After 27 years of activity, the famous navigator bows out. Microsoft is now betting on Edge.
It’s the end of an era. Starting this Wednesday, Internet Explorer will be removed from all Windows 10 operating systems, as its owner Microsoft announced in May 2021.
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The browser was launched in August 1995, before overtaking the then leader, Netscape Navigator. With less than 20% market share in 1996, Internet Explorer rose to more than 80% in 2000, before reaching its peak in 2004, winning 95% of searches. A success which worried the authorities and in particular the European Union which sentenced Microsoft to nearly 500 million euros in 2004 and 560 million euros in March 2013, for abuse of a dominant position.
The setbacks then accumulated with numerous security flaws, allowing hackers to take control of computers remotely. The browser was then synonymous with slowness, causing many taunts on social networks, such as this Twitter account, followed by more than 170,000 people. This parody page thus publishes news months after their release.
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A gradual change
Faced with these setbacks, in 2015, Microsoft decided to no longer update its software, to replace it with Edge, “faster, better secure and more modern“. Since that date, all computers intended for the general public have integrated Microsoft Edge. Today, the third browser used in the world, with 3.99% market share in May according to StatCounter, ahead of Apple’s Safari (19.01%) and the leader Google Chrome (64.95%).
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For Internet Explorer users (0.64%), the change will be gradual. A first phaseredirectwill start on June 15 when devices will be redirected to Microsoft Edge. A second phasewithdrawalwill activate during the next Windows update, the date of which has not yet been communicated. Internet Explorer will then be permanently disabled. “We do not recommend skipping Windows Updates as they contain critical security fixes for the operating system“, indicates the group on its site.
On the professional side, no worries. The Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel operating system will be effective until January 9, 2029. A “internet explorer modewill allow access to old websites, but also to applications.
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