<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
(	O
formerly	O
Microsoft	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
,	O
commonly	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
IE	O
or	O
MSIE	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
deprecated	B-General_Concept
(	O
or	O
discontinued	O
for	O
most	O
Windows	B-Application
editions	O
)	O
series	O
of	O
graphical	B-Application
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
that	O
were	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
line	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
IE	O
has	O
been	O
discontinued	O
on	O
most	O
Windows	B-Application
editions	O
,	O
it	O
remains	O
supported	O
on	O
certain	O
editions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
LTSB/LTSC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
1995	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
first	O
released	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
add-on	O
package	O
Plus	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
versions	O
were	O
available	O
as	O
free	O
downloads	O
or	O
in-service	O
packs	O
and	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
equipment	O
manufacturer	O
(	O
OEM	O
)	O
service	O
releases	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
feature	O
development	O
for	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
2016	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
its	O
successor	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
was	O
once	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
attaining	O
a	O
peak	O
of	O
95%	O
usage	B-Application
share	I-Application
by	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
came	O
after	O
Microsoft	O
used	O
bundling	O
to	O
win	O
the	O
first	O
browser	B-Application
war	I-Application
against	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
dominant	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
usage	B-Application
share	I-Application
has	O
since	O
declined	O
with	O
the	O
launches	O
of	O
Firefox	B-Application
(	O
2004	O
)	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
(	O
2008	O
)	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
growing	O
popularity	O
of	O
mobile	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
that	O
do	O
not	O
support	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Estimates	O
for	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
's	O
market	O
share	O
in	O
2023	O
are	O
about	O
0.25	O
%	O
across	O
all	O
platforms	O
,	O
or	O
,	O
by	O
StatCounter	O
's	O
numbers	O
,	O
ranked	O
10th	O
after	O
360	B-Application
Safe	I-Application
Browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
traditional	O
PCs	O
,	O
the	O
only	O
platform	O
on	O
which	O
it	O
has	O
ever	O
had	O
a	O
significant	O
share	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
ranked	O
7th	O
at	O
0.62	O
%	O
,	O
after	O
360	B-Application
Safe	I-Application
Browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
,	O
IE	O
's	O
successor	O
,	O
first	O
overtook	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
market	O
share	O
in	O
November	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
for	O
other	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
have	O
also	O
been	O
produced	O
,	O
including	O
an	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
version	O
called	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
for	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
and	O
for	O
platforms	O
Microsoft	O
no	O
longer	O
supports	O
:	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Mac	I-Protocol
and	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
UNIX	I-Protocol
(	O
Solaris	B-Application
and	O
HP-UX	B-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
embedded	O
OEM	O
version	O
called	O
Pocket	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
,	O
later	O
rebranded	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
Mobile	I-Application
,	O
made	O
for	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
CE	I-Operating_System
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
,	O
previously	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
,	O
for	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Phone	I-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
browser	B-Application
has	O
been	O
scrutinized	O
throughout	O
its	O
development	O
for	O
its	O
use	O
of	O
third-party	O
technology	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
Spyglass	B-Application
Mosaic	I-Application
,	O
used	O
without	O
royalty	O
in	O
early	O
versions	O
)	O
and	O
security	O
and	O
privacy	O
vulnerabilities	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
the	O
European	O
Union	O
have	O
alleged	O
that	O
the	O
integration	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
has	O
been	O
to	O
the	O
detriment	O
of	O
fair	O
browser	B-Application
competition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
project	O
was	O
started	O
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1994	O
by	O
Thomas	O
Reardon	O
,	O
who	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
Massachusetts	O
Institute	O
of	O
Technology	O
Review	O
of	O
2003	O
,	O
used	O
source	O
code	O
from	O
Spyglass	B-Application
,	I-Application
Inc	I-Application
.	I-Application
Mosaic	B-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
an	O
early	O
commercial	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
with	O
formal	O
ties	O
to	O
the	O
pioneering	O
National	B-General_Concept
Center	I-General_Concept
for	I-General_Concept
Supercomputing	I-General_Concept
Applications	I-General_Concept
(	O
NCSA	O
)	O
Mosaic	B-Application
browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1994	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
licensed	O
Spyglass	B-Application
Mosaic	I-Application
for	O
a	O
quarterly	O
fee	O
plus	O
a	O
percentage	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
non-Windows	O
revenues	O
for	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
bearing	O
a	O
name	O
like	O
NCSA	B-Application
Mosaic	I-Application
,	O
Spyglass	B-Application
Mosaic	I-Application
had	O
used	O
the	O
NCSA	B-Application
Mosaic	I-Application
source	O
code	O
sparingly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
,	O
dubbed	O
Microsoft	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
was	O
installed	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
Jumpstart	O
Kit	O
in	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Plus	I-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
pack	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
