Internet ExplorerBrowser
Internet Explorer Browser
Internet Explorer Browser, referred to as IE browser, is a free web browser released by Microsoft.
Internet Explorer was released in 1995, peaked at a 95% usage rate in 2002 and 2003, but is now no longer supported.
On March 17, 2015, Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer would no longer be the default browser for Windows 10, and would gradually phase out this brand, replacing it with Microsoft Edge.
Internet Explorer Statistics
The following table isbrowser statisticsdetails about Internet Explorer usage:
| 2014 | Total | IE 11 | IE 10 | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 8.9 % | 2.7 % | 1.4 % | 1.9 % | 2.1 % | 0.2 % | 0.0 % |
| April | 9.4 % | 2.7 % | 1.6 % | 2.0 % | 2.4 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| March | 9.7 % | 2.6 % | 1.6 % | 2.1 % | 2.5 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| February | 9.8 % | 2.5 % | 1.7 % | 2.1 % | 2.7 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| January | 10.2 % | 2.5 % | 1.7 % | 2.3 % | 3.1 % | 0.4 % | 0.1 % |
| 2013 | Total | IE 11 | IE 10 | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
| December | 9.0 % | 0.8 % | 2.1 % | 2.4 % | 3.2 % | 0.4 % | 0.1 % |
| November | 10.5 % | 3.5 % | 2.5 % | 3.6 % | 0.5 % | 0.1 % | |
| October | 11.7 % | 4.0 % | 3.0 % | 4.1 % | 0.5 % | 0.1 % | |
| September | 12.1 % | 4.0 % | 2.8 % | 4.6 % | 0.6 % | 0.1 % | |
| August | 11.8 % | 3.6 % | 2.8 % | 4.7 % | 0.6 % | 0.1 % | |
| July | 11.8 % | 3.3 % | 2.8 % | 4.8 % | 0.7 % | 0.1 % | |
| June | 12.0 % | 3.1 % | 3.2 % | 4.9 % | 0.7 % | 0.1 % | |
| May | 12.6 % | 2.6 % | 3.9 % | 5.2 % | 0.8 % | 0.1 % | |
| April | 12.7 % | 2.0 % | 4.4 % | 5.3 % | 0.8 % | 0.1 % | |
| March | 12.9 % | 1.3 % | 5.2 % | 5.5 % | 0.8 % | 0.2 % | |
| February | 13.5 % | 0.9 % | 5.7 % | 5.8 % | 0.9 % | 0.2 % | |
| January | 14.3 % | 0.8 % | 5.9 % | 6.4 % | 1.0 % | 0.3 % | |
| 2012 | Total | IE 10 | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 | |
| December | 14.7 % | 0.6 % | 5.9 % | 6.8 % | 1.1 % | 0.3 % | |
| November | 15.1 % | 0.4 % | 6.5 % | 6.8 % | 1.1 % | 0.3 % | |
| October | 16.1 % | 0.2 % | 6.8 % | 7.6 % | 1.2 % | 0.3 % | |
| September | 16.4 % | 0.2 % | 6.6 % | 7.9 % | 1.3 % | 0.4 % | |
| August | 16.2 % | 0.1 % | 6.1 % | 7.8 % | 1.8 % | 0.5 % | |
| July | 16.3 % | 0.1 % | 5.9 % | 7.9 % | 2.0 % | 0.6 % | |
| June | 16.7 % | 0.1 % | 6.1 % | 8.0 % | 1.9 % | 0.6 % | |
| May | 18.1 % | 0.1 % | 6.5 % | 8.8 % | 2.1 % | 0.6 % | |
| April | 18.3 % | 0.1 % | 6.4 % | 8.8 % | 2.3 % | 0.7 % | |
