<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
(	O
IE6	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
graphical	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
on	O
August	O
24	O
,	O
2001	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
sixth	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
now	O
discontinued	O
,	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
and	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
default	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
(	O
later	O
default	O
was	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
8	I-Application
)	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
and	O
can	O
replace	O
previous	O
versions	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
on	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Device
ME	I-Device
but	O
unlike	O
version	O
5	O
,	O
this	O
version	O
does	O
not	O
support	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
or	O
an	O
earlier	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE6	B-Application
SP2+	O
and	O
IE7	B-Application
were	O
only	O
included	O
in	O
(	O
IE6	B-Application
SP2+	O
)	O
or	O
available	O
(	O
IE7	B-Application
)	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2+	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
dominating	O
market	O
share	O
(	O
attaining	O
a	O
peak	O
of	O
90%	O
in	O
mid-2004	O
)	O
,	O
this	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
has	O
been	O
widely	O
criticized	O
for	O
its	O
security	O
issues	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
modern	O
web	O
standards	O
,	O
making	O
frequent	O
appearances	O
in	O
"	O
worst	O
tech	O
products	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
"	O
lists	O
,	O
with	O
PC	O
World	O
labeling	O
it	O
"	O
the	O
least	O
secure	O
software	O
on	O
the	O
planet.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
,	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
finalized	O
Firefox	B-Application
to	O
rival	O
IE6	B-Application
,	O
and	O
it	O
became	O
highly	O
popular	O
and	O
acclaimed	O
for	O
its	O
security	O
,	O
add-ons	B-Protocol
,	O
speed	O
and	O
other	O
modern	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
tabbed	O
browsing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
planned	O
to	O
fix	O
these	O
issues	O
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
by	O
June	O
–	O
August	O
2005	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
delayed	O
until	O
an	O
October	O
2006	O
release	O
,	O
over	O
5	O
years	O
after	O
IE6	B-Application
debuted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
a	O
substantial	O
percentage	O
of	O
the	O
web	O
audience	O
still	O
used	O
the	O
outdated	O
browser	B-Application
(	O
especially	O
in	O
China	O
)	O
,	O
campaigns	O
were	O
established	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
2000s	O
to	O
encourage	O
users	O
to	O
upgrade	O
to	O
newer	O
versions	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
or	O
switch	O
to	O
different	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
websites	O
dropped	O
support	O
for	O
IE6	B-Application
entirely	O
,	O
most	O
notable	O
of	O
which	O
was	O
Google	B-Application
dropping	O
support	O
in	O
some	O
of	O
its	O
services	O
in	O
March	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
modern.ie	O
website	O
,	O
,	O
3.1	O
%	O
of	O
users	O
in	O
China	O
and	O
less	O
than	O
1%	O
in	O
other	O
countries	O
were	O
using	O
IE6	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
was	O
the	O
last	O
version	O
to	O
be	O
called	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
was	O
rebranded	O
as	O
Windows	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
starting	O
in	O
2006	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
is	O
no	O
longer	O
supported	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
not	O
available	O
for	O
download	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
last	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
to	O
support	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
SP6a	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Device
ME	I-Device
,	O
though	O
it	O
is	O
only	O
available	O
as	O
pre-installed	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
RTM	O
—	O
SP1	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
RTM	O
;	O
as	O
the	O
following	O
version	O
,	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
,	O
only	O
supports	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2	O
or	O
later	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
SP1	O
or	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
IE6	B-Application
was	O
released	O
,	O
it	O
included	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
enhancements	O
over	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
and	O
its	O
browser	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
MSHTML	B-Application
(	O
Trident	B-Application
)	O
are	O
required	O
for	O
many	O
programs	O
including	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Encarta	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE6	B-Application
improved	O
support	O
for	O
Cascading	B-Language
Style	I-Language
Sheets	I-Language
,	O
adding	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
properties	O
that	O
previously	O
had	O
not	O
been	O
implemented	O
and	O
fixing	O
bugs	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
box	I-Application
model	I-Application
bug	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
,	O
IE6	B-Application
introduced	O
a	O
redesigned	O
interface	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