1.5	O
was	O
released	O
several	O
months	O
later	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
and	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
basic	O
table	O
rendering	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
including	O
it	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
with	O
their	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
they	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
to	O
pay	O
royalties	O
to	O
Spyglass	O
Inc	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
a	O
lawsuit	O
and	O
a	O
US$8million	O
settlement	O
on	O
January	O
22	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
second	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
November	O
22	O
,	O
1995	O
,	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
,	O
and	O
on	O
April	O
23	O
,	O
1996	O
,	O
for	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
3.1	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
3	O
is	O
the	O
third	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
August	O
13	O
,	O
1996	O
,	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
on	O
January	O
8	O
,	O
1997	O
,	O
for	O
Apple	B-Device
Mac	I-Device
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
4	O
is	O
the	O
fourth	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
1997	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
Solaris	B-Application
,	O
and	O
HP-UX	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
Trident	B-Application
web	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
5	O
is	O
the	O
fifth	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
March	O
18	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
3.1	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
3	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4.0	I-Device
SP3	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
(	O
up	O
to	O
v5.2.3	O
)	O
,	O
Classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
(	O
up	O
to	O
v5.1.7	O
)	O
,	O
Solaris	B-Application
and	O
HP-UX	B-Application
(	O
up	O
to	O
5.01	O
SP1	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
6	O
is	O
the	O
sixth	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
August	O
24	O
,	O
2001	O
,	O
for	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
as	O
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
is	O
the	O
seventh	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
18	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
SP2	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
SP1	O
and	O
as	O
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Embedded	O
POSReady	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE7	B-Application
introduces	O
tabbed	O
browsing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
8	O
is	O
the	O
eighth	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
March	O
19	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	I-Application
2003	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
and	O
as	O
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
(	O
later	O
default	O
was	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
)	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
R2	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
9	I-Application
is	O
the	O
ninth	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
March	O
14	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
R2	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
Service	O
Pack	O
2	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
SP2	O
with	O
the	O
Platform	O
Update	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
10	O
is	O
the	O
tenth	O
major	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
26	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2012	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
became	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
SP1	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
R2	I-Device
SP1	O
in	O
February	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
is	O
featured	O
in	O
Windows	B-Device
8.1	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2012	I-Device
R2	B-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
8.1	B-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
17	O
,	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
major	O
update	O
to	O
its	O
developer	B-Application
tools	I-Application
,	O
enhanced	O
scaling	O
for	O
high	O
DPI	O
screens	O
,	O
HTML5	B-Application
prerender	O
and	O
prefetch	O
,	O
hardware-accelerated	B-General_Concept
JPEG	O
decoding	O
,	O
closed	O
captioning	O
,	O
HTML5	B-Application
full	O
screen	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
to	O
support	O
WebGL	B-Library
and	O
Google	O
's	O
protocol	O
SPDY	B-Protocol
(	O
starting	O
at	O
v3	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
of	O
IE	O
has	O
features	O
dedicated	O
to	O
Windows	B-Device
8.1	I-Device
,	O
including	O
cryptography	O
(	O
WebCrypto	O
)	O
,	O
adaptive	O
bitrate	O
streaming	O
(	O
Media	B-Language
Source	I-Language
Extensions	I-Language
)	O
and	O
Encrypted	B-Language
Media	I-Language
Extensions	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
was	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
users	O
to	O
download	O
on	O
November	O
7	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
with	O
Automatic	O
Updates	O
in	O
the	O
following	O
weeks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
's	O
user	B-Protocol
agent	I-Protocol
string	O
now	O
identifies	O
the	O
agent	O
as	O
"	O
Trident	B-Application
"	O
(	O
the	O
underlying	O
browser	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
)	O
instead	O
of	O
"	O
MSIE.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
announces	O
compatibility	O
with	O
Gecko	B-Language
(	O
the	O
browser	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
of	O
Firefox	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
claimed	O
that	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
,	O
running	O
the	O
WebKit	B-Language
SunSpider	O
JavaScript	B-Language
Benchmark	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
fastest	O
browser	B-Application
as	O
of	O
October	O
15	O
,	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
was	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2012	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Embedded	O
8	O
Standard	O
,	O
the	O
only	O
still	O
supported	O
edition	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
in	O
April	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
was	O
officially	O
unveiled	O
on	O
January	O
21	O
,	O
2015	O
as	O
"	O
Project	O
