IE8 (Internet Explorer 8) RC1 Official Download Links

Internet Explorer 8 RC1 has been officially released by Microsoft, where the English IE8 RC 1 build version 8.0.6001.18343 has been leaked for free download since days ago. With the official release, IE 8 Release Candidate is now available for 25 languages for 32-bit and 64-bit (x86 and x64) Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 or 2008 as version 8.0.6001.18372.

IE8 RC1 improves on the web browser’s user experience based on feedback, and according to IEBlog, has made the following chances to further improve and enhance IE8 after the IE8 Beta 2.

• Platform complete, where the final IE8 release to behave as the Release Candidate does. The IE8 product is effectively complete and done.
• Reliability, Performance, and Compatibility improvements.
• Security. Sites can now protect themselves and their users from clickjacking attacks “out of the box,” without impacting compatibility or requiring browser add-ons.

IEBlog also listed some information related to installation of IE8 RC1.

• If you are a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 user and you are upgrading from IE8 Beta 1 or Beta 2 to IE8 RC1, you are no longer required to manually uninstall earlier IE8 builds. Instead, IE8 RC1 installer will automatically upgrade your machine from the earlier IE8 builds to the latest IE8 build, all with a single reboot.
• There is a new pre-requisite for IE8 RC1 (KB957388). This update supersedes KB943302 and KB957055 and will be automatically installed as part of your RC1 upgrade, as long as you keep “Install the latest updates” checkbox checked. This update addresses known application compatibility issues in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and improves the performance and reliability of IE8.
• All IE8 Beta 1 and Beta 2 users will be offered IE8 RC1 via Windows Update in 25 languages. For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, the IE language that gets offered via Windows Update will match the base OS language. For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the IE language that gets offered via Windows Update will match the Active Language that the user selected for their account.
• If you are running Windows 7 Beta, you will not be able to install IE8 RC1. You will get an error message saying that your operating system is not supported since IE8 already ships in Win7. The IE8 RC1 available from Microsoft Download Center is a standalone upgrade for downlevel version of the OS only: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 and Window Server 2003.

  Note: An updated version of IE8 will be available for Windows 7 users.

Internet Explorer 8 RC1 can be downloaded for free from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/worldwide-sites.aspx

Direct Download Links of IE8 RC1

Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 for Windows XP: IE8-WindowsXP-x86-ENU.exe
Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 for Windows Server 2003 SP2 64-bit Edition or Windows XP Professional 64-bit Edition: IE8-WindowsServer2003-x64-ENU.exe
Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008: IE8-WindowsVista-x86-ENU.exe
Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 for Windows Vista 64-bit Edition and Windows Server 2008 64-bit Edition: IE8-WindowsVista-x64-ENU.exe
Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 for Windows Server 2003 SP2: IE8-WindowsServer2003-x86-ENU.exe

Update: Internet Explorer 8 RTW Final version has been released.