Internet Explorer

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October 24, 2012
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Windows Store Mature Games

Microsoft found guilty of violating browser choice commitments in Europe

By on October 24, 2012 at 9:45 AM.

Microsoft found guilty of violating browser choice commitments in Europe

In a preliminary ruling, the European Commission has found that Microsoft (MSFT) failed to comply with an order that requires it to offer a choice of web browsers to Windows PC buyers. The software giant previously admitted to a “technical error” in its Windows 7 operating system that prevented a browser choice screen from being displayed. If found guilty, Microsoft could face a fine of up to 10% of its global turnover. More →

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Internet
September 18, 2012
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Microsoft urges customers to download new security tool after discovering major IE9 vulnerability

By on September 18, 2012 at 10:15 PM.

Microsoft urges customers to download new security tool after discovering major IE9 vulnerability

Internet Explorer Security Exploit

Following the discovery of a security flaw that affects hundreds of millions of Internet Explorer users, Microsoft (MSFT) is now urging customers to download new security software as an interim measure until it can fix the problem. The software giant revealed late Monday that a newly discovered exploit in its Internet Explorer Web browser can enable an attacker to take control of a victim’s computer. In an effort to buy time, Microsoft is now advising customers to download a security tool until the company can patch the bug. The software is known as the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit, or EMET, and is available for free on Microsoft’s website. The company has also recommended that customers adjust various Windows security settings to prevent potential attacks, although it warned that doing so could affect a PC’s usability — it may be easier for consumers to just install alternative browsers such as Chrome or Firefox. The bug does not affect Internet Explorer 10. More →

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Security
August 8, 2012
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Microsoft tells advertisers to buzz off, keeps ‘Do Not Track’ as Explorer 10 default setting

By on August 8, 2012 at 11:30 PM.

Microsoft tells advertisers to buzz off, keeps ‘Do Not Track’ as Explorer 10 default setting

Microsoft Do Not Track

Despite incessant complaining from advertising and analytics companies, Microsoft (MSFT) is not budging from its pledge to make “Do Not Track” the default setting for its Internet Explorer 10 browser, ZDNet reports. In a company blog post, Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer Brendon Lynch said that “DNT will be enabled in the ‘Express Settings’ portion of the Windows 8 set-up experience” and that “customers will also be given a ‘Customize’ option, allowing them to easily switch DNT ‘off’ if they’d like.” More →

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Internet
August 6, 2012
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Chrome expands lead over Internet Explorer, captures more than 33% of the browser market

By on August 6, 2012 at 11:45 PM.

Chrome expands lead over Internet Explorer, captures more than 33% of the browser market

Chrome Internet Explorer Browser Share

Microsoft (MSFT) can complain all it wants about StatCounter’s methodology, but the firm has once again shown Google (GOOG) Chrome besting Internet Explorer as the world’s top browser last month. In fact, Chrome has expanded its lead over Explorer and now accounts for nearly 34% of all page views while Explorer accounts for 32% of views. The latest StatCounter numbers also showed Firefox has continued a slow but steady decline, falling to just under 24% in July, down from around 28% in July 2011. More →

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Internet
July 3, 2012
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And the world’s most popular browser is… who knows?

By on July 3, 2012 at 6:05 AM.

And the world’s most popular browser is… who knows?

Browser Market Share June 2012

Computer World's Gregg Keizer writes that two firms have put out two wildly different sets of numbers for which browsers were the most used in June 2012. First, the numbers from Net Applications, which say that Microsoft's Internet Explorer took the top spot this past month with a 54% market share, followed distantly by Mozilla's Firefox with 20% and Google's Chrome with 19%. Analytics firm StatCounter, however, showed vastly different results with Chrome taking the top spot with a 32.8% share, followed by Explorer with 32.2% and Firefox with 24.6%. The reason for the large swing in results is that StatCounter relies on page view totals while Net Applications uses unique visitors and only counts one visit per day to determine browser usage. So who's right? Without a deep look into each firms' methodologies it's impossible to say, although it seems realistic that more people still use Internet Explorer than alternatives.

More →

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Internet
April 23, 2012
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Chrome 18 is world’s most popular browser, Internet Explorer 9 leads in North America

By on April 23, 2012 at 11:45 PM.

Chrome 18 is world’s most popular browser, Internet Explorer 9 leads in North America

Internet monitoring firm Pingdom on Monday released a new report on global Web browser share by browser version. The company found Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 to be the most popular browser in North America with a 21.2% share, and it was closely followed by Google Chrome 18 at 20.2%. Internet Explorer, however, featured a combined total of 40.4% of the North American browser market. Globally, Pingdom found that Chrome 18 is the most popular browser with a 25.6% share, leading Firefox 11 with 15.8% and Internet Explorer 9 and 8 with 15.7% and 14.6%, respectively. Microsoft’s browser has the largest worldwide market share when all versions are combined, followed by Chrome and then Firefox. More →

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Internet
March 21, 2012
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Chrome briefly passes Internet Explorer to become most popular weekend web browser

By on March 21, 2012 at 11:15 PM.

Chrome briefly passes Internet Explorer to become most popular weekend web browser

Web analytics firm StatCounter on Wednesday announced that Google’s Chrome web browser overtook Microsoft’s Internet Explorer last Sunday to become the most popular weekend browser, Reuters reported. “While it is only one day, this is a milestone,” said Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter’s chief executive. “At weekends, when people are free to choose what browser to use, many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to IE.” On March 18th, a total of 32.7% of all browsing was done using Chrome, while Internet Explorer had a 32.5% share. When people returned to their offices on Monday, however, Microsoft’s browser increased its share to 35% and Google’s share slipped to 30%. “Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen, however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable,” Cullen said. Google’s web browsing market share continues to surge, nearly doubling from 17% in March 2011 to 30.8% in March 2012. Internet Explorer, on the other hand, has continued its downward spiral from 45.1% a year ago to 34.8% so far this month. More →

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Security
March 8, 2012
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Major Google Chrome vulnerability uncovered by hacker at Pwnium contest

By on March 8, 2012 at 5:20 PM.