's	O
default	O
theme	O
,	O
Luna	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
added	O
DHTML	B-General_Concept
enhancements	O
,	O
content	O
restricted	O
inline	O
frames	O
,	O
and	O
partial	O
support	O
of	O
DOM	B-General_Concept
level	O
1	O
and	O
SMIL	B-Language
2.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MSXML	B-Application
engine	O
was	O
also	O
updated	O
to	O
version	O
3.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
new	O
features	O
included	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
Administration	I-Application
Kit	I-Application
(	O
IEAK	B-Application
)	O
which	O
introduced	O
IExpress	B-Application
,	O
a	O
utility	O
to	O
create	O
self-extracting	O
INF-based	O
installation	O
packages	O
,	O
Media	O
bar	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
integration	O
,	O
fault	O
collection	O
,	O
automatic	O
image	O
resizing	O
,	O
and	O
P3P	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
in	O
2002	O
,	O
the	O
Gopher	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
was	O
disabled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XBM	B-Device
support	O
was	O
dropped	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE6	B-Application
was	O
the	O
most	B-Application
widely	I-Application
used	I-Application
web	I-Application
browser	I-Application
during	O
its	O
tenure	O
,	O
surpassing	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
5.x	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
its	O
peak	O
in	O
2002	O
and	O
2003	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
attained	O
a	O
total	O
market	O
share	O
of	O
nearly	O
90%	O
,	O
with	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
IE	O
combined	O
reaching	O
95%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
little	O
change	O
in	O
IE	O
's	O
market	O
share	O
for	O
several	O
years	O
until	O
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
was	O
released	O
and	O
gradually	O
began	O
to	O
gain	O
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
subsequently	O
resumed	O
development	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
and	O
released	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
,	O
further	O
reducing	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
IE6	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
May	O
7	O
,	O
2003	O
Microsoft	O
online	O
chat	O
,	O
Brian	O
Countryman	O
,	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
Program	O
Manager	O
,	O
declared	O
that	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
would	O
cease	O
to	O
be	O
distributed	O
separately	O
from	O
Windows	B-Application
(	O
IE6	B-Application
would	O
be	O
the	O
last	O
standalone	O
version	O
)	O
;	O
it	O
would	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
be	O
continued	O
as	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
evolution	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
with	O
updates	O
coming	O
only	O
bundled	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
upgrades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
itself	O
would	O
be	O
kept	O
more	O
in	O
sync	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
after	O
one	O
release	O
in	O
this	O
fashion	O
(	O
IE6	B-Application
SP2	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2	O
,	O
in	O
August	O
2004	O
)	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
changed	O
its	O
plan	O
and	O
released	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
SP1	O
in	O
late	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
was	O
the	O
last	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
to	O
have	O
"	O
Microsoft	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
title	O
:	O
later	O
versions	O
changed	O
branding	O
to	O
"	O
Windows	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
"	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
reaction	O
to	O
the	O
findings	O
of	O
anti-competitive	O
tying	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
raised	O
in	O
United	O
States	O
v	O
.	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
the	O
European	O
Union	O
Microsoft	O
competition	O
case	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
4	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
urged	O
web	O
users	O
to	O
stop	O
using	O
IE6	B-Application
in	O
favor	O
of	O
newer	O
versions	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
launched	O
a	O
website	O
called	O
IE6	B-Application
Countdown	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
show	O
how	O
much	O
percentage	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
uses	O
IE6	B-Application
and	O
aim	O
to	O
get	O
people	O
to	O
upgrade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2015	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
older	O
sample	O
questions	O
offered	O
by	O
IE6	B-Application
Search	O
Companion	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
other	O
unique	O
functions	O
have	O
been	O
replaced	O
with	O
"	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Upgrade	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
security	O
advisory	O
site	O
Secunia	O
reported	O
24	O
unpatched	O
vulnerabilities	O
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
as	O
of	O
February	O
9	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
June	O
23	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
Secunia	O
counted	O
20	O
unpatched	O
security	O
flaws	O
for	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
,	O
many	O
more	O
and	O
older	O
than	O
for	O
any	O
other	O
browser	B-Application
,	O
even	O
in	O
each	O
individual	O
