Any way to remove IE?
 

Hi everyone,

I am fairly new to the PPC scene. We are considering deploying a few HTC P4000's (Titan) to our users, however we do not want them to have web browsing access, even if they hard-reset the phone.

Is there a way to disable/remove Internet Explorer... even if someone hard resets the phone? (could this be done somehow via the Extended ROM or, would we need to produce a custom ROM to achieve this?).

I've done this successfully on a Treo 650 (created a custom ROM) and am wondering what my options are on PPC.

Much appreciated!
Darren

Wouldn't it be easier to just disable the data connection?

Probably have to do a custom ExtROM.

We would ideally like to use it as an email only device (no web surfing).

So, in creating an extended rom, would it be best to create a dummy Internet Explorer exe and package it into a cab file?

Thanks again,
Darren

if they are able to sync with their computers, they could install a different browser such as opera or minimo. Not sure if they could send that .cab file to themselves as an e-mail attachment or not... just a few things to think about.

Well, in hopefully the near future, you should be able to put a custom rom on the phones with PIE removed. As far as keeping people from installing other browsers, monitoring data access is probably the easiest.

I guess the better question would be to ask for more details about your intentions, service plans, etc. Is there a reason why you do not want them to be able to use a browser? Is it related to limited data plan?

Your best bet would be to contact SPB Software. They have an application called SPB Kiosk which allows administrators to setup devices with certain applications locked down. This is actually what you are looking for.
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/prod...ioskengine/?en

I would suggest emailing them directly for more info.

Dave

Hi everyone,

Wow thanks for the responses. The reason we need to block web access is due to strict company policy and data usage costs... the devices are to be used for Email, Word, Excel, pretty much anything but web surfing.

We've been hitting our heads with the limitations of PalmOS email clients and are jumping ship to Windows Mobile, however I just need to make sure the existing configuration (web browser completely inaccessible even if hard reset) is able to carry over to WM.

Would the idea of making a dummy Internet Explorer exe CAB in Extended ROM do the trick? Can items in Extended ROM overwrite items that are stored in ROM?

Sorry for all the questions, I really do appreciate the input.

Cheers all,
Darren

If you create a custom ROM you can eliminate it completely, at least that's what I gather from the posts above. Also, once you have flashed a custom ROM, even if you hard reset you will get the same custom ROM until you flash another ROM.

The main issue, however, is for your users to download third party browsers and use the web that way.

Now that I think about it too... what will prevent your users from flashing their own ROMs?

Just some food for thought...

I'd also look up Spb Clone as stated above... the only other thing I can think of is to check if your service provider has the ability of blocking port 80, which is mainly used for web browsing. Don't know if this will affect e-mail or anything else.

With what you guys need in a device with no access to internet just email you may want to look at blackberrys. they are able to be loaded with it polices which will block whatever you want.