Refresh the page, and try the subscription download again, now you’ll see the Akamai download Manager message if you had it already installed earlier or will offer to install

And still if the download manager Addon doesn’t start, check if Tools> ActiveX filtering is checked, Uncheck it. Or Turn off from the address bar by clicking on that blue circle (In IE11)

Now you’ll see IE asking for the DLM Addon to run at bottom of screen. Run add-on.

And now the Akamai Download Manager starts with your download,

So give it try and see if it works for you too. Same steps also works with Windows 7 running IE10.

Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview for Windows 7 now available

Internet Explorer 10 was already made available on Windows 8 and now Microsoft has made available Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview for Windows 7 Service Pack1.

Now you can download Internet Explorer 10 in the language that matches your version of Windows or the English version, which works with all versions of Windows 7.

It runs on :

• Windows 7 32-bit with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or higher

• Windows 7 64-bit with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or higher

• Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) 64-bit

For other System Requirements check- Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview system requirements

When you install it on Windows 7, the present IE9 is removed and IE10 is installed. You can uninstall IE10 later and restore previous version of IE.

Make sure you download the right version of IE 10 according to Windows 7, 32-bit or 64-bit. If you try to install 32-bit version of IE10 on Windows 7 64-bit, you’ll get this error-

After installing the right version of IE10, this is the ‘About’ screen -

You can check Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview: Frequently asked questions

Check what’s new here

You can download Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview for Windows 7 from here .

Mozilla follows tradition, Congratulates IE with a cake!

As we had seen earlier (1) , (2) , Internet Explorer team congratulating Mozilla on its Firefox browser release or achievements, now Mozilla sends a Congratulatory cake to IE. The occasion is IE10 launch!

IE team had tweeted about it yesterday.

Thanks to @firefox for helping celebrate #IE10 launch w/ cake! We look forward to Firefox for #windows8 soon! twitter.com/IE/status/2619…

— Internet Explorer (@IE) October 26, 2012

Microsoft launches ‘Putting People First’ ads as users are concerned about Google’s Privacy Policy changes!

Microsoft is placing a series of ads in major newspapers offering the award winning alternatives to Google’s various services. As with the recent announcement of Google regarding Major changes to its soon to be implemented Privacy Policy, many of its users are feeling frustrated, concerned as Google is making some unpopular changes.

The changes Google announced make it harder, not easier, for people to stay in control of their own information. We take a different approach – we work to keep you safe and secure online, to give you control over your data, and to offer you the choice of saving your information on your hard drive, in the cloud, or on both.

And thus Microsoft is reminding the people about its award winning alternatives -

• Hotmail: Join the hundreds of millions of people who enjoy not worrying about the content of their private e-mails being used to serve ads.
• Bing: The search engine that gives you great experiences using the whole Web.
• Office 365: The award-winning online collaboration solution for businesses who don’t want their documents and mail used to benefit advertisers.
• Internet Explorer: The world’s most popular browser, now with Tracking Protection, offering controls over your privacy as you browse.

And to remind people, Microsoft is putting ads in the newspaper as below -

(Click on the image to get enlarged view)

(Source: Gone Google? Got Concerns? We Have Alternatives)

Here I’m providing some links for further reading -

Gmail vs Hotmail: Why Hotmail is better than Gmail

[video] How is SkyDrive better than Google Docs ?

Check out this video - Gmail Man Parody Goes Viral (VIDEO) “Your email is your business. Google makes it theirs”

Microsoft Blasts Google Chrome For 'Stealing' Your Privacy (VIDEO)

IE6 usage drops below 1% in US – Microsoft celebrates with a Cake !

IE6 usage in the US has now officially dropped below 1%! Its time to celebrate and what better way to celebrate than… of course a Cake !! as the IE team is known for.

IE tam has thanked the community and its IE6 Countdown partners for the support. As you know  IE6 Countdown site was launched last March to help accelerate the process. And now United States has joined the ranks of Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway in dropping below 1% usage of IE6.

IE team also appealed “So as we kick off 2012, we call on the rest of the world – make it your new year’s resolution to end IE6 and move to a modern browser like IE8 or IE9.”

