WebProNews

Tag: IE

  • Internet Explorer Is Pretty Much Dead

    Yes, this is a headline from 2015. You might think that Microsoft’s much-maligned web browser has been dying for years – and you’d be right. But now it’s seemingly official. Microsoft is abandoning the Internet Explorer brand.

    Microsoft has already announced its brand new web browser, codenamed Project Spartan. And we’ve had more than subtle hints that IE was on the way out. But speaking at an event on Monday, Microsoft’s Chris Capossela all but nailed the final nail in the coffin.

    From The Verge:

    …the software maker has now confirmed that it will use a new name for its upcoming browser successor, codenamed Project Spartan. Speaking at Microsoft Convergence yesterday, Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossela revealed that the company is currently working on a new name and brand. “We’re now researching what the new brand, or the new name, for our browser should be in Windows 10,” said Capossela. “We’ll continue to have Internet Explorer, but we’ll also have a new browser called Project Spartan, which is codenamed Project Spartan. We have to name the thing.”

    Apparently, IE will still exist in some small way, in some enterprise versions of Windows 10. But it’s clear that Microsoft is looking for a new name altogether. According to Microsoft, recent research has shown that folks are receptive to the “Microsoft” brand, and that test browser names paired with “Microsoft” have tested very well.

    And most efforts to change public opinion on IE haven’t really gone that well.

    With all this in mind, it’s possible that whatever browser Project Spartan becomes could have the word “Microsoft” in it in some way. It’s now definitive that the browser will not be a new iteration of Internet Explorer.

    Image via IE, Twitter

  • Microsoft Reportedly Working On New Browser

    Microsoft has a new web browser in the works, according to a new report. ZDNet reports, citing more than one source, that Microsoft is building a new browser, codenamed Spartan, which is separate from Internet Explorer.

    Spartan, according to the report, would be part of Windows 10. Mary Jo Foley reports:

    Spartan is still going to use Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and Microsoft’s Trident rendering engine (not WebKit), sources say. As Neowin’s Brad Sams reported back in September, the coming browser will look and feel more like Chrome and Firefox and will support extensions. Sams also reported on December 29 that Microsoft has two different versions of Trident in the works, which also seemingly supports the claim that the company has two different Trident-based browsers.

    However, if my sources are right, Spartan is not IE 12. Instead, Spartan is a new, light-weight browser Microsoft is building.

    Spartan would apparently be available for both desktop and mobile devices. It’s hard to imagine it any other way at this point. Windows 10, Foley says, will ship with both Spartan and IE 11, which would be more for backwards compatibility than anything.

    Spartan will likely be called something else, as that’s just its codename. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft offers it on other platforms like iOS and Android. My guess, based on its strategy with other products, is that it will.

    Image via Microsoft

  • Microsoft Postpones IE Java-Blocking Feature

    Microsoft recently posted to its Internet Explorer blog that it would begin blocking out-of-date ActiveX controls as part of its “ongoing commitment to delivering a more secure browser”. It then updated the blog to announce that it had postponed it until September 9th.

    According to a recent Microsoft Security Intelligence report, Java exploits represented 84.6% to 98.5% of exploit kit-related detections every month of last year. The company says while such vulnerabilities may have been fixed in recent versions, not all users will know to upgrade, so an update to IE will include a new security feature called out-of-date ActiveX control blocking.

    The feature lets users know when IE prevents a web page from loading common, but outdated, ActiveX controls and interact with other parts of the page that aren’t affected by them. It also lets you update the outdated control and inventory the ActiveX controls your organization is using.

    “Based on customer feedback, we have decided to wait thirty days before blocking any out-of-date ActiveX controls,” Microsoft said in an update to the blog post. “Customers can use the new logging feature to assess ActiveX controls in their environment and deploy Group Policies to enforce blocking, turn off blocking ActiveX controls for specific domains, or turn off the feature entirely depending on their needs. The feature and related Group Policies will still be available on August 12, but no out-of-date ActiveX controls will be blocked until Tuesday, September 9th. Microsoft will continue to create a more secure browser, and we encourage all customers to upgrade and stay up-to-date with the latest Internet Explorer and updates.”

