Internet Explorer takes unexpected jump in market share

But do you know why?

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Internet Explorer market share down

But guess which browser is picking up the slack?

Besides Chrome, of course.

Interesting numbers at InfoWorld Tech Watch.

MS11-050 being exploited – don’t use Internet Explorer!

Gregg Keizer at Computerworld reports that Symantec has seen targeted attacks in the wild that go after the hole just plugged this week by Microsoft’s MS11-050 security bulletin.

The hole affects IE 6, 7 and 8 – which is significant because IE 8 is widely thought to be relatively impervious to exploits. (I said “relatively”, yes?)

Anyway, you have four choices: Install IE 9 (which I’ve been recommending for months now); install MS11-050 [typo fixed - sorry - WL], which is another monster Internet Explorer patch; disable JavaScript; or use any browser other than IE (which I’ve been recommending for many years, eh?).

Internet Explorer loses market share rapidly

This is an unusual week – I have two stories in Windows Secrets newsletter, both of which cover important ground for Windows users.

This one talks about the fall in use of IE. Interesting to see what’s in its place.

This is paid content – but remember that you can subscribe to Windows Secrets Newsletter for whatever subscription fee you want to set. You pay what you think it’s worth to you.

How long until Internet Explorer falls below 50 percent?

New numbers are out, and the trend does not bode well for IE.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

What happens when Internet Explorer breaks big-time?

My latest missive at InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Scary, actually. Somebody flipped the wrong switch in Redmond, and suddenly thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of web sites got completely bogus “This web site has been reported as unsafe” warnings.

A new Fixit for another Internet Explorer 0day

If you’re still using Internet Explorer 6 or 7, and haven’t upgraded to IE 8 or started using a better browser, you need to run over to Microsoft’s Security Advisory 981374 and apply the “Fixit” patch.

According to SANS Internet Storm Center, Microsoft posted the Fixit a few hours ago.

The Fixit disables something called the “peer factory” in IE6 and IE7. Apparently there’s working zero-day code running around that takes advantage of the security hole to run “backdoors” – programs that take over your computer, without your knowledge or consent.

Now (almost) everybody is advising you to stop using Internet Explorer

I’ve been saying it for years. I’ll say it again.

Upgrade Internet Explorer to the latest version. Keep it patched. But don’t use it. Use Firefox or Chrome or Opera or any other Web browser you fancy.

Sorry if I sound like a broken record. I’ve been advising on this blog since November, 2006, that you should dump IE and use Firefox.

Ed Bott has come down hard on IE 6. “Any IT professional who is still allowing IE6 to be used in a corporate setting is guilty of malpractice.” I wouldn’t go quite that far with IE 7 and IE 8, but with rare exceptions there’s absolutely no reason to continue using any version of IE. The German government and French government have both recommended abandoning IE, and I’m with them.

If your company absolutely insists on sticking with IE for compatibility reasons, they should be focusing most of their development resources on bringing their internal systems up to snuff. There are no good excuses left. Switch.