The hero of Windows, Internet Explorer, dies at the age of 26.
Users of Internet Explorer will be automatically redirected to Edge by
Microsoft.
Internet Explorer is no longer available. After nearly 27
years, Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer. With support for IE 11 being
formally terminated today, the old web browser is being phased out in favor of
Microsoft Edge. After moving away from the Internet Explorer branding with the
introduction of Windows 10 in 2015, it's the end of an era on the internet.
There aren't many changes for customers. Internet Explorer's
usage has dropped dramatically in recent years, with StatCounter reporting that
IE now has less than a 5% market share of all browsers. For years, Microsoft
has worked to discourage users from using Internet Explorer, referring to it as
a "compatibility solution" rather than a browser that businesses
should actively use.
Over the next several months, Microsoft will begin rolling
out a new popup that will move anyone still using Internet Explorer to
Microsoft Edge. As part of a future Windows upgrade, Internet Explorer will be
permanently deactivated. More information on how Microsoft is dealing with the
withdrawal of Internet Explorer from Windows may be found here.
While Microsoft's Edge, which is powered by Chromium, is now
the default browser in Windows 11, the MSHTML engine that powers Internet
Explorer is still included. It exists only to enable IE mode in Microsoft Edge,
which Microsoft states will be supported until at least 2029.
For online apps and sites that require Internet Explorer,
businesses have mostly switched to Edge's IE mode. This IE mode for Edge was
established by Microsoft in 2019, and it supports older ActiveX controls that
are still used by many legacy sites. Internet Explorer will remain on in spirit
through this mode, but there will be no more Internet Explorer cakes.
Some businesses will be caught off guard by the Internet
Explorer retirement, or may not be able to completely phase out its use in
time. Some government departments and financial institutions in Japan have been
reluctant to respond to the IE retirement, according to Nikkei this week. For
example, the Japan Pension Service website must be accessed in Edge's IE mode.
Thousands of comparable enterprises and instances of
Internet Explorer usage are expected to exist throughout the world. For years,
Microsoft has been warning of today's Internet Explorer retirement, and it's
still being cautious with alerts and redirection until the browser is
completely eliminated in the coming months.
Internet Explorer isn't an issue for Windows 11 users
because it doesn't even come with an accessible version. It's the first time in
more than two decades that Microsoft hasn't included Internet Explorer with a
new version of Windows. The infamous United States v. Microsoft antitrust case
and the European Commission's action against Microsoft culminated in a browser
ballot inside specific versions of Windows as a result of that bundling
decision.
Users of Internet Explorer will be automatically redirected to Edge by
Microsoft.
Over the next several months, Microsoft will begin
automatically moving Internet Explorer users to its Edge browser. Internet
Explorer is being phased out today, and individuals and companies that are
still using it will shortly receive a prompt to switch to Microsoft Edge.
The message and redirect are the first steps toward
completely deleting Internet Explorer from existing PCs, and Microsoft aims to
release an upgrade in the future that will disable the old browser.
"Eventually, as part of a future Windows Update, Internet Explorer will be
permanently deactivated, at which point the Internet Explorer icons on their
devices will be deleted," says Sean Lyndersay, general manager of
Microsoft Edge Enterprise.
Passwords, favorites, and settings from Internet Explorer
will be transferred to Edge, and a "reload in IE mode" option will
appear in the toolbar to make it easier to access the unique mode that
Microsoft has incorporated into Edge. Many legacy sites still employ earlier
ActiveX controls, which are supported by IE mode.
The Internet Explorer retirement will affect all presently
supported versions of Windows 10, including Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education,
and IoT. Internet Explorer is already missing from Windows 11. "Internet
Explorer will not be deleted from all of these versions today," adds
Lyndersay, "but will be gradually redirected to Microsoft Edge on all of
these devices over the following few months."
However, there will be one significant exception. "We
will continue to support Internet Explorer on specific versions of Windows that
are now out of support and are utilized in critical situations until they are
no longer supported," Lyndersay said. "All presently supported
Windows 10 LTSC releases (including IoT) and all Windows Server versions, as
well as Windows 10 China Government Edition, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 with
Extended Security Updates (ESUs)"
Internet Explorer will not be included in future versions of
these Windows editions, although the underlying MSHTML (Trident) platform and
COM controls in Windows will continue to be supported on all Windows systems.
Microsoft also plans to support Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge
"at least until 2029."
Although Internet Explorer will technically continue to
exist for a bit longer, Microsoft's message is clear: "the future of
Internet Explorer lies in Microsoft Edge."
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