How to Use an Internet Explorer Emulator for Mac: A Complete Guide
There are certain websites that are designed for Internet Explorer. This guide teaches how to use an Internet Explorer emulator for Mac computers.
Got a new laptop and can’t find Internet Explorer on it?
Internet Explorer was first released in 1995 and it was once the top browser until 2004. It was once the default browser on all Apple Mac devices. This was until Apple released Safari and Microsoft ended support for Internet Explorer for Mac.
Microsoft has long killed off the Internet Explorer brand, choosing Microsoft Edge as their modern browser.
So why go back to Internet Explorer now? Whether for curiosity, business, or old video games, you can open the browser and use an Internet Explorer emulator for Mac.
However, here’s a little warning by Microsoft before you continue:
Microsoft Doesn’t Want You Using Internet Explorer
Chris Jackson, one of the cybersecurity experts in the Microsoft Windows division, posted a blog and outlined the issues of using IE. The number one reason why they don’t want you using Internet Explorer is that it poses a major security risk. Internet Explorer no longer updates its security patches and it is vulnerable to hackers.
It’s also slower than most browsers. It may not seem like a big deal, but most internet users expect their sites to load in 2 seconds or less.
Plenty of business tools that companies use were originally made for older versions of Internet Explorer. Most may be expensive and hard to test and update those tools for other browsers. Some tools use ActiveX controls which are only available in Internet Explorer.
Are you still willing to use Internet Explorer? Then here’s a guide on how to open the browser with an Internet Explorer Emulator for Mac.
Requirements to Run Internet Explorer in macOS
To smoothly run Internet Explorer on your MacBook, here’s what it takes:
- Windows 8 or 10
- 1 gigahertz or higher
- RAM of 1GB (32-Bit) or 2GB (64-Bit)
- HDD 16GB (32-Bit) or 20GB (64-Bit)
- Graphics Card of Microsoft DirectX9 with WDDM driver
Once you have all these checked off, then you can use Internet Explorer for Mac with fewer hurdles.
How to Use an Internet Explorer Emulator For Mac
You can use a virtual machine to get Windows on your Mac and you can launch it as an app inside the macOS. First, you need to buy a copy of a virtual machine software (like VMware Fusion) and a license for Windows.
You have to download the Windows ISO file, which you can get from the Windows website. Launch VMware Fusion and when you get to the installation page, click “Create a new custom virtual machine.”
Drag and drop the Windows ISO file onto the dialogue box, then click finish. Relaunch your virtual machine and now you can download Internet Explorer, or any web or app-based Microsoft product.
Change Your User-Agent
It’s also possible to run Internet Explorer by running it through other browsers. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. We’ll show you how to do this using the three most popular browsers, starting with Apple Safari.
Safari
Let’s start with Safari, click on the Safari menu, and then the “Preferences” command. Head over to the “Advanced” tab and check the bottom box to enable the “Show Develop Menu in Menu Bar.”
The “Develop” menu will then appear on the menu bar. Open it and point to the “User-Agent” submenu. From there you can pick a few browsers you can impersonate like Google, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.
Pick Internet Explorer 11, which is the latest version available. If you don’t see Internet Explorer as an option, click on “Other” and input a user agent string. When ready, refresh the page.
Click the menu button, go to “More Tools” and pick the “Developer Tools” or use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+I). At the bottom left corner, click the three dots and select “Network Conditions.” If there’s no console at the bottom, you can click on the three dots at the upper right corner and select “Show Console.”
After opening Network Conditions, uncheck the box next to “Select Automatically.” Now you can select from the list or copy-paste a custom user agent string. This setting is temporary and only works on the current tab where the developer tools pane is open.
Mozilla Firefox
For Mozilla, you need to type in about: config into the address bar and press enter. A warning may appear, simply click on the button to accept the risks. Keep in mind you have to be careful in changing settings here.
Type in useragent into the filter box and look for general.useragent.override. Don’t panic if you don’t see it there.
Create the preference by right-clicking on the about: config page, point to new, and select “String.” Name the preference by the general.useragent.override. Now you can enter your desired user agent string and it will apply forever until you change it back.
Use Internet Explorer Tech Preview
First, you need to download Remote Desktop for Mac from the app store. You can run Internet Explorer 11 on any version of macOS that Remote Desktop is compatible with.
Start by heading over to Modern IE and subscribe to their service with your Microsoft account. Pick the closest region near you for the best performance. After subscribing to the service with your Microsoft account, you will get an email to let you know you can proceed forward.
Launch the Microsoft Remote Desktop and click on “Azure RemoteApp” on the title bar. Log in with your Microsoft account to authenticate accepting the invitation to use Internet Explorer. Under Internet Explorer, click on “IE-Tech Preview.”
Wait a few minutes for Internet Explorer to load up, a new browser will open and it will appear on your desktop.
Start Using Internet Explorer On a Mac
Now you know how to run an Internet Explorer emulator for Mac. There is more than one method so feel free to explore which one works for you. At the very least, you can use Internet Explorer to fulfill nostalgia trips or for visual gags!
Was our guide able to help you? Do you want to find more step-by-step walkthroughs like this? If you do, check out our other posts for more guides today!