criticality-level	O
,	O
although	O
some	O
of	O
these	O
flaws	O
only	O
affect	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
when	O
running	O
on	O
certain	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
or	O
when	O
running	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
certain	O
other	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
23	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
an	O
attacker	O
used	O
two	O
previously	O
undiscovered	O
security	O
holes	O
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
to	O
insert	O
spam-sending	O
software	O
on	O
an	O
unknown	O
number	O
of	O
end-user	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
malware	O
became	O
known	O
as	O
Download.ject	B-Application
and	O
caused	O
users	O
to	O
infect	O
their	O
computers	O
with	O
a	O
back	O
door	O
and	O
key	O
logger	O
merely	O
by	O
viewing	O
a	O
web	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Probably	O
the	O
biggest	O
generic	O
security	O
failing	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
(	O
and	O
other	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
too	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
it	O
runs	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
level	O
of	O
access	O
as	O
the	O
logged	O
in	O
user	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
adopting	O
the	O
principle	O
of	O
least	O
user	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consequently	O
,	O
any	O
malware	O
executing	O
in	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
process	B-Operating_System
via	O
a	O
security	O
vulnerability	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Download.ject	B-Application
in	O
the	O
example	O
above	O
)	O
has	O
the	O
same	O
level	O
of	O
access	O
as	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
something	O
that	O
has	O
particular	O
relevance	O
when	O
that	O
user	O
is	O
an	O
Administrator	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tools	O
such	O
as	O
DropMyRights	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
address	O
this	O
issue	O
by	O
restricting	O
the	O
security	O
token	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
process	B-Operating_System
to	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
limited	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Art	O
Manion	O
,	O
a	O
representative	O
of	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Computer	O
Emergency	O
Readiness	O
Team	O
(	O
US-CERT	O
)	O
noted	O
in	O
a	O
vulnerability	O
report	O
that	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
Service	O
Pack	O
1	O
made	O
it	O
difficult	O
to	O
secure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Manion	O
later	O
clarified	O
that	O
most	O
of	O
these	O
concerns	O
were	O
addressed	O
in	O
2004	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
Service	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
2	I-Application
,	O
and	O
other	O
browsers	B-Application
had	O
begun	O
to	O
suffer	O
the	O
same	O
vulnerabilities	O
he	O
identified	O
in	O
the	O
above	O
CERT	O
report	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
a	O
belief	O
that	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
's	O
frequency	O
of	O
exploitation	O
is	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
its	O
ubiquity	O
,	O
since	O
its	O
market	O
dominance	O
made	O
it	O
the	O
most	O
obvious	O
target	O
,	O
David	O
Wheeler	O
argues	O
that	O
this	O
is	O
not	O
the	O
full	O
story	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
notes	O
that	O
Apache	B-Application
HTTP	I-Application
Server	I-Application
had	O
a	O
much	O
larger	O
market	O
share	O
than	O
Microsoft	O
IIS	O
,	O
yet	O
Apache	B-Application
traditionally	O
had	O
fewer	O
security	O
vulnerabilities	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
its	O
issues	O
,	O
some	O
security	O
experts	O
,	O
including	O
Bruce	O
Schneier	O
in	O
2004	O
,	O
recommended	O
that	O
users	O
stop	O
using	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
for	O
normal	O
browsing	O
,	O
and	O
switch	O
to	O
a	O
different	O
browser	B-Application
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
6	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
US-CERT	O
released	O
an	O
exploit	O
report	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
last	O
of	O
seven	O
workarounds	O
was	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
different	O
browser	B-Application
,	O
especially	O
when	O
visiting	O
untrusted	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
was	O
the	O
most	B-Application
widely	I-Application
used	I-Application
web	I-Application
browser	I-Application
during	O
its	O
tenure	O
(	O
surpassing	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
5.x	O
)	O
,	O
attaining	O
a	O
peak	O
percentage	O
in	O
usage	O
share	O
during	O
2002	O
and	O
2003	O
in	O
the	O
high	O
80s	O
,	O
and	O
together	O
with	O
other	O
versions	O
up	O
to	O
95%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
only	O
slowly	O
declined	O
up	O
to	O
2007	O
,	O
when	O
it	O
lost	O
about	O
half	O
its	O
market	O
share	O
to	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
and	O
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
between	O
late	O
2006	O
to	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE6	B-Application
remained	O
more	O
popular	O
than	O
its	O
successor	O
in	O
business	O
use	O
for	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
IE7	B-Application
came	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2008	O
DailyTech	O
article	O
noted	O
,	O
"	O
A	O
Survey	O
found	O
55.2	O
%	O
of	O
companies	O
still	O
use	O