| March | 18.9 % | 0.0 % | 6.1 % | 9.4 % | 2.5 % | 0.9 % | |
| February | 19.5 % | 0.0 % | 5.7 % | 10.2 % | 2.6 % | 1.0 % | |
| January | 20.1 % | 0.1 % | 5.3 % | 10.5 % | 3.1 % | 1.1 % | |
| 2011 | Total | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 | ||
| December | 20.2 % | 5.1 % | 10.7 % | 3.2 % | 1.2 % | ||
| November | 21.2 % | 5.1 % | 11.5 % | 3.4 % | 1.2 % | ||
| October | 21.7 % | 5.1 % | 11.8 % | 3.5 % | 1.3 % | ||
| September | 22.9 % | 4.8 % | 12.4 % | 3.9 % | 1.8 % | ||
| August | 22.5 % | 4.2 % | 11.9 % | 4.2 % | 2.0 % | ||
| July | 22.0 % | 3.9 % | 11.7 % | 4.1 % | 2.3 % | ||
| June | 23.2 % | 3.6 % | 12.9 % | 4.4 % | 2.3 % | ||
| May | 24.9 % | 3.1 % | 14.1 % | 5.3 % | 2.4 % | ||
| April | 24.3 % | 2.1 % | 14.8 % | 4.9 % | 2.5 % | ||
| March | 25.8 % | 1.1 % | 16.3 % | 5.4 % | 3.0 % | ||
| February | 26.5 % | 0.6 % | 16.7 % | 5.7 % | 3.5 % | ||
| January | 26.6 % | 0.5 % | 16.6 % | 5.7 % | 3.8 % | ||
| 2010 | Total | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 | ||
| December | 27.5 % | 0.5 % | 16.5 % | 6.1 % | 4.4 % | ||
| November | 28.6 % | 0.4 % | 17.6 % | 6.5 % | 4.1 % | ||
| October | 29.7 % | 0.4 % | 17.3 % | 7.2 % | 4.8 % | ||
| September | 31.1 % | 0.2 % | 17.3 % | 8.0 % | 5.6 % | ||
| August | 30.7 % | 16.2 % | 7.8 % | 6.7 % | |||
| July | 30.4 % | 15.6 % | 7.6 % | 7.2 % | |||
| June | 31.0 % | 15.7 % | 8.1 % | 7.2 % | |||
| May | 32.2 % | 16.0 % | 9.1 % | 7.1 % | |||
| April | 33.4 % | 16.2 % | 9.3 % | 7.9 % | |||
| March | 34.9 % | 15.3 % | 10.7 % | 8.9 % | |||
| February | 35.3 % | 14.7 % | 11.0 % | 9.6 % | |||
| January | 36.2 % | 14.3 % | 11.7 % | 10.2 % | |||
| 2009 | Total | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 | |||
| December | 37.2 % | 13.5 % | 12.8 % | 10.9 % | |||
| November | 37.7 % | 13.3 % | 13.3 % | 11.1 % | |||
| October | 37.5 % | 12.8 % | 14.1 % | 10.6 % | |||
| September | 39.6 % | 12.2 % | 15.3 % | 12.1 % | |||
| August | 39.3 % | 10.6 % | 15.1 % | 13.6 % | |||
| July | 39.4 % | 9.1 % | 15.9 % | 14.4 % | |||
| June | 40.7 % | 7.1 % | 18.7 % | 14.9 % | |||
| May | 41.0 % | 5.2 % | 21.3 % | 14.5 % | |||
| April | 42.1 % | 3.5 % | 23.2 % | 15.4 % | |||
| March | 43.3 % | 1.4 % | 24.9 % | 17.0 % | |||
| February | 43.6 % | 0.8 % | 25.4 % | 17.4 % | |||
| January | 44.8 % | 0.6 % | 25.7 % | 18.5 % | |||
| 2008 | Total | IE 7 | IE 6 | IE 5 | |||
| December | 46.0 % | 26.1 % | 19.6 % | 0.3 % | |||
| November | 47.0 % | 26.6 % | 20.0 % | 0.4 % | |||
| October | 47.4 % | 26.9 % | 20.2 % | 0.3 % | |||
| September | 49.0 % | 26.3 % | 22.3 % | 0.4 % | |||
| August | 51.0 % | 26.0 % | 24.5 % | 0.5 % | |||
