Internet Explorer 8 is the last version for Windows XP and 2003, but with them no longer being supported, the download links have been removed as well, making it difficult to download and install it. Although XP and 2003 are quite outdated, certain scenarios still require the use of XP and/or 2003.

A default install of XP/2003 contains Internet Explorer 6, so not being able to download IE8 would result in those systems running an even more outdated and unsecure browser. While IE8 isn't that much better, I consider it a tiny bit more secure, hence this article...

For the moment, the standalone installation files still exist on the Microsoft servers, but they are no longer linked to from the  ...