Spartan.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
29	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
would	O
replace	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
as	O
the	O
default	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
remained	O
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
on	O
the	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Long	O
Term	O
Servicing	O
Channel	O
(	O
LTSC	O
)	O
and	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
Server	O
until	O
2021	O
,	O
primarily	O
for	O
enterprise	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
is	O
still	O
installed	O
in	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
to	O
maintain	O
compatibility	O
with	O
older	O
websites	O
and	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
sites	O
that	O
require	O
ActiveX	B-Application
and	O
other	O
legacy	O
web	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
browser	B-Application
's	O
MSHTML	B-Application
rendering	B-Protocol
engine	O
also	O
remains	O
for	O
compatibility	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
shipped	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
mode	O
"	O
feature	O
,	O
which	O
enables	O
support	O
for	O
legacy	O
internet	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
possible	O
through	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Trident	B-Application
MSHTML	I-Application
engine	O
,	O
the	O
rendering	B-Protocol
code	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
,	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
new	O
features	O
for	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
ceased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
was	O
the	O
final	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
began	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
deprecating	B-General_Concept
Internet	O
Explorer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
January	O
12	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
only	O
the	O
latest	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
available	O
for	O
each	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
has	O
been	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2019	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
Chief	O
of	O
Security	O
Chris	O
Jackson	O
recommended	O
that	O
users	O
stop	O
using	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
as	O
their	O
default	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
1	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
Internet	O
Archive	O
removed	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
from	O
its	O
list	O
of	O
supported	O
browsers	B-Application
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
's	O
dated	O
nature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
November	O
30	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
web	O
version	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Teams	I-Application
can	O
no	O
longer	O
be	O
accessed	O
using	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
,	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
remaining	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
365	I-Operating_System
applications	O
since	O
August	O
17	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordPress	O
also	O
dropped	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
July	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
disabled	O
the	O
normal	O
means	O
of	O
launching	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
11	I-Application
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
still	O
possible	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
launch	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
from	O
the	O
Control	O
Panel	O
's	O
browser	B-Protocol
toolbar	I-Protocol
settings	O
or	O
via	O
PowerShell	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
15	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
support	O
ended	O
for	O
the	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Semi-Annual	O
Channel	O
(	O
SAC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
on	O
these	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
were	O
redirected	O
to	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
starting	O
on	O
February	O
14	O
,	O
2023	O
,	O
and	O
visual	O
references	O
to	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
(	O
such	O
as	O
icons	O
on	O
the	O
taskbar	O
)	O
will	O
be	O
removed	O
starting	O
on	O
June	O
13	O
,	O
2023	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
that	O
were	O
still	O
supported	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
were	O
unaffected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
ESU	O
,	O
Windows	O
8.x	O
,	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
;	O
Windows	O
Server	O
2008/R2	O
ESU	O
,	O
Windows	O
Server	O
2012/R2	O
and	O
later	O
;	O
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
LTSB/LTSC	O
continued	O
to	O
receive	O
updates	O
until	O
their	O
respective	O
end	O
of	O
life	O
dates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
other	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
will	O
still	O
be	O
supported	O
until	O
their	O
own	O
end	O
of	O
support	O
dates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE7	B-Application
will	O
be	O
supported	O
until	O
October	O
10	O
,	O
2023	O
alongside	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Embedded	I-Operating_System
Compact	I-Operating_System
2013	O
,	O
while	O
IE9	B-Application
will	O
be	O
supported	O
until	O
January	O
9	O
,	O
2024	O
alongside	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
ESU	O
support	O
for	O
Azure	B-Application
customers	O
on	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Barring	O
additional	O
changes	O
to	O
the	O
support	O
policy	O
,	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
will	O
be	O
supported	O
until	O
January	O
13	O
,	O
2032	O
,	O
concurrent	O
with	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
IoT	O
Enterprise	O
LTSC	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
has	O
been	O
designed	O
to	O
view	O
a	O
broad	O
range	O
of	O
web	O
pages	O
and	O
provide	O
certain	O
features	O
within	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
Microsoft	O
Update	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
height	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
wars	I-Application
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
superseded	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
only	O
when	O
it	O
caught	O
up	O
technologically	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