Additional details and resources on how to achieve this at IE6Countdown.com.

(Source:The US Says Goodbye to IE6)

New IE 10 Preview available exclusively for Windows 8

The Internet Explorer Platform Preview has been updated for Windows 8 Developer Preview.And this is only for Windows 8 DP. This IE10 preview adds even more support for HTML5 technologies, enabling richer Web applications with significantly improved performance.

One can download it from http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Info/Downloads/Default.html

This is not an update to the Platform Preview of IE 10 on Windows 7 which is still at platform preview 2 (PP2). While the one released for Windows 8 is PP4.

IE10’s hardware acceleration of technologies like SVG, CSS3 transforms and animations delivers faster rendering than other browsers. For the demo and more details of its highlights, please check the IE team’s blog post.

If you install this new IE10, you must test drive it at http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/

IE team delivers Congratulatory Cupcake to Firefox

As it has become customary for the IE Team to congratulate the Firefox team on its new release of its browser, this time also the IE Team delivered Congratulatory Cupcake to Firefox on its ver 7 release this morning.

This was the Cake sent -

And the IE Team tweeted about it also. Very Sweet !!

IE 9 now available in more languages than any other browser! Supports 12 more Indian languages now

Internet Explorer 9 is now available in more local languages than any other browser on Windows.  Recently IE9 released support for 53 additional languages , making IE9 available in a total of 93 languages-

 

Here’s the complete list of languages Internet Explorer 9 is available in, starting with the originally released 40 and followed by the 53 new languages in blue:

(pics courtesy IE9 blog)

As you can see IE9 supported Hindi as Indian Language earlier. Now it supports 12 more Indian languages – Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu apart from earlier support for Hindi.

Check the  Worldwide downloads page to download IE9 in a language of your choice.

Users on multi-lingual versions of Windows or users who have already installed IE9 English or one of the previously supported languages can install a language pack to experience IE9 in one of the new languages recently released . Please visit the Microsoft Download Center pages below to download IE9 language packs -

    Internet Explorer 9 Language Packs for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 

    Internet Explorer 9 Language Packs for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

 

(More details please check source: Internet Explorer 9 Now Available in 93 Languages )

IE team congratulates Mozilla with a cake for Firefox 4 release

It has now become a tradition - The Internet Explorer team again sent a ‘Congratulations on Shipping’ cake to Mozilla on the release of Firefox 4 .

 

(Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freeed/5551404638 , Channel9  )

IE team had shown its love earlier also sending congratulatory cakes on Firefox release.

 

(Source: Channel9)

Video: Year of Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 launch is just few hours away!

Take a look back at the last year and the development of Internet Explorer 9. See what partners, designers and industry press have to say about the latest version of the world’s most used browser.

IE8 Star Wars Campaign from Microsoft Spain and Browse with Confidence from Microsoft Canada

Internet Explorer 8 has started its campaign in different countries highlighting its great features like Security, SmartScreen Filter  which helps block malicious downloads and websites. 

Microsoft Spain has come with ‘Yoda’ campaign.

“Using the character from Star Wars, they have launched an online campaign designed to highlight staying safe online with Internet Explorer 8. Yoda represents the “bright side” – or the Force - of the Internet that embodies Internet Explorer 8. Yoda (IE8) helps users stay away from the “Dark Side” of the Internet by keeping them protected against identity theft, cross-site scripting attacks, phishing attempts, and malware.”

If you visit the campaign site and are not using Internet Explorer 8 get alerted by Yoda that they are at risk and should download Internet Explorer 8 to stay safe against the “Dark Side”.

 

The campaign website also has a ton of information on Internet Explorer 8 including how it keeps people protected, Internet Explorer browser add-ons, contests, social media downloads, and more!

(Source: Blogging Windows )

 

Similarly Microsoft Canada has also started a campaign Browse with Confidence 

 

 

 

So check out and find out great features of IE8 and if you are not using it , give it a try. Though I also use other browsers like  Firefox, Opera but I always use Internet Explorer for any Online Transactions.

