March 2011

Don't use Internet Explorer 6: Microsoft

Microsoft has started a website dedicated to help and track the reduction of use of what it calls an old security-lapsed browser, Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).

Microsoft has said "it's time to say goodbye" to IE6. The creator of the browser urges users to upgrade to a newer version such as IE 8 or 9.

The company has said the aim of the countdown website - www.theie6countdown.com - is to see that less than 1% of the world's web browsers use IE6.

Microsoft said, "Currently one in four Internet Explorer users continue to use IE6, a browser which lacks modern web standards and provides an unsatisfactory user experience."

Many users, particularly in countries like China, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and India, still use IE6. In China 34.5% of web users use IE6. Only Norway and Finland have less than one per cent of users on IE6.

Microsoft is preparing to launching IE9, and says that the aim of its new site is to persuade people to upgrade at least to IE8 or IE9 which, it says, "promises to be highly focused on modern standards."

In May 2010, Microsoft had started its "milk campaign", saying that using IE6 is like drinking nine-year-old milk.