Key Highlights
- Microsoft disabled the desktop version of Internet Explorer
- Users will now be directed to Edge when they try to use Explorer
- In a subsequent upgrade, Microsoft also plans to remove visual references like the Internet Explorer taskbar icon
On Valentine’s Day, Microsoft broke the heartbreaking news that Internet Explorer would no longer be supported. Microsoft revealed on Tuesday that it had permanently disabled the desktop version of Internet Explorer on some editions of Windows 10 and upgraded its more recent browser, Microsoft Edge.
The company stated that all further consumer and commercial devices that weren’t already switched from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge will also be impacted. Users will now be directed to Edge when they try to use Explorer.
However, the underlying technology that powers Internet Explorer, the MSHTML and Trident engine will continue to remain supported. The company says Edge’s IE mode will be supported until at least 2029. Windows 11 comes pre-installed with Microsoft’s Edge browser which is powered by Chromium, the report shared.
Microsoft Retires Internet Explorer
Microsoft Internet Explorer was first released in 1995 for Windows-based devices. There were 11 different iterations of Internet Explorer, with the most recent one arriving in 2013. However, the web browser has become out of date after over three decades, prompting Microsoft to take action to eliminate it.
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Microsoft announced in 2015 that Microsoft Edge would take its place as the default browser for Windows 10. Internet Explorer was officially retired by the company in June of last year but Windows 10 users weren’t able to access the web browser until the Tuesday update.
The start menu’s and task bar’s visual elements and icons for Internet Explorer 11 will likewise gradually disappear in June.
“With a growing number of websites no longer supporting Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge offers a faster, more secure, and more modern browsing experience that can still open legacy, Internet Explorer-dependent sites when needed,” the company said in its announcement.
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