IE	B-Application
6	I-Application
as	O
of	O
December	O
2007	O
"	O
,	O
while	O
"	O
IE	B-Application
7	I-Application
only	O
has	O
a	O
23.4	O
percent	O
adoption	O
rate	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Net	O
Applications	O
estimated	O
IE6	B-Application
market	O
share	O
at	O
almost	O
39%	O
for	O
September	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
source	O
,	O
IE7	B-Application
users	O
migrate	O
faster	O
to	O
IE8	B-Application
than	O
users	O
of	O
its	O
predecessor	O
IE6	B-Application
did	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
IE6	B-Application
once	O
again	O
becoming	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
browser	B-Application
during	O
the	O
summer	O
and	O
fall	O
of	O
2009	O
,	O
eight	O
years	O
after	O
its	O
introduction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
February	O
2010	O
,	O
estimates	O
of	O
IE6	B-Application
's	O
global	O
market	O
share	O
ranged	O
from	O
10	O
to	O
20%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nonetheless	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
continued	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
plurality	O
or	O
even	O
majority	O
presence	O
in	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
market	O
of	O
certain	O
countries	O
,	O
notably	O
China	O
and	O
South	O
Korea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Apps	I-Application
and	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
dropped	O
support	O
for	O
IE6	B-Application
in	O
March	O
2010	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
Facebook	B-Application
chat	O
in	O
September	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
3	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
usage	O
of	O
IE6	B-Application
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
had	O
dropped	O
below	O
1%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2012	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
was	O
still	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
IE	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
second	O
most	O
used	O
browser	B-Application
overall	O
with	O
a	O
total	O
market	O
share	O
of	O
22.41	O
%	O
,	O
just	O
behind	O
the	O
Chinese-made	O
360	B-Application
Secure	I-Application
Browser	I-Application
at	O
26.96	O
%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2013	O
,	O
Net	O
Applications	O
reported	O
the	O
global	O
market	O
share	O
of	O
IE6	B-Application
amongst	O
all	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
browsers	B-Application
to	O
be	O
10.9	O
%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
August	O
2015	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
was	O
being	O
used	O
by	O
<	O
1%	O
users	O
in	O
most	O
countries	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
only	O
exception	O
being	O
China	O
(	O
3.1	O
%	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
criticism	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
is	O
the	O
speed	O
at	O
which	O
fixes	O
are	O
released	O
after	O
the	O
discovery	O
of	O
security	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
posting	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
team	O
blog	O
on	O
August	O
17	O
,	O
2004	O
explained	O
that	O
there	O
are	O
,	O
at	O
minimum	O
,	O
234	O
distinct	O
releases	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
that	O
Microsoft	O
supports	O
(	O
covering	O
more	O
than	O
two	O
dozen	O
languages	O
,	O
and	O
several	O
different	O
revisions	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
and	O
browser	B-Application
level	O
for	O
each	O
language	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
every	O
combination	O
is	O
tested	O
before	O
a	O
patch	O
is	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2006	O
,	O
PC	O
World	O
rated	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
the	O
eighth	O
worst	O
tech	O
product	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
certain	O
degree	O
of	O
complacency	O
has	O
been	O
alleged	O
against	O
Microsoft	O
over	O
IE6	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
near	O
90%	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
market	O
the	O
motive	O
for	O
innovation	O
was	O
not	O
strongly	O
present	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
the	O
5	O
year	O
time	O
between	O
IE6	B-Application
's	O
introduction	O
and	O
its	O
replacement	O
with	O
IE7	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
a	O
contributing	O
factor	O
for	O
the	O
rapid	O
rise	O
of	O
the	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
alternative	O
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
most	O
other	O
modern	O
browsers	B-Application
,	O
IE6	B-Application
does	O
not	O
fully	O
nor	O
properly	O
support	O
CSS	B-Language
version	O
2	O
,	O
which	O
made	O
it	O
difficult	O
for	O
web	O
developers	O
to	O
ensure	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
without	O
degrading	O
the	O
experience	O
for	O
users	O
of	O
more	O
advanced	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
often	O
resorted	O
to	O
strategies	O
such	O
as	O
CSS	B-General_Concept
hacks	I-General_Concept
,	O
conditional	B-Application
comments	I-Application
,	O
or	O
other	O
forms	O
of	O
browser	B-Protocol
sniffing	I-Protocol
to	O
make	O
their	O
websites	O
work	O
in	O
IE6	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
lacks	O
support	O
for	O
alpha	B-Algorithm
transparency	I-Algorithm
in	O
PNG	O
images	O
,	O
replacing	O
transparent	O
pixels	O
with	O
a	O
solid	O
colour	O
background	O
(	O
grey	O
unless	O
defined	O
in	O
a	O
PNG	O
bKGD	O