| July | 52.4 % | 26.4 % | 25.3 % | 0.7 % | |||
| June | 54.2 % | 27.0 % | 26.5 % | 0.7 % | |||
| May | 54.4 % | 26.5 % | 27.3 % | 0.6 % | |||
| April | 54.8 % | 24.9 % | 28.9 % | 1.0 % | |||
| March | 53.9 % | 23.3 % | 29.5 % | 1.1 % | |||
| February | 54.7 % | 22.7 % | 30.7 % | 1.3 % | |||
| January | 54.7 % | 21.2 % | 32.0 % | 1.5 % | |||
| 2007 | Total | IE 7 | IE 6 | IE 5 | |||
| November | 56.0 % | 20.8 % | 33.6 % | 1.6 % | |||
| September | 57.2 % | 20.8 % | 34.9 % | 1.5 % | |||
| July | 58.5 % | 20.1 % | 36.9 % | 1.5 % | |||
| May | 58.9 % | 19.2 % | 38.1 % | 1.6 % | |||
| March | 58.7 % | 18.0 % | 38.7 % | 2.0 % | |||
| January | 58.6 % | 13.3 % | 42.3 % | 3.0 % | |||
| 2006 | Total | IE 7 | IE 6 | IE 5 | |||
| November | 60.6 % | 7.1 % | 49.9 % | 3.6 % | |||
| September | 62.1 % | 2.5 % | 55.6 % | 4.0 % | |||
| July | 62.4 % | 1.9 % | 56.3 % | 4.2 % | |||
| May | 63.0 % | 1.1 % | 57.4 % | 4.5 % | |||
| March | 64.7 % | 0.6 % | 58.8 % | 5.3 % | |||
| January | 66.0 % | 0.2 % | 60.3 % | 5.5 % | |||
| 2005 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 | ||||
| November | 68.9 % | 62.7 % | 6.2 % | ||||
| September | 75.5 % | 69.8 % | 5.7 % | ||||
| July | 73.8 % | 67.9 % | 5.9 % | ||||
| May | 71.6 % | 64.8 % | 6.8 % | ||||
| March | 72.5 % | 63.6 % | 8.9 % | ||||
| January | 74.5 % | 64.8 % | 9.7 % | ||||
| 2004 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 | ||||
| November | 76.2 % | 66.0 % | 10.2 % | ||||
| September | 79.0 % | 67.8 % | 11.2 % | ||||
| July | 80.4 % | 67.2 % | 13.2 % | ||||
| May | 81.9 % | 68.1 % | 13.8 % | ||||
| March | 82.8 % | 68.2 % | 14.6 % | ||||
| January | 84.7 % | 68.9 % | 15.8 % | ||||
| 2003 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 | ||||
| November | 84.9 % | 71.2 % | 13.7 % | ||||
| September | 86.6 % | 69.7 % | 16.9 % | ||||
| July | 87.2 % | 66.9 % | 20.3 % | ||||
| May | 87.7 % | 65.0 % | 22.7 % | ||||
| March | 88.0 % | 63.4 % | 24.6 % | ||||
| January | 84.6 % | 55.3 % | 29.3 % | ||||
| 2002 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 | IE4 | |||
| November | 83.4 % | 53.5 % | 29.9 % | ||||
| September | 83.5 % | 49.1 % | 34.4 % | ||||
| July | 85.0 % | 44.4 % | 40.1 % | 0.5% | |||
| May | 87.4 % | 40.7 % | 46.0 % | 0.7% | |||
| March | 86.8 % | 36.7 % | 49.4 % | 0.7% | |||
| January | 86.8 % | 30.1 % | 55.7 % | 1.0% |
The above statistics are based on users of the Example website.
Internet Explorer 11
For Windows 8.1: Internet Explorer 11 was released on October 17, 2013.
For Windows 7: Internet Explorer 11 was released on November 7, 2013.
