Microsoft To Push Latest Internet Explorer Via Silent Updates Next Year
Updated • Sep 9, 2018
One of the core issues that Microsoft is facing in the browser-war is that many users of the Internet Explorer browser are not updating the web browser.
If you look at the browser's market share, you will notice that users are still working with Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8 and not the latest version Internet Explorer 9 (IE8 for XP users). And while market shares differ depending on the company that publishes them, it is safe to say that a large part of Internet Explorer users are using outdated browser versions.
Other browsers offer automatic updates regularly to keep the user base on the latest version. And while that works well for some (Chrome), others browser developers are also experiencing a divided user base. The reason for not updating is usually different though.
Most Firefox users know for instance that a new version is available (as it is displayed to them). They choose to stay with an earlier version of the browser because of design, compatibility or performance reasons.
Microsoft changes Internet Explorer updating
A new announcement on the Windows Team Blog confirms that Microsoft is going to change the way the browser is updated from next year on.
Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 users will receive automatic upgrades to update the installed version of Internet Explorer to the latest one.
Depending on the operating system, Internet Explorer is either updated to Internet Explorer 8 (in the case of XP), or Internet Explorer 9 on systems running Windows Vista or Windows XP.
Australian and Brazilian users will receive the first batch of updates in January, followed by users from other countries soon thereafter.
It needs to be noted though that customers and organizations still have options to avoid the automatic deployment of the new Internet Explorer version on a PC system. Customers who have previously declined the installation of IE8 or IE9 will not be asked again to install it. Organizations who want to make sure that the browser is not updated automatically can install blocker kits to prevent this from happening. Available for download and deployment are Blocker Toolkits for Internet Explorer 8 and IE9.
It is likely that the majority of organizations will use blockers to avoid the automatic installation of a newer version of Internet Explorer on computer systems. Most end users on the other hand are likely to accept the browser update, which may improve security on their PC system significantly.
Microsoft revealed that it will upgrade Internet Explorer versions to the latest available version using Windows Update soon.
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ilev said on December 16, 2011 at 11:11 am
This is an Upgrade , not an update and it won't pass in EU.
Midnight said on December 16, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Probably not. The EU is not one of Microsoft's best friends! :)
That's nice, but I don't use IE, for obvious reasons, but it appears that Microsoft is following Mozilla and attempting to stay ahead of Firefox and Chrome!
Good luck with that! :)
ilev said on December 16, 2011 at 12:56 pm
By the way, Chrome 15 is the most used browser according to Statcounter with 23.6 % of market share while IE8 has 23.5%.
Yoshiyah said on December 16, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Who cares about the EU! There won't be an EU in the next 6 month.
kalmly said on December 16, 2011 at 4:33 pm
I don't update IE because I never use IE. It just sits there, doing nothing while I browse with Opera and sometimes FF.
ilev said on December 16, 2011 at 9:40 pm
@kalmly, You use Windows, you use IE in the background whether you want or not, which still poses security threats to your system.
Martin Brinkmann said on December 17, 2011 at 1:02 am
I agree. Programs can use IE's rendering engine for instance to display contents.
Sina said on December 17, 2011 at 2:23 am
To add ilev and Martin's replies : For instance when you sign-into Yahoo! Messenger and pop-up (My Yahoo!) loads.
When you use Skype InApp account manager
OR etc…
SFdude said on December 17, 2011 at 3:34 am
I only use FF in XP-SP3.
I ** never ** use IE6 for browsing at all,
(except for the monthly "Windows Update").
That IE6 is still used in the bkg. by other Win progs.,
could be dangerous.
Could someone give more examples of which known Win progs.
actually use IE6 in the bkg.?
Sbronzo di Riace said on December 17, 2011 at 12:40 pm
wrong links for Blocker Toolkit
Available for download and deployment are Blocker Toolkits for spx?displaylang=en&id=14149″>Internet Explorer 8 and IE9.
Martin Brinkmann said on December 17, 2011 at 1:09 pm
You are right, corrected. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Sina said on December 17, 2011 at 1:27 pm
SFdude,
as I said above, those applications are most used.
Actually, they use IE to render pages. not only IE6.
It depends on what version you already have install on your windows machine.
SFdude said on December 17, 2011 at 4:20 pm
yes, thank you Sina – it does help.
So, here's an idea to "de-activate" IE6 in XP-SP3,
(except to do the monthly Windows Update,
outside the sandbox)…
I always use FF inside a sandbox ("Sandboxie").
Anyone out there using "Sandboxie" in XP:
…how can you tell the sandbox
NOT to allow IE6 to be used,
in case it is silently called by another regular program I'm using ?
thks!
@SFdude,
You can't uninstall or de-activate IE as it is deeply woven in Windows. Even those Windows PCs sold in EU (without IE by law) have the IE rendering parts in the OS.
bob said on February 22, 2012 at 6:42 am
Many years ago, I worked on a Windows PC where I wanted to connect a printer. I knew it had a broken IE, so I used an alternate browser to surf the web. However, the printer install software required IE to do the install. There was no choice to select an alternate browser. After several hours of trying to reinstall IE, I gave up and dragged out the Windows CDs and did a reinstall. All that to be able to print from my new printer.
That lesson taught me all about this issue. Nevertheless, being an avid Linux fan, I have not depended on IE in any way since 1999. Firefox and Opera seem to be OK, but I would recommend staying away from Chrome because it is controlled entirely by the giant google, an advertising company that monetized your personal preferences.
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