progressive	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
using	O
the	O
MSHTML	B-Application
(	O
Trident	B-Application
)	O
browser	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
:	O
</s>
<s>
Supports	O
HTML	B-Language
4.01	I-Language
,	O
parts	O
of	O
HTML5	B-Application
,	O
CSS	B-Language
Level	O
1	O
,	O
Level	O
2	O
,	O
and	O
Level	O
3	O
,	O
XML	B-Protocol
1.0	O
,	O
and	O
DOM	B-General_Concept
Level	O
1	O
,	O
with	O
minor	O
implementation	O
gaps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fully	O
supports	O
XSLT	B-Application
1.0	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
an	O
obsolete	O
Microsoft	O
dialect	O
of	O
XSLT	B-Application
often	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
WD-xsl	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
loosely	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
December	O
1998	O
W3C	O
Working	O
Draft	O
of	O
XSL	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
XSLT	B-Application
2.0	I-Application
lies	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
:	O
semi-official	O
Microsoft	O
bloggers	O
have	O
indicated	O
that	O
development	O
is	O
underway	O
,	O
but	O
no	O
dates	O
have	O
been	O
announced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Almost	O
full	O
conformance	O
to	O
CSS	B-Language
2.1	I-Language
has	O
been	O
added	O
in	O
the	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
8	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MSHTML	B-Application
browser	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
9	I-Application
in	O
2011	O
,	O
scored	O
highest	O
in	O
the	O
official	O
W3C	O
conformance	O
test	O
suite	O
for	O
CSS	B-Language
2.1	I-Language
of	O
all	O
major	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Supports	O
XHTML	B-Language
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
9	I-Application
(	O
MSHTML	B-Application
Trident	B-Application
version	O
5.0	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
versions	O
can	O
render	O
XHTML	B-Language
documents	O
authored	O
with	O
HTML	B-Language
compatibility	O
principles	O
and	O
served	O
with	O
a	O
text/html	B-Language
MIME-type	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Supports	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
SVG	B-Application
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
9	I-Application
(	O
MSHTML	B-Application
Trident	B-Application
version	O
5.0	O
)	O
,	O
excluding	O
SMIL	O
,	O
SVG	B-Application
fonts	O
and	O
filters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
uses	O
DOCTYPE	O
sniffing	O
to	O
choose	O
between	O
standards	B-General_Concept
mode	I-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
"	O
quirks	B-General_Concept
mode	I-General_Concept
"	O
in	O
which	O
it	O
deliberately	O
mimics	O
nonstandard	O
behaviors	O
of	O
old	O
versions	O
of	O
MSIE	O
for	O
HTML	B-Language
and	O
CSS	B-Language
rendering	B-Protocol
on	O
screen	O
(	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
always	O
uses	O
standards	B-General_Concept
mode	I-General_Concept
for	O
printing	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
provides	O
its	O
own	O
dialect	O
of	O
ECMAScript	B-Language
called	O
JScript	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
was	O
criticized	O
by	O
Tim	O
Berners-Lee	O
for	O
its	O
limited	O
support	O
for	O
SVG	B-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
promoted	O
by	O
W3C	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
has	O
introduced	O
an	O
array	O
of	O
proprietary	B-Application
extensions	O
to	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
standards	O
,	O
including	O
HTML	B-Language
,	O
CSS	B-Language
,	O
and	O
the	B-General_Concept
DOM	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
resulted	O
in	O
several	O
web	O
pages	O
that	O
appear	O
broken	O
in	O
standards-compliant	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
and	O
has	O
introduced	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
a	O
"	O
quirks	B-General_Concept
mode	I-General_Concept
"	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
rendering	B-Protocol
improper	O
elements	O
meant	O
for	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
in	O
these	O
other	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
has	O
introduced	O
several	O
extensions	O
to	O
the	B-General_Concept
DOM	I-General_Concept
that	O
have	O
been	O
adopted	O
by	O
other	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
the	O
inner	O
HTML	B-Language
property	O
,	O
which	O
provides	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
HTML	B-Language
string	O
within	O
an	O
element	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
part	O
of	O
IE	O
5	O
and	O
was	O
standardized	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
HTML	B-Application
5	I-Application
roughly	O
15	O
years	O
later	O
after	O
all	O
other	O
browsers	B-Application
implemented	O
it	O
for	O
compatibility	O
,	O
the	O
XMLHttpRequest	O
object	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
sending	O
of	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
request	O
and	O
receiving	O
of	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
response	O
,	O
and	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
perform	O
AJAX	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
designMode	O
attribute	O
of	O
the	O
content	O
Document	O
object	O
,	O
which	O
enables	O
rich	O
text	O
editing	O
of	O
HTML	B-Language
documents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
these	O
functionalities	O
were	O
not	O
possible	O
until	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
W3C	O
DOM	B-General_Concept
methods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
Ruby	O
character	O
extension	O
to	O
HTML	B-Language
is	O
also	O
accepted	O
as	O
a	O
module	O
in	O
W3C	O
XHTML	B-Language
1.1	O
,	O
though	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
found	O
in	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
W3C	O
HTML	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
the	O
'	O
behavior	O
 '	O
CSS	B-Language
property	O
,	O
which	O
connects	O
the	O
HTML	B-Language
elements	O
with	O
JScript	B-Language
behaviors	O
(	O
known	O
as	O
HTML	B-Language
Components	O
,	O
HTC	O
)	O
,	O
HTML+TIME	B-Language
profile	O
,	O
which	O
adds	O
timing	O
and	O
media	O
synchronization	O
support	O
to	O
HTML	B-Language
documents	O
(	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
W3C	O
XHTML+SMIL	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
VML	B-Language
vector	O
graphics	O
file	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
all	O
were	O
