The Internet Explorer 8.0 has various features that enable the users to work in a easier, faster and safer ways. The new features of the version are listed below

Accelerators The new Accelerators in Internet Explorer 8 helps the users to quickly perform everyday browsing tasks without navigating to other websites to get things done. The users has to simply highlight text from any webpage, and then click on the blue Accelerator icon that appears above the selection to obtain driving directions, translate and define words, email content to others, search with ease, and more. For example, with the "Map with Bing" Accelerator in Internet Explorer 8, the users can get an in-place view of a map displayed directly on the page. The users can discover other useful Accelerators by selecting the More Accelerators option on the right-click menu. The users can easily delete, disable, or enable Accelerators by clicking on Manage Add-ons from the Tools button on the upper right-hand corner of the browser window. Internet Explorer 8 includes a number of useful Accelerators to get the users started. Simply highlight text from any webpage, and then click on the blue Accelerator icon that appears above the selection to get things done faster than ever.

Search The new search capabilities in Internet Explorer 8 will offer relevant suggestions as the users type words into the search box to help save time. Click on a suggestion at any time to immediately execute the search without having to type the entire word or phrase. Internet Explorer 8 is partnering with top search providers like Bing, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, Amazon, and more to deliver visual suggestions that provide the users with immediate answers.

Find On Page Internet Explorer 8 includes a completely redesigned Find On Page toolbar, which is activated by pressing Ctrl-F or choosing Find On Page from the Edit menu or Search box drop-down. Press the Alt key if the users do not see the Edit menu option. The toolbar is integrated below the tab row, so that it does not obscure any content on the page. Instead of waiting for the users to type an entire search term and hit  Enter,the toolbar searches character-by-character as the users’ type.

Increased performanceInternet Explorer 8 includes many performance improvements that contribute to a faster, more responsive web browsing experience in the areas that matter most. Internet Explorer 8 starts quickly, loads pages fast and instantly gets the users started on what the users want to do next by using a powerful new tab page. In addition, the script engine in Internet Explorer 8 is significantly faster than in previous versions, minimizing the load time for webpages based on JavaScript or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX).

Smart Address Bar Type a few characters in the new Address Bar and Internet Explorer 8 will automatically recall sites already visited based on the users’ entry. It searches across the history, Favorites, and RSS Feeds, displaying matches from the website address or any part of the URL. As the users type, matched characters are highlighted in blue so the users can identify them at a glance. In addition, the users can delete any address in the drop-down box by clicking on the red X. This is especially useful for getting rid of misspelled URLs.

Web Slices Using Web Slices, the users can keep up with frequently updated sites directly from the new Favorites Bar. If a Web Slice is available on a page, a green Web Slices icon will appear in the Command Bar. Click on this icon to easily subscribe and add the Web Slices to the Favorites Bar so the users can keep track of that "slice" of the web. When new information becomes available, the Web Slice will become highlighted. When the users click on the Web Slice in the Favorites Bar, it previews relevant information. Clicking on the preview takes the users directly to the site for more information. As with Accelerators, Microsoft has taken a platform-based approach to Web Slices, enabling virtually any developer to create them by merely adding a few lines of code to existing pages. For example, eBay has built a Web Slice that enables the users to monitor an auction. Microsoft is working with partners to create more Web Slices, so, look for more Web Slices to become available on the users’ favorite sites.

Compatibility View Internet Explorer 8 is a new release and some websites may not yet be ready for the new browser. Click the Compatibility View toolbar button to display the website as viewed in Internet Explorer 7, which will correct display problems like misaligned text, images, or text boxes. This option is on a per site basis and all other sites will continue to display with Internet Explorer 8 functionality. When the user click on the Compatibility View button for a site, the user don’t need to do it again as the next time the user visit that site the browser will show it in compatibility mode. If for some reason the user has to go back to browsing with Internet Explorer 8 functionality on that site, simply click the  Compatibility View button again. The user can maintain a list within Internet Explorer 8 for sites that should be displayed in Compatibility View. From the Command Bar ,select Tools,, and then select Compatibility View Settings to add and remove sites from this list. There are also options for viewing all websites and intranet sites in Compatibility View.