    Next month, only out-of-date Oracle Java ActiveX controls will be affected, and all others will continue their existing behavior. The feature will only prompt the user when an out-of-date version of Java is loaded as an ActiveX control.

    “Installing the most current version of the Java runtime significantly improves user security,” Microsoft says.

    Read the post (linked above) for more details on all of this. You may also want to check out this post on keeping Oracle Java updated.

  • Internet Explorer Security Flaw Puts Users at Risk, Feds Say Switch Browsers

    If, for some reason, you still use Internet Explorer to browse the web, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security advises that you switch to a different browser for the time being. A major security flaw was exposed in Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11 that could allow hackers to take over your computer.

    The security flaw was discovered over the weekend and reportedly “has the potential to give hackers the same user rights as the current user.” According to Microsoft, “The vulnerability exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability may corrupt memory in a way that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user within Internet Explorer.”

    Not only does the bug potentially allow users to control your computer, it could also give them access to your financial information. “They could start to maybe drop a keylogger on your system and watch when you go to do online banking, get access to your bank accounts, credit card info; that’s generally what these folks are looking for,” said Michael Gregg, COO of Superior Solutions, a Houston cybersecurity firm.

    What Can You Do?

    The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), part of the Department of Homeland Security, released a statement today advising Internet Explorer users to switch to a different browser. “US-CERT recommends that users and administrators enable Microsoft EMET where possible and consider employing an alternative web browser until an official update is available,” the statement reads.

    If you’ve never used another browser, the two most popular Internet browsers are Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. If you’re hesitant about installing a new browser, PC World suggests using Internet Explorer in a more secure mode by adjusting your security settings under Internet options.

    A Fix is Coming, But Windows XP Users Are Screwed

    Microsoft is working to issue a fix, unless you own a Windows XP–in which case, you’re out of luck. According to Forbes, approximately 25 percent of people still use Windows XP, and Microsoft ended tech support for XP earlier this month.

    Microsoft issued the following warning to XP users less than three weeks ago: “If you continue to use Windows XP after support ends, your computer will still work but it might become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses.” No surprise there, but the timing of this bug has some people wondering whether Microsoft ignored the problem to force people into upgrading from XP.

    Huge security threat aside, the people who haven’t used Internet Explorer as their main browser since the early part of the millennium aren’t hesitating to pile on:

    Image via Facebook

  • Google Kills Chrome Frame, Its IE Chrome-ifying Tool

    Google announced today that it is retiring Chrome Frame, its way of “chrome-ifying Internet Explorer”. It was a way to let developers get around the not-modern-enough IE of 2009. The plug-in left beta in 2011.

    Apparently Google considers Microsoft’s browser to be modern enough now so that there is no longer a need for Chrome Frame.

    In a post on Google’s Chromium blog, Chrome engineer Robert Shield writes:

    The main goal of the Chromium project has always been to help unlock the potential of the open web. We work closely with the industry to standardize, implement and evangelize web technologies that help enable completely new types of experiences, and push the leading edge of the web platform forward.

    But in 2009, many people were using browsers that lagged behind the leading edge. In order to reach the broadest base of users, developers often had to either build multiple versions of their applications or not use the new capabilities at all. We created Chrome Frame — a secure plug-in that brings a modern engine to old versions of Internet Explorer — to allow developers to bring better experiences to more users, even those who were unable to move to a more capable browser.

    Google says that today most people are using modern browsers that support the latest web technologies, hence, the need for Chrome Frame has essentially evaporated.

    Google will stop supporting and updating the product in January.

  • Microsoft Rolling Out Automatic Updates for Internet Explorer

    Microsoft announced today that it will soon be rolling out automatic updates for Internet Explorer. The roll out will begin in January for Australian and Brazilian users, and will gradually spread from there.