rejected	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
in	O
their	O
original	O
forms	O
;	O
VML	B-Language
was	O
subsequently	O
combined	O
with	O
PGML	B-Language
(	O
proposed	O
by	O
Adobe	O
and	O
Sun	O
)	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
the	O
W3C-approved	O
SVG	B-Application
format	I-Application
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
vector	O
image	O
formats	O
being	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
web	O
,	O
which	O
IE	O
did	O
not	O
support	O
until	O
version	O
9	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
non-standard	O
behaviors	O
include	O
:	O
support	O
for	O
vertical	O
text	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
a	O
syntax	O
different	O
from	O
W3C	O
CSS3	O
candidate	O
recommendation	O
,	O
support	O
for	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
image	O
effects	O
and	O
page	O
transitions	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
not	O
found	O
in	O
W3C	O
CSS	B-Language
,	O
support	O
for	O
obfuscated	O
script	O
code	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
JScript.Encode	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
support	O
for	O
embedding	O
EOT	O
fonts	O
in	O
web	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
supports	O
favicons	O
in	O
PNG	O
,	O
static	O
GIF	O
and	O
native	O
Windows	B-Application
icon	O
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
and	O
later	O
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
can	O
display	O
native	O
Windows	B-Application
icons	O
that	O
have	O
embedded	O
PNG	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
makes	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
accessibility	O
framework	O
provided	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
user	O
interface	O
for	O
FTP	B-Protocol
,	O
with	O
operations	O
similar	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
Explorer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
5	O
and	O
6	O
had	O
a	O
side	O
bar	O
for	O
web	B-Application
searches	I-Application
,	O
enabling	O
jumps	O
through	O
pages	O
from	O
results	O
listed	O
in	O
the	O
side	O
bar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pop-up	O
blocking	O
and	O
tabbed	O
browsing	O
were	O
added	O
respectively	O
in	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
6	O
and	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tabbed	O
browsing	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
older	O
versions	O
by	O
installing	O
MSN	B-Application
Search	I-Application
Toolbar	I-Application
or	O
Yahoo	B-Operating_System
Toolbar	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
caches	O
visited	O
content	O
in	O
the	O
Temporary	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Files	I-Application
folder	O
to	O
allow	O
quicker	O
access	O
(	O
or	O
offline	O
access	O
)	O
to	O
previously	O
visited	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiple	O
Index.dat	O
files	O
exist	O
which	O
index	O
different	O
content	O
—	O
visited	O
content	O
,	O
web	B-General_Concept
feeds	I-General_Concept
,	O
visited	O
URLs	O
,	O
cookies	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
IE7	B-Application
,	O
clearing	O
the	O
cache	O
used	O
to	O
clear	O
the	O
index	O
but	O
the	O
files	O
themselves	O
were	O
not	O
reliably	O
removed	O
,	O
posing	O
a	O
potential	O
security	O
and	O
privacy	O
risk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
IE7	B-Application
and	O
later	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
cache	O
is	O
cleared	O
,	O
the	O
cache	O
files	O
are	O
more	O
reliably	O
removed	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
index.dat	O
file	O
is	O
overwritten	O
with	O
null	O
bytes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Caching	O
has	O
been	O
improved	O
in	O
IE9	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Administrators	O
of	O
Windows	B-General_Concept
Server	I-General_Concept
domains	I-General_Concept
(	O
for	O
domain-joined	O
computers	O
)	O
or	O
the	O
local	O
computer	O
can	O
apply	O
and	O
enforce	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
settings	O
on	O
computers	O
that	O
affect	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
disabling	O
menu	O
items	O
and	O
individual	O
configuration	O
options	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
underlying	O
security	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
downloading	O
of	O
files	O
,	O
zone	O
configuration	O
,	O
per-site	O
settings	O
,	O
ActiveX	B-Application
control	I-Application
behavior	O
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
also	O
supports	O
Integrated	O
Windows	B-Application
Authentication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
uses	O
a	O
componentized	B-Architecture
architecture	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
Component	B-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
(	O
COM	O
)	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
consists	O
of	O
several	O
major	O
components	O
,	O
each	O
of	O
which	O
is	O
contained	O
in	O
a	O
separate	O
dynamic-link	O
library	O
(	O
DLL	O
)	O
and	O
exposes	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
COM	O
programming	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
hosted	O
by	O
the	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
main	O
executable	O
,	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
the	O
protocol	O
handler	O
for	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
,	O
HTTPS	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
FTP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
MIME-type	B-Protocol
handling	O
and	O
download	O
of	O
web	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
provides	O
a	O
thread-safe	O
wrapper	O
around	O
WinInet.dll	O
and	O
other	O
protocol	O
implementations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
houses	O
the	O
MSHTML	B-Application
(	O
Trident	B-Application
)	O
browser	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
introduced	O
in	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
4	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
displaying	O
the	O
pages	O
on-screen	O
and	O
handling	O
the	O
Document	B-General_Concept
Object	I-General_Concept
Model	I-General_Concept
(	O
DOM	B-General_Concept
)	O
of	O
the	O
web	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MSHTML.dll	O
parses	O
the	O
HTML/CSS	O
file	O
and	O
creates	O
the	O
internal	O
DOM	B-General_Concept
tree	I-General_Concept
representation	O
of	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
exposes	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
for	O
runtime	O
