Are you a web designer who runs Linux but needs to test websites using Internet Explorer? Maybe you are an “average” computer user who wants to switch to Linux but still has a few sites that only work in IE. Whatever the case is, if you need to run Internet Explorer in Linux try using IEs 4 Linux.

IEs 4 Linux is the simplest way to install and run IE in Linux. With IEs 4 Linux you don’t have to worry about configuring Wine, running a VM or any of that geeky nonsense. In fact, you don’t even have to compile it from source. All you do is run a simple script that takes care of the installation for you! The best part is IEs 4 Linux is completely FREE and open-source.

What are the System Requirements?
In order to install IEs 4 Linux, you need to have cabextract and Wine installed. Depending on your Linux distribution, you can either install these using a built in package manager or go to the individual sites to download and install the packages.

So Windows isn’t required?
Nope. Thats what Wine is for, to run Windows applications in Linux.

How to Install IEs4Linux
Start by making sure you have cabextract and Wine installed. Then, visit the IEs 4 Linux download page, and grab the latest version. There you will also find installation guides for many popular Linux distributions. Once you have downloaded the package, extract it using an archive manager or with the following command:

tar zxvf ies4linux-latest.tar.gz

Be sure to change “ies44linux-latest” to the correct name of the folder. Once extracted, run the install script by typing the following command:

./ies4linux

This should bring up the following screen:

Here, you can select which versions of IE you want to install. You also have the option of installing the Flash plugin. For advanced installation settings, click the ‘Advanced’ button. You should then see the following screen:

Here you can customize where IEs 4 Linux is installed. You can also choose to install IE7. To begin the installation click ‘OK’ at the original screen. The installation script will take care of the rest. You will be notified when the installation is complete. At this point you should be able to use IE.

As the IEs 4 Linux website suggests, don’t use IE for browsing the internet unless you need it for a special reason. For general browsing, use a more secure web browser such as Firefox.

To answers to more questions about IEs 4 Linux, check out their FAQ page.

Do you need to use IE in Linux? If so, tell us your reason for doing so in the comments.