    By instituting automatic updates, Microsoft takes user out of the equation by bringing them the latest version of Explorer silently. The goal, Microsoft says, is to make the web a better and safter place. The most common features of any web browser update are speed and security improvements. Newer browser versions are also generally better adapted to the most recent advances in web-based technology, such as the relatively recent rollout of HTML5. Using an up-to-date browser gives users a safer and better internet experience. Often, however, users neglect to keep their browsers up to date, for a variety of reasons. Automatic updates relieve them of the need to fuss over whether their browser is as up-to-date as possible, while delivering them a safer and better internet experience, and making the jobs of web developers easy by making sure more people can see pages designed to the latest web standards and using the latest technologies.

    This move brings Microsoft into line with its two main rivals in the web browser business: Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. The practice began with Chrome, and Firefox followed suit in October. Chrome, which has only been around for three years, has been gaining rapidly on its two main competitors recently. One study found that Chrome has overtaken Firefox in global market share to become the second most popular web browser worldwide, though Firefox still leads int he US. Another study showed that the most recent version of Chrome, Chrome 15, is the most popular single browser version in the world, beating Internet Explorer 8 by 0.1%. When all versions are taken together, however, Explorer still has a substantial lead over both Chrome and Firefox. Though it has been losing ground to Firefox and Chrome, Explorer has been the default browser on every Windows computer for years, allowing it to piggyback to the top on Windows’ market share, which is almost unassailable.

  • Are Internet Explorer Users Dumb?

    Are Internet Explorer Users Dumb?

    We are all well aware that IE has been the butt of many jokes over the years, justly or unjustly depending on who you ask. A new report from consulting firm AptiQuant may have just provided ammunition for a whole new round of jokes.

    Apparently, IE users aren’t quite the smartest citizens of the interwebs – at least when compared to users of Firefox, Chrome and Opera.

    Here’s how the test went: AptiQuant offered online IQ tests to over 100,000 people and charted the results based on which browser they used to take the test. Simple as that.

    The results show that IE users of all versions performed the poorest of all browsers tested. And the older the version of IE you’re using, the lower your IQ. IE 6 users and IE 7 users average a score of barely over 80. IE 9 and IE 8 users averaged around 95 and 90, respectively.

    Next were Firefox users, followed by Chrome and then Safari. The real bright bulbs turned out to be Opera users, who average an IQ score of just under 130.

    They also measured these results against results from 2006 and found that IE users have dropped on the scale over the past 5 years.

    AptiQuant concluded this –

    The study showed a substantial relationship between an individual’s cognitive ability and their choice of web browser. From the test results, it is a clear indication that individuals on the lower side of the IQ scale tend to resist a change/upgrade of their browsers. This hypothesis can be extended to any software in general, however more research is needed for that, which is a potential future work as an extension to this report.

    Of course not all people who use IE lack intelligence. But these findings have to make you wonder; why do those other browsers appeal to a more intelligent crowd?

  • Google Toolbar 7 Gives Internet Explorer Google Instant

    Google launched a new version of the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. Google Toolbar 7 brings Google Instant and some new personalization features to the table.

    “If you’ve used Instant on google.com or in Chrome, you’ll be right at home with Toolbar Instant,” says Google’s Allen Huang, Associate Product Manager on the Toolbar. “Just start typing in the search box and search predictions and results will appear instantly as you type, getting you the results you want faster.”

    As a Chrome user, I can honestly say that I can hardly remember what it was like before Google Instant from the browser, even though it’s not been available for that long. Most people seem to like it.

    “This new version of Toolbar is simpler, cleaner and emphasizes what’s important to you. The tools that you use most will remain visible on the toolbar, while buttons that you haven’t used recently will be moved to the new ‘More’ button,” says Huang. “s you discover and use particular tools that help your browsing experience, like Share or Translate, they’ll automatically appear on the toolbar, making your most relevant tools easy to access. This personalization is stored only on your computer, so no information is sent to Google unless your usage statistics are enabled.”