inspection	O
and	O
modification	O
of	O
the	B-General_Concept
DOM	I-General_Concept
tree	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-General_Concept
DOM	I-General_Concept
tree	O
is	O
further	O
processed	O
by	O
a	O
browser	B-Protocol
engine	I-Protocol
which	O
then	O
renders	O
the	O
internal	O
representation	O
on	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
contains	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
and	O
window	O
of	O
IE	O
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
and	O
above	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
provides	O
the	O
navigation	O
,	O
local	O
caching	O
and	O
history	O
functionalities	O
for	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
rendering	B-Protocol
the	O
browser	B-Application
user	O
interface	O
such	O
as	O
menus	O
and	O
toolbars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
,	O
exposes	O
an	O
API	B-General_Concept
that	O
permits	O
a	O
programmer	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
scripting	O
environment	O
to	O
be	O
plugged-in	O
and	O
to	O
access	O
the	B-General_Concept
DOM	I-General_Concept
tree	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
8	O
includes	O
the	O
bindings	O
for	O
the	O
Active	B-Application
Scripting	I-Application
engine	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
allows	O
any	O
language	O
implemented	O
as	O
an	O
Active	B-Application
Scripting	I-Application
module	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
client-side	O
scripting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
default	O
,	O
only	O
the	O
JScript	B-Language
and	O
VBScript	B-Application
modules	O
are	O
provided	O
;	O
third	O
party	O
implementations	O
like	O
ScreamingMonkey	B-Language
(	O
for	O
ECMAScript	B-Language
4	O
support	O
)	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
also	O
makes	O
available	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Silverlight	I-Application
runtime	O
that	O
allows	O
CLI	B-Language
languages	I-Language
,	O
including	O
DLR-based	O
dynamic	O
languages	O
like	O
IronPython	B-Application
and	O
IronRuby	B-Language
,	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
client-side	O
scripting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
processes	O
use	O
asynchronous	O
inter-process	B-Operating_System
communication	I-Operating_System
to	O
synchronize	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
with	O
protected	O
mode	O
turned	O
on	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
opening	O
privileged	O
content	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
local	O
HTML	B-Language
pages	O
)	O
will	O
create	O
a	O
new	O
tab	O
process	O
as	O
it	O
will	O
not	O
be	O
constrained	O
by	O
protected	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
exposes	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
Component	B-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
(	O
COM	O
)	O
interfaces	B-Application
that	O
allows	O
add-ons	B-Application
to	O
extend	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Extensibility	O
is	O
divided	O
into	O
two	O
types	O
:	O
Browser	B-Application
extensibility	O
and	O
content	O
extensibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Browser	B-Application
extensibility	O
involves	O
adding	O
context	O
menu	O
entries	O
,	O
toolbars	O
,	O
menu	O
items	O
or	O
Browser	B-Application
Helper	I-Application
Objects	I-Application
(	O
BHO	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BHOs	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
extend	O
the	O
feature	O
set	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
other	O
extensibility	O
options	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
expose	O
that	O
feature	O
in	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WebM	B-Application
or	O
SPDY	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
web	O
pages	O
can	O
integrate	O
widgets	B-Application
known	O
as	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
which	O
run	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
only	O
but	O
have	O
vast	O
potentials	O
to	O
extend	O
the	O
content	O
capabilities	O
;	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
Player	I-Operating_System
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Silverlight	I-Application
are	O
examples	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Add-ons	B-Application
can	O
be	O
installed	O
either	O
locally	O
,	O
or	O
directly	O
by	O
a	O
web	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
malicious	O
add-ons	B-Application
can	O
compromise	O
the	O
security	O
of	O
a	O
system	O
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
implements	O
several	O
safeguards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
6	O
with	O
Service	O
Pack	O
2	O
and	O
later	O
feature	O
an	O
Add-on	O
Manager	O
for	O
enabling	O
or	O
disabling	O
individual	O
add-ons	B-Application
,	O
complemented	O
by	O
a	O
"	O
No	O
Add-Ons	B-Application
"	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
and	O
its	O
BHOs	O
run	O
with	O
restricted	O
privileges	O
and	O
are	O
isolated	O
from	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
9	I-Application
introduced	O
a	O
new	O
component	O
–	O
Add-on	O
Performance	O
Advisor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Add-on	O
Performance	O
Advisor	O
shows	O
a	O
notification	O
when	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
of	O
installed	O
add-ons	B-Application
exceed	O
a	O
pre-set	O
performance	O
threshold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
notification	O
appears	O
in	O
the	O
Notification	O
Bar	O
when	O
the	O
user	O
launches	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
introduce	O
a	O
Metro-style	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
that	O
is	O
entirely	O
sandboxed	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
run	O
add-ons	B-Application
at	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
cannot	O
download	O
or	O
install	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
at	O
all	O
;	O
although	O
existing	O
ones	O
bundled	O
with	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
still	O
run	O
in	O
the	O
traditional	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
itself	O
can	O
be	O
hosted	O
by	O
other	O
applications	O
via	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
COM	O
interfaces	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
embed	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
functionality	O
inside	O
a	O
computer	O
program	O
or	O
create	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
