Is this a good idea? killing IE processes?

Question

I don't even use Internet Explorer anymore-I use Fire Fox. If I kill the process in the CMD prompt or task manager, will it make my computer too unstable? How can I stop this process from starting to begin with? It takes up a sizable amount of memory, even when I'm not using it.

Answer 1

You are probably mistaken. That 'Explorer.exe' is not the Inernet Explorer. It is Windows Explorer. Killing it will cause your Taskbar to disappear and you will need to run new instance of Explorer.exe to restore it. I would suggest that you leave it alone.

Answer 2

You should not see internet explorer processes running on their own unless you have a virus or something operating.



However, you will see "explorer.exe" operating, which is different. Think of it more as the core structure of the file system. You don't want to end that one -- you will noticeably make your system unstable / difficult to use. Sometimes you will see more than one, such as if you've utilized a 3rd party program to open a folder, but you'll normally just see one. If you see multiple explorer.exe's, do also be careful of a potential virus, as it's not unheard of for them to masquerade themselves with that name.



Anyway, if they're actually explorer.exe processes, killing them is normally not a good idea -- and they're NOT internet explorer.

Answer 3

What you are seeing is Explorer, a necessary component of Windows. Don't stop it or you will have problems. Internet Explorer (a web browser) would only auto start if someone who uses your computer, added a shortcut to it, to the startup folder.

Answer 4

if u mean 'iexplorer',yes u can kill it. but if u mean 'explorer', u can kill it but u cant use your windows normally since killing 'explorer' will cause your windows taskbar to disapper.



btw, iexplorer will not be processed if u didnt open it at the first place. maybe it is automatically set to autorun during windows startup.



u can disable iexplorer autorun during windows startup by typing "msconfig" without the quote " " in search program files (if u are using windows 7 and vista).u can type '"msconfig" from run (for xp and the rest). next click on startup bar, then search for internet explorer. un-tick it, then viola! done!

Answer 5

do not cut it down too fast. wane it down while your increasing your firefox. if your computer starts to act strange, just put your ie back to where it was (along with your firefox).