chunk	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
workaround	O
by	O
way	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
proprietary	B-Application
AlphaImageLoader	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
more	O
complicated	O
and	O
not	O
wholly	O
comparable	O
in	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
long-lasting	O
popularity	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
,	O
web	O
developers	O
had	O
to	O
work	O
around	O
its	O
lack	O
of	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
the	O
position	O
:	O
fixed	O
parameter	O
in	O
CSS	B-Language
for	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
top	O
bars	O
that	O
should	O
remain	O
on	O
screen	O
when	O
the	O
user	O
scrolls	O
,	O
JavaScript	B-Language
code	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
scrolling	O
position	O
and	O
then	O
push	O
down	O
an	O
element	O
positioned	O
with	O
position	O
:	O
absolute	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
distance	O
to	O
have	O
it	O
remain	O
on	O
screen	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
dividing	O
the	O
page	O
's	O
hypertext	O
into	O
subframes	O
using	O
the	O
<frameset>	O
tag	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
media	O
queries	O
unavailable	O
,	O
responsive	B-General_Concept
widths	I-General_Concept
could	O
be	O
implemented	O
to	O
a	O
limited	O
extent	O
by	O
wrapping	O
elements	O
inside	O
tables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
has	O
also	O
been	O
criticized	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
instability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
following	O
code	O
on	O
a	O
website	O
would	O
cause	O
a	O
program	O
crash	O
in	O
IE6	B-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
could	O
crash	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
with	O
a	O
single	O
line	O
of	O
code	O
in	O
the	O
address	O
bar	O
,	O
causing	O
a	O
pointer	O
overflow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
campaigns	O
were	O
later	O
aimed	O
at	O
ridding	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
from	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
market	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2008	O
,	O
37signals	O
announced	O
it	O
would	O
phase	O
out	O
support	O
for	O
IE6	B-Application
beginning	O
in	O
October	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2009	O
,	O
a	O
Danish	O
anti-IE6	O
campaign	O
was	O
launched	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2009	O
,	O
developers	O
of	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
placed	O
a	O
site	O
notice	O
that	O
warned	O
about	O
the	O
impending	O
deprecation	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
,	O
prompting	O
its	O
users	O
to	O
upgrade	O
their	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
German	O
Government	O
,	O
and	O
subsequently	O
the	O
French	O
Government	O
each	O
advised	O
their	O
citizens	O
to	O
move	O
away	O
from	O
IE6	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
January	O
2010	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
it	O
would	O
no	O
longer	O
support	O
IE6	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2010	O
,	O
British	O
citizens	O
began	O
to	O
petition	O
their	O
government	O
to	O
stop	O
using	O
IE6	B-Application
,	O
though	O
this	O
was	O
rejected	O
in	O
July	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2010	O
,	O
in	O
agreement	O
with	O
the	O
EU	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
began	O
prompting	O
users	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
in	O
the	O
EU	O
with	O
a	O
ballot	O
screen	O
in	O
which	O
they	O
are	O
presented	O
with	O
a	O
list	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
browsers	I-Protocol
in	O
random	O
order	O
to	O
select	O
and	O
upgrade	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2010	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Australian	O
division	O
launched	O
a	O
campaign	O
which	O
compared	O
IE6	B-Application
to	O
9-year-old	O
milk	O
and	O
urged	O
users	O
to	O
upgrade	O
to	O
IE8	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
increasing	O
lack	O
of	O
compatibility	O
with	O
modern	O
web	O
standards	O
,	O
popular	O
websites	O
began	O
removing	O
support	O
for	O
IE6	B-Application
in	O
2010	O
,	O
including	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
and	O
their	O
parent	O
company	O
Google	B-Application
;	O
however	O
large	O
IT	O
company	O
support	O
teams	O
and	O
other	O
employers	O
forcing	O
staff	O
to	O
use	O
IE6	B-Application
for	O
compatibility	O
reasons	O
slowed	O
upgrades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
themselves	O
eventually	O
began	O
their	O
own	O
campaign	O
to	O
encourage	O
users	O
to	O
stop	O
using	O
IE6	B-Application
,	O
though	O
stating	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
support	O
IE6	B-Application
until	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP3	O
(	O
including	O
embedded	O
versions	O
)	O
support	O
is	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
on	O
January	O
12	O
,	O
2016	O
when	O
the	O
new	O
Microsoft	O
Lifecycle	O
Support	O
policy	O
for	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
went	O
into	O
effect	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
support	O
on	O
all	O
Windows	B-Application
versions	O
ended	O
,	O
more	O
than	O
14	O
years	O
after	O
its	O
original	O
release	O
,	O
making	O
the	O
January	O
2016	O
security	O
update	O
for	O
multiple	O
versions	O
of	O
XP	B-Application
Embedded	O
the	O
last	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
publicly	O
issued	O
for	O