shells	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
uses	O
a	O
zone-based	O
security	O
framework	O
that	O
groups	O
sites	O
based	O
on	O
certain	O
conditions	O
,	O
including	O
whether	O
it	O
is	O
an	O
Internet	O
-	O
or	O
intranet-based	O
site	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
user-editable	O
whitelist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
Explorer	O
6	O
SP2	O
onwards	O
uses	O
the	O
Attachment	O
Execution	O
Service	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
to	O
mark	O
executable	O
files	O
downloaded	O
from	O
the	O
Internet	O
as	O
being	O
potentially	O
unsafe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
introduced	O
the	O
phishing	O
filter	O
,	O
which	O
restricts	O
access	O
to	O
phishing	O
sites	O
unless	O
the	O
user	O
overrides	O
the	O
decision	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
by	O
default	O
runs	O
in	O
what	O
is	O
called	O
Protected	O
Mode	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
privileges	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
itself	O
are	O
severely	O
restricted	O
—	O
it	O
cannot	O
make	O
any	O
system-wide	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
also	O
effectively	O
restricts	O
the	O
privileges	O
of	O
any	O
add-ons	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
or	O
any	O
add-on	O
is	O
compromised	O
,	O
the	O
damage	O
the	O
security	O
breach	O
can	O
cause	O
is	O
limited	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
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Update	O
service	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
through	O
Automatic	O
Updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
security	O
patches	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
for	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
platforms	O
,	O
most	O
feature	O
additions	O
and	O
security	O
infrastructure	O
improvements	O
are	O
only	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
that	O
are	O
in	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
mainstream	O
support	O
phase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
16	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
Trend	O
Micro	O
recommended	O
users	O
switch	O
to	O
rival	O
browsers	B-Application
until	O
an	O
emergency	O
patch	O
was	O
released	O
to	O
fix	O
a	O
potential	O
security	O
risk	O
which	O
"	O
could	O
allow	O
outside	O
users	O
to	O
take	O
control	O
of	O
a	O
person	O
's	O
computer	O
and	O
steal	O
their	O
passwords.	O
”	O
Microsoft	O
representatives	O
countered	O
this	O
recommendation	O
,	O
claiming	O
that	O
"	O
0.02	O
%	O
of	O
internet	O
sites	O
"	O
were	O
affected	O
by	O
the	O
flaw	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
fix	O
for	O
the	O
issue	O
was	O
released	O
the	O
following	O
day	O
with	O
the	O
Security	O
Update	O
for	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
KB960714	O
,	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
Update	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
,	O
Germany	O
's	O
Federal	O
Office	O
for	O
Information	O
Security	O
,	O
known	O
by	O
its	O
German	O
initials	O
,	O
BSI	O
,	O
advised	O
"	O
temporary	O
use	O
of	O
alternative	O
browsers	B-Application
"	O
because	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
critical	O
security	O
hole	O
"	O
in	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
software	O
that	O
could	O
allow	O
hackers	O
to	O
remotely	O
plant	O
and	O
run	O
malicious	O
code	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
PCs	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
a	O
report	O
by	O
Accuvant	O
,	O
funded	O
by	O
Google	O
,	O
rated	O
the	O
security	O
(	O
based	O
on	O
sandboxing	O
)	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
worse	O
than	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
but	O
better	O
than	O
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2017	O
browser	B-Application
security	O
white	O
paper	O
comparing	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
11	I-Application
by	O
X41	O
D-Sec	O
in	O
2017	O
came	O
to	O
similar	O
conclusions	O
,	O
also	O
based	O
on	O
sandboxing	O
and	O
support	O
of	O
legacy	O
web	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
drive-by	O
install.	O
”	O
There	O
are	O
also	O
attempts	O
to	O
trick	O
the	O
user	O
into	O
installing	O
malicious	O
software	O
by	O
misrepresenting	O
the	O
software	O
's	O
true	O
purpose	O
in	O
the	O
description	O
section	O
of	O
an	O
ActiveX	B-Application
security	O
alert	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
security	O
flaws	O
affecting	O
IE	O
originated	O
not	O
in	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
itself	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
ActiveX-based	O
add-ons	B-Application
used	O
by	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
add-ons	B-Application
have	O
the	O
same	O
privilege	O
as	O
IE	O
,	O
the	O
flaws	O
can	O
be	O
as	O
critical	O
as	O
browser	B-Application
flaws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
ActiveX-based	O
architecture	O
being	O
criticized	O
for	O
being	O
fault-prone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2005	O
,	O
some	O
experts	O
maintained	O
that	O
the	O
dangers	O
of	O
ActiveX	B-Application
had	O
been	O
overstated	O
and	O
there	O
were	O
safeguards	O
in	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
,	O
new	O
techniques	O
using	O
automated	B-Application
testing	I-Application
found	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
hundred	O
vulnerabilities	O
in	O
standard	O
Microsoft	O
ActiveX	B-Application
components	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Security	O
features	O
introduced	O
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
7	I-Application
mitigated	O
some	O
of	O
these	O
vulnerabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
firm	O
also	O
reported	O
366	O
vulnerabilities	O
in	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
,	O
an	O
increase	O
from	O
the	O
previous	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
vulnerability	O
affected	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
6	O
from	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
Server	O
2003	O
,	O
IE6	O
SP1	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
SP4	O
,	O
IE7	B-Application
on	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
XP	B-Application
,	O
Server	B-Device
2008	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Server	O
2003	O
,	O
IE8	O
on	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
,	O
Vista	B-Application
,	O
XP	B-Application
,	O
Server	O
2003	O
,	O
and	O
Server	B-Device
2008	I-Device
