In a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, chief security officer of Microsoft Australia, Stuart Strathdee, said that it was a very difficult task to convince users to upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer from IE6.
IE6 was initially released to the public 9 years ago in 2001. The most current version of Microsoft's browser is IE8, with the next generation IE9 (beta version) already showcased to developers in Melbourne last month.
Strathdee said, "IE6 has a lifecycle. We're well beyond its expiry date". It has known security flaws and has not kept up with internet threat advances. Microsoft also fears that users haven't upgraded their browser because Windows automatic update has been disabled. This also raises other security concerns as they are likely to have missed important security patches, leaving their systems vulnerable to attacks. Learn more about automatic update.
IE6 has also been a browser web developers love to hate mainly due to its lack of support for modern web standards, most notably CSS version 2. This limitation makes it difficult for web developers to create cross browser compliant websites without degrading the experience for users with more modern browsers. Many websites, including Google and YouTube have decided to drop support for IE6 entirely. Earlier this year, the German and French government both advised their citizens to move away from IE6, with other EU countries expected to follow.
It was also mentioned during the interview that a large portion of help desk support calls are from users complaining of websites not opening or crashing IE6. "For us security and privacy are closely related. We're really pleading with people to upgrade," Strathdee told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Aside from corporate users whose systems may depend on the use of IE6, there is no reason why the average users should not upgrade to the latest release of Internet Explorer. To find out which version of IE you are currently using:
- Open Internet Explorer
- Click on "Help" in the Main Menu Toolbar (at top)
- Click "About Internet Explorer"
Alternatively, you can also install another browser such as Firefox,
Chrome,
Safari
or Opera.
In the interest of security, goodbye, sayonara, au revoir, auf Wiedersehen, ciao, hasta la vista IE6. May you rest in peace.
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