    The toolbar also comes with new privacy settings accessible from a single menu, where you can adjust your preferences for things like PageRank, spell check, and SideWiki.

    Google Toolbar Privacy Settings

    The toolbar is available in English only, but will be available in other languages in the future. Current Toolbar users will be automatically upgraded over the coming weeks.

  • IE10 Platform Preview Download Announced

    Microsoft announced the availability of the IE10 Platform Preview for download today. The company calls it the “first step in delivering the next wave of progress in native HTML5 support.”

    “We built IE9 from the ground up for HTML5 and for Windows to deliver the most native HTML5 experience and the best Web experience on Windows,” says IE Corporate VP Dean Hachamovitch. “IE10 continues on IE9’s path, directly using what Windows provides and avoiding abstractions, layers, and libraries that slow down your site and your experience.”

    “We’re about three weeks into development of IE10, and based on the progress we’ve made, we want to start engaging the development community now,” he said. “At the MIX conference today, we showed the new browsing engine along with several new browser test drives that anyone on the Web can try out.”

    The test drives can be viewed here. New HTML5 demos include: strict mode, tweet columns, Griddle, CSS3 Flexbox Flexin’ and The Grid System.

    Internet Explorer 9’s adoption rate has been five times higher than that of IE8’s according to the Microsoft.

    The browser is facing rampant competition these days. Firefox 4 is doing pretty well (currently with nearly 80 million downloads) and Chrome’s market share continues to grow. Mozilla and Google have both boosted their release process to launch more versions at a faster pace.

    The IE10 Platform Preview can be downloaded here.

  • MWC11: IE9 Coming to Windows Phones This Year

    Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced several new features for Windows Phone today in a keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. One feature is a "dramatically enhanced" version of Internet Explorer 9, which will become available for the mobile operating system in the second half of this year. 

    We don’t know exactly when we’ll see the fruits of the company’s partnership with Nokia, but that could be an indication right there. While nothing has been officially announced in terms of dates, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop did suggest that Nokia Windows Phones would come out this year.

    Dean Hachamovitch, Corporate Vice President of Internet Explorer said, "We’ve worked closely across the Windows Phone and IE teams over the last few months to deliver the same IE9 browsing engine—the same code, the same standards support, the same hardware acceleration, the same security and privacy protections—for Windows Phone as we’ve delivered on the desktop."

    "As a result, when you compare different browsers side by side using official W3C standards tests, for example here, you can expect very similar results for IE9 on Windows Phone and the Windows desktop," he added. "When you compare side by side browser performance, for example here or here, or running the FishIE Tank demo, you can still expect very similar results. You can also expect similar results comparing the security and privacy protections, for example here and here."

    MicrosoftComing to Windows Phone in 2011: Twitter in the People Hub, additional SkyDrive support, Internet Explorer 9, and expanded multi-tasking. Visit Microsoft News Center for the full details, then come back here and share your thoughts.1 hour ago 207 likes 44 comments

    Other things announced by Ballmer:

    First Major Update 
    A free customer update will be made available for all Windows Phones in the first two weeks of March, which includes new capabilities such as copy & paste and faster application performance.

    Availability on CDMA Networks 
    With added support for CDMA networks, Windows Phone will be available to even more customers on mobile operators such as Verizon and Sprint in the first half of 2011.

    Twitter Integration in the People Hub 
    The popular social networking service Twitter will be integrated into the People Hub in the second half of 2011.

    Office Document Storage in the Cloud 
    Document sharing and storage in the cloud via Windows Live SkyDrive will be added to Windows Phone in the second half of 2011.

    Additional Multi-tasking Capabilities 
    We will add the ability to switch quickly between applications, run applications in the background (such as listening to music), along with a number of other capabilities in the second half of 2011. Developers will learn much more about this during April’s     MIXconference.

    According to a recent report, Microsoft outbid Google for the Nokia deal, and is paying billions for it.