(	O
R2	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
German	O
government	O
warned	O
users	O
against	O
using	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
and	O
recommended	O
switching	O
to	O
an	O
alternative	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
major	O
security	O
hole	O
described	O
above	O
that	O
was	O
exploited	O
in	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
US-CERT	O
recommended	O
reviewing	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
suggestions	O
to	O
mitigate	O
an	O
attack	O
or	O
using	O
an	O
alternate	O
browser	B-Application
until	O
the	O
bug	O
is	O
fixed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
adoption	O
rate	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
seems	O
to	O
be	O
closely	O
related	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
that	O
comes	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
integration	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
2.0	I-Protocol
with	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
OSR	O
1	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
and	O
especially	O
after	O
version	O
4.0	O
'	O
s	O
release	O
in	O
1997	O
,	O
the	O
adoption	O
was	O
greatly	O
accelerated	O
:	O
from	O
below	O
20%	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
to	O
about	O
40%	O
in	O
1998	O
,	O
and	O
over	O
80%	O
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
made	O
Microsoft	O
the	O
winner	O
in	O
the	O
infamous	O
'	O
first	O
browser	B-Application
war	I-Application
 '	O
against	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
was	O
the	O
dominant	O
browser	B-Application
during	O
1995	O
and	O
until	O
1997	O
,	O
but	O
rapidly	O
lost	O
share	O
to	O
IE	O
starting	O
in	O
1998	O
,	O
and	O
eventually	O
slipped	O
behind	O
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
integration	O
of	O
IE	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
led	O
to	O
a	O
lawsuit	O
by	O
AOL	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	O
owner	O
,	O
accusing	O
Microsoft	O
of	O
unfair	O
competition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
infamous	O
case	O
was	O
eventually	O
won	O
by	O
AOL	O
but	O
by	O
then	O
it	O
was	O
too	O
late	O
,	O
as	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
had	O
already	O
become	O
the	O
dominant	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
first	O
notable	O
competitor	O
after	O
beating	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
was	O
Firefox	B-Application
from	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
itself	O
was	O
an	O
offshoot	O
from	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefox	B-Application
1.0	O
had	O
surpassed	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
5	O
in	O
early	O
2005	O
,	O
with	O
Firefox	B-Application
1.0	O
at	O
8	O
percent	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Approximate	O
usage	O
over	O
time	O
based	O
on	O
various	O
usage	B-Application
share	I-Application
counters	O
averaged	O
for	O
the	O
year	O
overall	O
,	O
or	O
for	O
the	O
fourth	O
quarter	O
,	O
or	O
for	O
the	O
last	O
month	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
depending	O
on	O
availability	O
of	O
reference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2012	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
overtook	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
as	O
the	O
most	O
used	O
browser	B-Application
worldwide	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
StatCounter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Browser	B-Application
Helper	I-Application
Objects	I-Application
are	O
also	O
used	O
by	O
many	O
search	B-Application
engines	I-Application
companies	O
and	O
third	O
parties	O
for	O
creating	O
add-ons	B-Application
that	O
access	O
their	O
services	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
toolbars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hence	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
several	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
shells	I-Application
,	O
and	O
several	O
content-centric	O
applications	O
like	O
RealPlayer	B-Application
also	O
use	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
's	O
web	O
browsing	O
module	O
for	O
viewing	O
web	O
pages	O
within	O
the	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
a	O
major	O
upgrade	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
can	O
be	O
uninstalled	O
in	O
a	O
traditional	O
way	O
if	O
the	O
user	O
has	O
saved	O
the	O
original	O
application	O
files	O
for	O
installation	O
,	O
the	O
matter	O
of	O
uninstalling	O
the	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
that	O
has	O
shipped	O
with	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
remains	O
a	O
controversial	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
of	O
removing	O
a	O
stock	O
install	O
of	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
from	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
system	O
was	O
proposed	O
during	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
v	O
.	O
Microsoft	O
Corp	O
.	O
case	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
arguments	O
during	O
the	O
trial	O
was	O
that	O
removing	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
from	O
Windows	B-Application
may	O
result	O
in	O
system	O
instability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indeed	O
,	O
programs	O
that	O
depend	O
on	O
libraries	O
installed	O
by	O
IE	O
,	O
including	O
Windows	B-Application
help	O
and	O
support	O
system	O
,	O
fail	O
to	O
function	O
without	O
IE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
possible	O
to	O
run	O
Windows	B-Application
Update	O
without	O
IE	O
because	O
the	O
service	O
used	O
ActiveX	B-Application
technology	O
,	O
which	O
no	O
other	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
supports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
28	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
a	O
fake	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
browser	B-Application
calling	O
itself	O
"	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
–	O
Emergency	O
Mode	O
"	O
appeared	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
user	O
attempted	O
to	O
launch	O
any	O
other	O
browser	B-Application
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
,	O
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
,	O
Opera	B-Application
,	O
Safari	B-Application
,	O
or	O
the	O
real	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
this	O
browser	B-Application
would	O
be	O
loaded	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
