What is an IE Extension?

A IE (Internet Explorer) extension is just a small program that runs automatically every time you start your Internet browser and extends the browser's functionality. Usually, an IE extension is installed on your system by another software program.

There are different kinds of IE extensions - additional toolbars, Browser Helper Objects (BHOs), etc. The aim of "useful" IE extensions is to "help" you browse the Internet in different ways. Such are, for example, Google Toolbar or the Adobe Acrobat BHO, which allows your browser to open PDF documents online.

Unfortunately, many IE extensions appear to be what is called "ad-ware" or "spyware": they may display adverts, often of obscene contents, or monitor the websites you visit and report this data back to their creators. Badly programmed IE extensions can also conflict with other running programs, cause a variety of page faults, run time errors and generally impede browsing performance.