IE6	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
uses	O
a	O
zone-based	O
security	O
framework	O
,	O
which	O
means	O
that	O
sites	O
are	O
grouped	O
based	O
upon	O
certain	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
administration	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
is	O
accomplished	O
through	O
the	O
Internet	O
Properties	O
control	O
panel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
utility	O
also	O
administers	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
framework	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
implemented	O
by	O
other	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patches	O
and	O
updates	O
to	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
are	O
released	O
periodically	O
and	O
made	O
available	O
through	O
Windows	B-Application
Update	O
web	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
Service	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
2	I-Application
adds	O
several	O
important	O
security	O
features	O
to	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
,	O
including	O
a	O
popup	O
blocker	O
and	O
additional	O
security	O
for	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ActiveX	B-Application
support	O
remains	O
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
although	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
Local	O
Machine	O
Zone	O
"	O
is	O
denied	O
by	O
default	O
since	O
Service	O
Pack	O
2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
once	O
an	O
ActiveX	B-Application
control	I-Application
runs	O
and	O
is	O
authorized	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
gain	O
all	O
the	O
privileges	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
being	O
granted	O
limited	O
privileges	O
as	O
Java	B-Language
or	O
JavaScript	B-Language
do	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
later	O
solved	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
version	I-Application
of	O
IE	B-Application
7	I-Application
,	O
which	O
supported	O
running	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
a	O
low-permission	O
mode	O
,	O
making	O
malware	O
unable	O
to	O
run	O
unless	O
expressly	O
granted	O
permission	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
dropped	O
Compatibility	O
Mode	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
4	I-Protocol
to	O
be	O
run	O
side	O
by	O
side	O
with	O
5.x	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
IE6	B-Application
introduced	O
quirks	O
mode	O
,	O
which	O
causes	O
it	O
to	O
emulate	O
many	O
behaviors	O
of	O
IE	O
5.5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
was	O
later	O
added	O
to	O
all	O
other	O
major	O
browsers	B-Application
to	O
maximize	O
compatibility	O
with	O
old	O
or	O
poorly-coded	O
web	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
supports	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
(	O
SP6a	O
only	O
)	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
ME	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Service	O
Pack	O
1	O
update	O
supports	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
versions	O
,	O
but	O
Security	O
Version	O
1	O
is	O
only	O
available	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
SP1	O
and	O
later	O
service	O
packs	O
for	O
those	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
would	O
later	O
be	O
followed	O
by	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
dropping	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Device
ME	I-Device
,	O
and	O
thus	O
making	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
6	I-Application
the	O
final	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
with	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
versions	O
prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
Release	O
date	O
Significant	O
changes	O
Shipped	O
with	O
6.0	O
Beta	O
1	O
March	O
22	O
,	O
2001	O
More	O
CSS	B-Language
changes	O
and	O
bug	O
fixes	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
W3C-compliant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Removed	O
the	O
smart	B-Application
tag	I-Application
feature	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
beta	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
6.0	O
SP1	O
September	O
9	O
,	O
2002	O
Vulnerability	O
patch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Last	O
version	O
to	O
support	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
SP6a	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
ME	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
RTM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
available	O
as	O
pre-installed	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP1	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
RTM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP1	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
6.05	O
October	O
1	O
,	O
2003	O
Released	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
Longhorn	O
build	O
4051-4094	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
Longhorn	O
6.0	O
SP2	O
August	O
25	O
,	O
2004	O
Vulnerability	O
patch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popup/ActiveX	O
blocker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
SP1	O
6.0	O
SP3	O
April	O
21	O
,	O
2008	O
Latest	O
updates	O
included	O
with	O
XP	B-Application
SP3	O
and	O
Server	O
2003	O
SP2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE6	B-Application
requires	O
at	O
least	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
486/66	B-General_Concept
MHz	I-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