New features:
- Performance improvements
- All-new F12 Developer Tools
- WebGL support
- High-resolution support
- CSS3 border-image support
- CSS Flexbox support
- SPDY support (Windows 8.1 only)
- Support for Full Screen and Orientation API
- Enhanced support for touch-based device users
- JavaScript enhancements
- DOM Mutation Observer
- Web Cryptography API
- Video text track support
- Encrypted media support
- Improved HTML editor
IE 11 Removed features：
- document.all is deprecated- Code that checks for its existence will not detect it, but code that actually uses it will continue to work.
- attachEvent
- Quick tabs (CTRL+Q)
- The "Work offline" command was removed from the File menu.
- Dragging and dropping selected content from IE to other programs such as Word
- Using large icon command buttons
- Ability to view all cookies at once in Developer Tools
IE 11 is fast and standards-compliant. However, its main drawback is that it cannot run on operating system versions prior to Windows 7, and it does not provide synchronization for that system!
Internet Explorer 10
Internet Explorer 10 was released on September 4, 2012, and is the default browser in Windows 8.
In February 2013, Internet Explorer 10 was made available for download to all Windows 7 SP1 users.
New features:
- 20% faster than IE9
- Updated HTML5 support- Now supports the async attribute in <script> tags, AppCache API, channel messaging, drag and drop API, history, parsing, sandbox, spell checking, video, Web Workers, and WebSockets.
- Updated CSS3 support- Now supports transforms, animations, fonts, gradients, transition effects, text shadows, and removal of stylesheet limits.
- Updated DOM support- Now supports advanced hit testing API, media query listeners, XMLHttpRequest enhancements, and pointer gesture events.
- Updated SVG support- Now supports SVG and filters.
- Updated Indexed Database API support
- Integrated spell checking and auto-correction
- Adobe Flash integration- Contains a built-in Adobe Flash Player.
- Added features for touchscreen users.- Full-screen touch browser.
- Flip forward- Quickly move to the next page of a website via swipe gestures on touchscreen devices.
- New user agent string - Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0; Windows NT 6.2; [platform token] Trident/6.0; Touch)
IE 10 No longersupports the following:
- XML data islands
- VML- Vector Markup Language (VML).
- HTC- Element behaviors and HTML components.
- DX filters- DirectX-based filters/transitions.
- Conditional comments- Conditional statements in HTML source code interpreted by IE, such as: <!--[if IE 6]>. Used to provide and hide code for IE.
- Content Advisor- Taken over by Windows Parental Controls.
Internet Explorer 9
Internet Explorer 9 was released in March 2011.
New features:
- Updated interface- Lets you control and focus on website viewing.
- Swift speed- IE9 is much faster than previous versions of IE. Hardware-accelerated text, video, and graphics improve website performance, as if the program is already installed on your computer. At the same time, IE9 uses the video card to make everything faster.
- Pin websites to the Windows 7 taskbar- Microsoft has partnerships with many websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pandora, and you can see a taskbar that supports jump lists.
- Unified address bar- A unified address bar for navigating websites or starting a search.
- Redesigned new tab page- Lets you quickly access sites you visit frequently. You can also reopen closed tabs, your last browsing session, or start a new non-private browsing session.
- Improved add-on management- A new feature called Add-on Performance Adviser lets you see what is slowing down your browser and allows you to disable it.
- Better privacy protection features- Tracking Protection can limit how websites track your information.
- Better support for HTML5/CSS3- IE9 also supports SVG and Canvas graphics.
- New Download Manager- Allows you to view files downloaded through the browser, and notifies you if a file is malicious or contains a virus. It also lets you pause downloads and resume them later.
- Enhanced tab management- You can move tabs between windows by dragging them from one window to another. When you place a tab in a new window, it does not need to reload the page.
Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8 was released in March 2009.
New features:
- Accelerators- Provides quick access to web services. Users can find and send information from the web. For example, on a restaurant website, a user can click within the webpage to get a map, news, and information about the restaurant, related blogs, or share it on Sina Weibo.
- Web Slices- A feature similar to RSS that allows users to subscribe to content directly within a webpage.
- Compatibility View- Displays webpages in IE7.
- Search suggestions- Provides suggested content based on your input.