Bing Toolbar –formerly called MSN Toolbar

The Bing toolbar provides easy access to entertainment, breaking news, videos and more. Search MSN headlines, receive MSNBC news alerts, and get the latest scores and game analysis from FOX Sports-all in your browser with the Bing toolbar.

• Bing & decide, anytime - Make better, faster decision with Bing. With the Bing Toolbar you can search from anywhere without leaving the site you are on.
• Surf with confidence - Be notified of threats before they become disasters. The new Safety Center helps keep you aware of your computer's level of online safety and giving you a quick visual indicator of its status.
• Instant Hotmail access - New Windows Live integration makes it simple to sign in and preview your Hotmail, plus get notified the instant mail is received.
• MSN Channels - View content from a variety of MSN channels directly from the Bing toolbar, regardless of what website you're currently browsing.
• Customize Options - Choose the MSN channels you want to see, manage your Safety Center settings, and customize your Bing toolbar by changing the color scheme and the decorative theme.
• Search History - Search faster by saving and keeping track of search terms you've entered previously.
• Automatic Form Fill - Manage and enter your personal information quicker into online forms so that you don't have to type it over and over again.

 

Some screenshots of the BingBar

 

 

 

 

The Bing toolbar uses Microsoft Silverlight technology to provide you with access to Bing and MSN content. If you don't already have Microsoft Silverlight installed on your computer, it will be automatically installed for you-for free.

Surf with confidence using the new integrated Safety Center and customize toolbar settings and Bing options. This was earlier known by the name MSN toolbar.

• Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7; Windows Vista; Windows XP Service Pack 2

• Windows Internet Explorer 6 or later; Firefox 3.0 or later

You can check what you can do with Bing bar at http://www.discoverbingtoolbar.com/

You can get the toolbar from : here

Why you should use IE8?

Just now, while I was on twitter, I received a tweet saying “Now, This is serious.. online banking fraud! http://bit.ly/W8WD4 ‘, So out of curiosity I followed that link to the blog post. It was, as it said, was about a phishing site. The post was Now this is serious!!!  by Arnab Mitra on his blog Intelligent Marketing . In the post the author Arnab Mitra described his experience about Online Bank fraud. He first receives a mail (gmail filters failing )

(Image Courtesy- Intelligent Marketing - Now this is serious!!!  by Arnab Mitra)

This mailer did look exactly like an alert from his bank, which needed an urgent attention. So he clicks on the link provided in the mail  ( link: https://infinity.icicibank.co.in/BANKAWAY?Action.RetUser.Init.001=Y&AppSignonBankId=ICI&AppType=corporate&abrdPrf=N   

This link actually shown is the correct bank link but actually it links to http://www.french-eng.co.uk/tmp/cache/indexx.html )

And if you click this link in FireFox, it allows it and looked exactly like the real banks page-

(Image Courtesy- Intelligent Marketing - Now this is serious!!!  by Arnab Mitra)

So curiously I also tried it in Firefox which took me to this and when clicked on Personal Button opened the site as shown above, So Firefox failed to detect this phishing site.

Now I tried in my default Browser- My Internet Explorer 8, Yes IE8 !! And when I clicked on the link it took me to this -

(Click on the image to enlarge)

IE8 blocked the site and it clearly warned ‘This Website has been reported as unsafe’ and recommended not to continue to this web site. This is one example of Security feature in IE8.

Any common person who might have received this kind of fraud mail is most likely to fall in this trap. The author Arnab Mitra was attentive enough to have noticed this, though Firefox allowed it. I have heard and had seen screenshots of such sites earlier also, in that case ICICI only but after reading the blog post by Arnab, I also decided to try it. Thanks to Arnab, I’m also carrying his blog post forward and alerting people of such Phishing sites. I request to make use of IE8 which is one of the Safest browser. I always use IE8 for Online Transactions without fail. So this is why one should use IE8 . You can get IE8 from here , and its Free !