Enhanced tabbed browsing Internet Explorer 8 introduces Tab Groups, which make tabbed browsing easier. When one tab is opened from another, the new tab is placed next to the originating tab and color coded, so that the user can quickly see which tabs have related content. If the user closes a tab that's part of a group, another tab from the same group is displayed, enabling the user to remain within the context of the current task rather than suddenly looking at an unrelated site. By right-clicking on any tab, the user can close the tab, close the tab group, or remove the tab from a group. From the same menu, the user can refresh one or all tabs, open a new tab, reopen the last tab closed, or see a list of all recently closed tabs and reopen any or all of them.

Enhanced Favorites Bar Now there's a better place to keep track of the users’ top favorites. The user can save Favorites, RSS Feeds, and Web Slices to the Favorites Bar that appears across the top of the browser, quickly navigating to the sites and content that the user cares about most. To provide a code-execution environment that eliminates the performance problems of scripted or interpreted environments.

One Click Favorites

Press the One Click Add to Favorites bar button and immediately add the page the user are browsing to the Favorites Bar, saving the user extra clicks. RSS feeds on Favorites Bar

The Favorites bar has been updated so the user can drag an RSS feed to the users’ Favorites bar, making it easier to see when important feeds are updated.

History sorting

The new Browsing History view allows the user to sort the users’ history by Site Name, Most Visited Sites, Order Visited Today, and Date, making it easier to organize and locate sites in the users’ history. History searching In Internet Explorer 8, the user can search for pages in history by typing keywords, making it easier to locate sites when browsing the users’ history.

Redesigned New Tab page The New Tab page loads quickly and provided links make it easier to get started on the users’ next browsing activity:

Use an Accelerator: Now the user can use an Accelerator using any text the user have copied to the clipboard.

Browse with InPrivate: Start InPrivate Browsing and the users’ browsing activities, history and cookies are not retained, and third party web content providers may be hindered from tracking the users’ online activities without the users’ consent.

Reopen closed tabs: Reopen a tab that the users' have closed in the current browsing session, which can be helpful when a tab is accidentally or prematurely closed.

Reopen the users’ last browsing session: Reopen all tabs that were open when Internet Explorer 8 was last closed, which can be useful if the user accidentally close the browser.

Improved Zoom Adaptive Page Zoom improves upon traditional zoom-in/zoom-out functionality in the browser by intelligently relaying out the page content and eliminating the need to scroll left and right. This will improve the users’ ability to magnify pages with small fonts and be able to read more on the web.

A better back button When using rich applications such as mapping on the Internet, the user may be taken to the beginning of the application instead of the previous page when the user hit the back button. Now when the user hit the back button, more pages will behave the way the user expect.

Safer online Cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated and deceptive methods such as:

Malware -software that a cybercriminal can use to steal the users’ bank account information, track everything the users type, send out malicious software or spam, or harm the users’ computer.

Phishing -an attack where a cybercriminal pretends to be a legitimate organization, such as the users’ bank, in order to deceive the users into giving up personal information such as credit card numbers and account information.

Both of these methods often involve tricking the users into clicking on a link or downloading a file that appears legitimate, but is actually harmful. But cybercriminals are also using more elaborate ways to attempt to compromise websites and attack the users’ computer without the users’ knowledge, including "cross-site scripting" and "click-jacking," both of which are becoming increasingly dangerous threats.

Internet Explorer 8 helps protect the users from today's threats, including malware and phishing, as well as emerging threats that can compromise the users’ computer without the users’ knowledge. Other browsers either don't offer the users this level of protection or require the users to download and configure third-party add-ons to get it, but with Internet Explorer 8 the users get it right out of the box, and turned on by default.

Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Filter Cross-site scripting attacks try to exploit vulnerabilities in the websites the users browse. In this attack, the users might receive an email that contains a tampered website address. Once the users click on the link, the users are directed to a legitimate website that has been compromised to contain malicious content that can capture keystrokes and record the users login and password. These attacks have emerged as a leading online threat so Internet Explorer 8 includes a cross-site scripting filter that can detect these types of attacks and disable the harmful scripts. Unlike other web browsers, Internet Explorer 8 offers this protection right out of the box, and turned on by default.

Click-jacking prevention Click-jacking is an emerging online threat where an attacker's webpage deceives the users into clicking on content from another website without the users realizing it. For example, it might hide a legitimate webpage as a "frame" inside a malicious page. When the users click in the malicious page, the users are actually clicking on something else like buying something from the site, changing some settings on the user’s browser or computer, or viewing advertisements that cybercriminals get paid for. It's a complicated attack, but Internet Explorer 8 allows website developers to protect their sites from these kinds of attacks by preventing their legitimate pages from being "framed."

Domain highlighting Internet Explorer 8 is the first browser to provide domain highlighting, so the users always know which website they are visiting. Domain Highlighting lets the users more easily interpret web addresses (URLs) to help them avoid deceptive and phishing sites that attempt to trick them with misleading addresses. It does this by highlighting the domain name in the address bar in black, with the remainder of the URL string in gray, making for easier identification of the sites true identity.

Data Execution Prevention (DEP) Data Execution Prevention (DEP), on by default in Internet Explorer 8 in Windows Vista Service Pack 1, is a security feature that can help prevent damage to the users’ computer from viruses and other security threats by preventing certain types of code from writing to executable memory space.

InPrivate Browsing & Filtering When checking e-mail at an Internet café or shopping for a gift on a family PC, the users don't want to leave any trace of specific web browsing activity. InPrivate Browsing in Internet Explorer 8 helps prevent the users’ browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and usernames and passwords from being retained by the browser, leaving no evidence of the users’ browsing or search history.

The users can start InPrivate Browsing by opening a new tab and selecting Browse with InPrivate or selecting it from the Safety button on the top right corner of the browser window. Once the users complete this action, Internet Explorer 8 will launch a new browser session that won't record any information, including searches or webpage visits. To end the users’ InPrivate Browsing session they need to close the browser window.

Users are often not aware that some content, images, ads and analytics are being provided from third party websites or that these websites have the ability to potentially track their behavior across multiple websites. InPrivate Filtering provides users an added level of control and choice about the information that third party websites can potentially use to track browsing activity. InPrivate Filtering is off by default and must be enabled on a per-session basis. To use this feature, select InPrivate Filtering from the Safety menu. To access and manage different filtering options for Internet Explorer 8, select InPrivate Filtering Settings from the Safety menu.

InPrivate Filtering is designed to watch for and block only third-party content that appears with a high frequency across sites the users visit, no content is blocked until such levels are detected, nor is any such content blocked which is served directly by the site the users are visiting. Depending on the users’ web browsing activity and sites visited, the amount of time it can take before such content is automatically blocked can vary widely. However, at any time, the users can customize which third-party content is blocked or allowed in the InPrivate Filtering Settings option from the Safety menu.

Enhanced delete browsing history Now when deleting browsing history, the users can choose to preserve cookies and temporary Internet files for sites in the users’ Favorites folder. This helps to protect their information and privacy while preserving the users’ data on the trusted favorite sites. The user preferences and cookies are preserved, helping the users to get to the users’ trusted sites faster with greater confidence.

Tab isolation If a website or add-on causes a tab to crash in Internet Explorer 8, only that tab is affected. The browser itself remains stable and other tabs remain unaffected, thereby minimizing any disruption to the users’ browsing experience.

Crash recovery If one or more of the users’ tabs unexpectedly closes or crashes, the tabs are automatically reloaded and the users are returned to the site the users were on before the crash.