- New tab features- Reopen accidentally closed tabs, and group related tabs by color code.
- Tab isolation- Prevents the entire browser from closing because of a faulty website; only the faulty tab is closed.
- InPrivate Browsing- Browse the web without saving any data (such as passwords, cookies, browsing history, etc.).
- SmartScreen Filter- Helps protect you from installing malware that can expose your data, privacy, and identity, and potentially damage your computer and valuable data.
IE 8 fully supports CSS 2.1. Additionally, it fixed "many cross-browser inconsistencies, such as get/set/removeAttribute, default attributes, Attribute object, and the <q> tag."
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 7.0 was released in November 2006. IE7 is the standard browser in Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
Internet Explorer 7 provides improved navigation, web search through the toolbar, advanced printing, instant search, and RSS feeds.
New features:
- Advanced printing- Internet Explorer 7 automatically scales web pages to be printed so that the entire page fits within the printed page. Print options also include adjustable margins, customizable page layouts, removable headers and footers, and the option to print only selected text.
- Instant Search Box- Web search using your favorite search provider can now be added to the search box in the toolbar, eliminating the clutter of multiple separate toolbars. You can easily select a provider from the drop-down list or add more providers.
- Favorites Center- Quick and convenient access to favorites, tab groups, browsing history, and RSS feed subscriptions. The Favorites Center can be expanded as needed and positioned anywhere for easy access.
- RSS Feeds- Internet Explorer 7 automatically detects RSS feeds on sites and lights up the icon on the toolbar. You can click the icon to preview and subscribe to RSS feeds at will, and you will be automatically notified when content is updated. You can read RSS feeds directly in the browser, browse important events, and filter views by search terms or specific site categories.
- Tabbed Browsing- View multiple sites in a single browser window. Use the tabs at the top of the browser frame to easily switch from one site to another.
- Quick Tabs- By displaying all thumbnails in a single window, you can easily select and navigate among open tabs.
- Tab Groups- Tabs can be grouped and saved by logical category, so you can open multiple tabs with a single click of the mouse. Tab groups can be conveniently set as the home page group, so that the entire tab group can be opened every time Internet Explorer is started.
- Page Zoom- Zoom in on a single page, including text and images, so you can focus on specific content or make content clearer for people with visual impairments.
Internet Explorer 6
Internet Explorer 6.0 is the standard browser in Windows XP. Released in August 2001.
Windows XP is based on Windows 2000 and is the successor to Windows 98, Millennium, and Windows 2000.
Internet Explorer 5
Internet Explorer 5 was the first mainstream browser to support XML.
Version 5.5(Released in July 2000), for Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, and Windows 2000. Supports XML/XSL, CSS, printing (print preview), and HTC behaviors.
Version 5.01(Released in November 1999), mainly fixed a bug in 5.0.
Version 5.0(Released in March 1999), was the first mainstream browser to support XML.
Older Internet Explorer Versions
Most users are no longer using older Internet Explorer versions. Web developers ignore them. And their features are outdated.
IE 4.0(Released in 1997). This version had very good support for CSS and DOM, but did not support XML.
IE 3.0(Released in 1996) had a usage rate of less than 0.1%.
IE 2.0(Released in 1995). This version is too old; no one uses it anymore.
IE 1.0(Released in 1995). Does anyone still remember it?
Internet Explorer for Macintosh
Version 5.1.7It was the last Internet Explorer for Mac OS 8 and 9, released in July 2003.
Version 5.2.3It was the last Internet Explorer for Mac OS X, released in June 2003.
Notes:version 5.2.3 requires special features in Mac OS X. Users of Mac OS 8 and 9 must download version 5.1.7.
Microsoft ended technical support for Internet Explorer for Mac on December 31, 2005.
Mac users are recommended to use other browsers, such asApple's Safari browser。
Microsoft Internet Explorer Resources
Microsoft's Internet Explorer site
Microsoft's Internet Explorer support site
Microsoft's support site includes a searchable knowledge base, download center, product FAQ, and assisted support directory.