Recently I also had come across a post from IE8 team : Real-World Protection With IE8’s SmartScreen Filter™ which said -

“………However, phishing remains a prevalent and important threat to users as well.  We’re continuously making improvements to our data sources and intelligence systems that deliver phishing protection.  This continuous investment keeps IE in the market-leading position it established with the release of the Phishing Filter in IE7. Since then, Internet Explorer 7 and 8 have blocked over 125 million phishing attacks.

The newest NSS study included a test pass for phishing blocks. NSS Labs reported the following block rate for major browsers:

You can view the full NSS study at http://nsslabs.com/browser-security.

And this was a real world example where one can be easily cheated if he is not using IE8 or is not attentive enough.This is one of the reasons, why one should use IE8. Thanks IE8 !

MSN Toolbar adds ‘Elections’ Button

MSN Toolbar has added the ‘Elections’ Button as US ‘08 Presidential elections dates approach. You’ll get the Elections related Top stories, videos, separate news links related to McCain and Obama, maps & Info . All these option to follow all the Election related information and real time election day results, updated electoral maps, live polls, prediction data and more. The button gets added up automatically to the toolbar and starts gleaming to get your attention.

If you haven’t tried the MSN Toolbar (Only for IE) yet, You can get it from here : http://www.newmsntoolbar.com/  Its a new site for MSN Toolbar. Try it now, its a different toolbar.

IE-on-acid Logo Wallpaper

Few days back I had posted about IE Fan Art Gallery , where one will find various interesting photographs by IE Team.But, now I want to post about one photograph specially because I liked it very much and now I am using it as my wallpaper. Its the logo of IE with interesting codes in it, may be for the AcidTest2?  Its called ‘IE-on-acid Logo’ - designed by Harel Williams of IE Team.

Though I had also posted that photo in my earlier post but now when posted as a wallpaper, people may find it more interesting. It looks nice, check it out and put it as wallpaper now !

Get it from here: IE-on-acid Logo

MSN Toolbar gets Weather Button, Themes

Those using MSN Toolbar must have noticed the new addition; Yes, now MSN Toolbar is auto updated to get weather button showing Current temperature with graphic display for Sun, Cloud etc.. This feature was very much requested and now its provided. Thanks !

 

Its a nice and useful addition. On clicking the button, one gets the 5 days forecast, option to change location and a search bar to find weather for any location.

We can store number of locations.And we can clear the location history. I would have liked an option to clear selective locations instead of clearing everything.

When we are offline the weather Button just shows N/A status, which looks quite prominent and odd, as this Silverlight based Toolbar is supposed to always look nice as it does apart from that N/A status. So I would suggest to make it slide inside to hide itself when offline and Slide out when online displaying the Weather button.

Apart from getting this Weather Button update, the toolbar also auto updates with Themes according to occasions for that particular day and returns to normal look the next day. On 4th July, it was updated with American  Flag theme on America’s Independence day . And then many have got Active fireworks on their MSN Toolbar. So this may be Location based. And all this gets updated automatically. So watch out for such Theme changes on some Special Occasions. Neat!

Although one should get these updates on their toolbar ver3, if not one can get the new version 3.0.426.0 from here. And since its last release it is available for few more regions based as Germany, UK, France and Italy apart from Eng (US).

As posted in my earlier posts MSN Toolbar now also supports Silverlight2 Beta2. For more information on MSN Toolbar , please check my earlier related posts.

IE Fan Art Gallery

IE8 team has put up an IE Fan art Gallery on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ieteam/ where it has posted some pictures including pictures on the theme of ‘eight’. It is also accepting fan art or image mashups to put up on IE Team’s Flickr site.

All the IE8 beta testers have just been informed via newsletter about it first, so one will not find any fan art yet put up on the site.To submit your images to the IE Team, please email to IESO AT microsoft DOT com. Please no obscenity, no political commentary, and be respectful of competitors. Submitter’s name after the title will be put up on the photo. Copyright is important.  All the images in the stream (and the default for email uploads) are currently copyrighted  as  Creative  Commons  Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike.

This also shows the Fun side of IE8 Team. Well how about releasing  IE8 beta2 on 08-08-08 ?

(IE-on-acid Logo - designed by Harel Williams)  (Eight Windows - Chris Wilson)