IE’s worldwide browser market share on desktops dropped from 58.2 percent at the start of 2014 to 48.6 percent in December, according to tracking company NetMarketShare.
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For those of you still using Vista, which can’t upgrade past Internet Explorer 9, you might wonder how this is going to affect you.
“Internet Explorer 11 offers improved security, increased performance, better backward compatibility, and support for the web standards that power today’s websites and services”, the website reads.
Lack of Independent Software Support: Many software vendors no longer support older versions of Internet Explorer. The company says IE 11 will continue to receive updates and support through the life cycle of Windows 7, 8.1, and 10.
That’s the reason many businesses and individuals stick with an old version of Internet Explorer and Windows, despite both being insecure – upgrading just isn’t an easy option.
Windows 10 itself is free for a limited time for those still on Windows 7 or 8.1. So stop using Internet Explorer.
It’s pretty complicated though, because the versions of IE which are no longer supported depend on which version of Windows you are running.
What does this mean for Windows XP users? Microsoft’s support is going away, and it will depend on which Windows version is being used.
Enterprise users with applications still targeting older versions of IE are suggested to use instead Enterprise Mode and run these on IE 11.
Microsoft hasn’t yet said anything about potentially discontinuing Internet Explorer once and for all, given the fact that Edge is available, but this could take place sometime in the future if the new browser gains ground. However, users who want to update their browser manually can check for Windows updates inside control panel.
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With competition from Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, usage of Internet Explorer among Windows computer owners has been dropping.
