Microsoft has announced that beginning in January 2016 they will stop supporting all but the latest version of Internet Explorer – which as of today is IE 11. Of course there could be an even newer version by the time 2016 rolls around.
This policy change means if you’re running an older version of IE you won’t receive security updates for your browser after that date. And as well all know, using an unsupported web browser is just asking for trouble.
Microsoft has two goals in mind with this new policy:
1 – Reduce the labor costs and other expenses involved with supporting multiple versions of Internet Explorer.
2 – Give users a powerful incentive to upgrade their browsers as soon as possible once an upgrade has been released.
An exception to the new policy will apply to users of older versions of Windows. For example, since Microsoft is expected to still be supporting Windows Vista come January 2016, they will continue to support IE 9 for those users since IE9 is the most recent version of Internet Explorer that will run on Windows Vista.
I must admit that I still use IE when visiting a few specific websites, but for everything else I use the much more stable and secure Google Chrome. I’m quite diligent at keeping my browsers up to date however.
Bottom line: If you use Internet Explorer as your primary browser, I recommend getting into the habit of updating to the latest version immediately after it is made available for download. Better yet, ditch IE altogether and switch to Google Chrome or Firefox to enjoy a better (and safer) overall Internet experience.
If you’re interested, you can read Microsoft’s blog post announcing the new IE support policy right here.