Bye bye Internet Explorer: Microsoft is axing the world’s most hated browser, ending support for Explorer 8, 9 and 10 to move users towards Edge
Microsoft is pulling the plug on Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10, in a bid to push users away from the obsolete browser towards its new Edge.
The tech giant is ending support for the older browsers on 12 January, encouraging users to upgrade either to the latest version, Explorer 11, or its successor, Edge.
From next week, users who insist on using the older browsers will be doing it without any technical support or security updates from Microsoft, leaving them more exposed to malware and attacks.
“What does this mean? It means you should take action,” advises Microsoft on its website.
Internet Explorer, infamously voted the world’s most hated browser with entire campaigns launched calling for it to be shut down, has long been dying a slow death.
Microsoft, which first announced it would be ending support for these versions in August last year, has already moved it to “legacy” status.
Despite this, Explorer still has several hundred million users around the world. It was the world’s most used browser as recently as 2012, but since then numbers have been falling fast.