Major Google Chrome vulnerability uncovered by hacker at Pwnium contest

Russian university student Sergey Glazunov was able to hack into a secure Windows 7 machine using a remote code execution exploit in Google’s Chrome web browser in five minutes, ZDNet reported Wednesday. The exploit was found during CanSecWest’s Pwnium hacker contest, a competition similar to the popular Pwn2Own contest. Google offered a total of $1 million dollar in prize money to hackers who could exploit the company’s Chrome web browser. Glazunov was rewarded $60,000 for his exploit, which found a way around Chrome’s sandbox using vulnerabilities in the extension system. “It didn’t break out of the sandbox [but] it avoided the sandbox,” said Justin Schuh, a member of the Chrome security team. “It was an impressive exploit. It required a deep understanding of how Chrome works. This is not a trivial thing to do.” At Pwn2Own, the VUPEN team was able to hack all four major browsers — Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox — with Chrome, which was hacked within five minutes, being the first to fall. This is the first time in four years at the competition that Google’s web browser has been hacked. The company is already working on an update that will fix the vulnerabilities uncovered at Pwnium and Pwn2Own. More →

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Security
February 21, 2012
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Google responds to Microsoft’s accusations of Internet Explorer policy violations

By on February 21, 2012 at 11:35 AM.

Google responds to Microsoft’s accusations of Internet Explorer policy violations

Google on Monday responded to a new round of finger pointing, this time from Microsoft, which claimed Google was using falsified cookie policies to bypass certain security features in the Internet Explorer Web browser. The new accusations followed an earlier revelation that Google and other advertisers were using “a special code” to bypass Safari’s third-party cookie policies. Google had apparently heard enough, however, as the company issued a response to Microsoft’s allegations late Monday evening. Read on for more. More →

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General
February 20, 2012
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Microsoft claims Google is bypassing Internet Explorer privacy settings

By on February 20, 2012 at 6:00 PM.

Microsoft claims Google is bypassing Internet Explorer privacy settings

Last week, it was revealed that Google and other leading advertising companies had been bypassing the privacy settings of millions of unknowing Safari users. The Mountain View-based company maintained its innocence and claimed it “used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled.” Microsoft is now claiming that the search giant has used a similar technique to bypass privacy settings in Internet Explorer. By default, IE blocks third-party cookies unless the site provides a “P3P Compact Policy Statement” indicating how the cookies will be used and agreeing to not track the user. Microsoft claims that Google is improperly representing certain cookies, which allows them to pass through IE’s security without disclosing the company’s intent. Google has not responded to Microsoft’s claims. More →

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Software
September 30, 2011
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Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers chewing away at IE market share

By on September 30, 2011 at 8:40 PM.

Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers chewing away at IE market share

A new research report from Chitika Insights suggests Chrome, Firefox and Safari are eating away at Microsoft’s dominant share of the web browser market. Internet Explorer’s overall share dropped from 56% in July to 54% in August while Firefox’s market share increased from 19% to 20% and Safari’s share grew one point to 9%. Between July 2010 and July 2011, however, Microsoft’s browser share remained steady at 56%. Google’s Chrome web browser saw its share increase from 9% to 16% year-over-year at the expense of Firefox and Safari, which lost 5% and 1% of the market, respectively. Chitika said it expects Firefox’s share to increase as Mozilla continues to release frequent updates to its web browser. In addition, Internet Explorer’s share will “stabilize from its recent losses” when Microsoft releases Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10. More →

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Software
July 5, 2011
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Google’s Chrome web browser now has 20.7% of web browser global market share at cost of IE, Firefox

By on July 5, 2011 at 10:22 PM.

Google’s Chrome web browser now has 20.7% of web browser global market share at cost of IE, Firefox

According to the analytics firm StatCounter, Google’s Chrome web browser now has a 20.7% grip of the web browser market — seven times more than it had just two years ago. The boost comes at the cost of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser, which now has less than a 50% hold on the market. Mozilla’s Firefox web browser has a 28% share of the browser market, down from 30% two years ago, and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer share fell to 44% from 59% two years ago. According to Reuters, StatCounter gathers its data from more than 3 million websites with more than 15 billion page views. More →

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Software
March 15, 2011
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Microsoft launches Internet Explorer 9

By on March 15, 2011 at 8:21 AM.

Microsoft launches Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft on Monday announced the availability of its next-generation desktop Web browser, Internet Explorer 9. “The best experience of the Web is on Windows with Internet Explorer 9,” said Dean Hachamovitch, Microsoft’s corporate VP of Windows Internet Explorer, in a statement. “Today, the Web can unlock the power and performance of the best PC hardware through Windows and Internet Explorer 9. Websites also can act more like applications within Windows 7, with features such as Pinned Sites.” Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser is one of the oldest still available, having launched in the dark ages of the Internet. Thanks to its inclusion on nearly all Windows computers sold, it is also still the most popular browser by a wide margin. Market share tracker Net Applications shows that IE’s browser market share sat at 56.77% in February. The next closest browser, Mozilla’s Firefox, owned 21.74% of the market. Hit the break for the full press release and download IE9 via the read link. More →

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