The first version of the Site Discovery Toolkit has been released for Internet Explorer 11.
Supported on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, and requiring the latest CU for IE 11, the Site Discovery Toolkit works with Enterprise Mode IE to capture information about end-user site browsing habits. The information is then collected and provided in reports so you can better understand compatibility issues with Microsoft's latest Internet browser.
Data collection is not enabled by default, you must install the tool, configure it, and then turn on the data collection feature. Once enabled, the data is collected for all sites that users visit. The data is then stored in locally on the PC in a new WMI class (root\cimv2\IETelemetry), which can then be queried and even selected for automated retrieval for centralized monitoring, management, and reporting by customers using System Center Configuration Manager. In fact, in addition to the tool itself, the download includes a .MOF file, PowerShell scripts for queries, and sample reports for System Center Configuration Manager.
Some of the information that is gathered:
- Most frequented web sites (by URL, domain, and number of visits)
- ActiveX controls used most
- Sites that crash or hang (through the hang count and crash count variables and count of navigation failures)
- Trusted sites (data collected into Zones)
The information collected can then be used to allow more focused compatibility testing so problematic web sites can be included in Enterprise Mode IE lists.
The new tool is available from here: Site Discovery Toolkit for IE11
More information, including setup and configuration is here: Collect data using Internet Explorer Site Discovery
The stated intent for the Site Discovery Toolkit is to detect and report on site compatibility and browsing issues, but I can see where this tool could also provide a sort of poor man's Internet monitoring solution to capture potential non-business sites or corporate policy infractions.
