NetMarketshare: Internet Explorer usage up a touch, Edge down

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https://twitter.com/teroalhonen/status/1013509769531969537
[See the full post at: NetMarketshare: Internet Explorer usage up a touch, Edge down]

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JohnW, columbia2011

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What I really don’t understand is the 61% Chrome usage….

I use FF 90% of the time.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Northwest Rick

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Nor me, but an awful lot of people seem to think Chrome is wonderful. I’ve had to ring a couple of technical helplines recently (the fault was in each case at their end, by the way, not my PC!) and when I told them I use FireFox in preference to Chrome, they virtually snorted with disgust. But FF does everything for me.

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Fred, JohnW

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Chrome got “lucky” when Firefox was stuck at sub-par, before Quantum came out, and IE and Edge were both horrible. IE still is as it’s the most susceptible of the big four to malware attacks. Many long time IE users, on Windows 7 and 8.x, aren’t going to change their browser until their current PC’s die. Most won’t know that IE is still available, buried in the Windows Accessories folder, in Windows 10. Edge has improved and is usable. Firefox and Chrome both work well, IMO. Avoiding Google is a personal choice that has nothing to do with how well Chrome functions as a browser.

GreatAndPowerfulTech

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Bill C.

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Nowadays, when browser agent strings can be reprogrammed so that they look like other browsers it’s a bit hard to think of such stats as hard data.

What does the browser I choose to use for most things go into such stats as? Pale Moon (a FireFox derivative) with the User Agent Mode set to Firefox Compatibility (and which also has choices for Native and Gecko Compatibility).

And let’s not forget who it is that gathers such stats.

Thinking about that a bit… Given that I block tracking sites, my own browsing particulars may not impact the stats at all.

And are all the Android phones with high res screens that people with good eyes have set to request the desktop sites tallying browser brownie points for Google? Are we sure they define “desktop” the way we think?

Too many questions to take these stats very seriously.

Personally I wouldn’t choose to install Google software on my computer if I had other choices.

-Noel

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MrJimPhelps, David F, HiFlyer, Microfix, BobbyB, Elly

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JohnW wrote:

I use FF 90% of the time.

Likewise, except for me it’s about 99%. If I encounter the odd site that would require me to contort FF settings beyond recognition just so it will run, I resort to IE instead, then zap all history before I close it down.

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My reason is simple and for security (not privacy) purposes only.

No Flash ever touches my FF.  It’s kept to strict HTML5 only. 🙂

I use Chrome for those stupid sites that still embed Flash videos.  At least Google usually keeps Chrome updated with the latest flash security advisories, no manual maintenance required.

And in addition to my tracking and blacklisting protection and I use CCleaner to erase my file tracks daily, cache, history, cookies, etc.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Internet Explorer being more used than Firefox?
Wooooaaaah, the times have changed…

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Probably because MS uses IE for updates.  Other then that the percentage would be less.

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WildBill

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We use IE at my job. When we moved to Windows10 several months ago, we continued to use IE.

When I am on a Windows10 computer, I sometimes use Edge; in fact, I like Edge, because it is fast, faster than IE.

At home, however, I use Firefox and Opera.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I have always believed you should use a separate browser (or computer for that matter) for your “secure” browsing like online banking, etc., and another for your general web surfing.

I use Edge for that now (replaced IE for that purpose only), and everything else is mostly FF.

I really wonder when enterprises are going to break free of IE?  Seems they hitched their future to custom intranet apps years ago and are reluctant to move on.  At least they did at my last employer.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Speaking of Opera, I first started using it on my old Vista machine after IE slowed to a crawl. Opera was fast, easy to use, and easy to configure. It’s my favorite browser. So I’m wondering why it’s so unpopular. Am I missing something important – some big flaw or drawback?

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That won’t last forever. IE 11 only runs on Windows 7 & 8.1. Unless they’re counting older versions running on Win7 or older machines as well. Edge is exclusively for Windows 10. The more Win7/8.1 machines are upgraded to Win10, the more Edge usage goes up & IE goes down. Of course, since Chrome & Firefox are available for multiple platforms, they’ll still lead. I run Firefox on Win8.1 because I don’t like that Chrome won’t track me.

Bought a refurbished Windows 10 64-bit, currently updated to 22H2. Have broke the AC adapter cord going to the 8.1 machine, but before that, coaxed it into charging. Need to buy new adapter if wish to continue using it.
Wild Bill Rides Again...

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Internet Explorer 11 is included with Windows 10. However, Microsoft would rather you use Edge.

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WildBill

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I’m running IE 11 with Windows10 as we speak.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I come from the “plug-in D’Jour” days…Firefox used to be my favorite, years ago…ran it for nearly 10 years…then, … a rash of security issues made me switch over to Chrome.

(The internet was not as malware-laden in olden times.)

Through a series of add-ons, tweaks, internal surgery etc., I managed to defang the thing to where it is as innocuous as it can be bludgeoned into on the snooping front.  I liked the fact that it’s fairly well sandboxed. But it still can be a pain once in a while.

Having said that, I may go back and take a look at FF again; seems they have come up a bit in the world again.  Never a good thing to have just one browser. I have IE as a backup.

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I have not had a single FF crash since the 64-bit multi process version was released.

Very stable and a good performer!

And you can disable telemetry!  🙂

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Bill C.

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As an experienced user of Mozilla browser since the Phoenix/ Firebird days, it works as I want and it’s just so easy tailoring the browser to my known and trusted specific settings continually for each new version, each to their own.

As Noel has pointed out, user agents can affect marketshare results!

Business aside, it’s all relative to the lazy PC/ Tablet/ Mobile culture of today, most don’t want to know, just that it works for them.

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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Noel Carboni, JohnW, columbia2011

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JohnW wrote:

What I really don’t understand is the 61% Chrome usage…. I use FF 90% of the time.

That’s really quite simple. Chrome has been ‘bundled’ with just about every bit of freeware (and more) that people have downloaded for the past several years.

And, since most people just ‘click through’ without reading when installing their nice new bit of freeware they suddenly find this extra icon on their desktop/taskbar for Google Chrome and wonder “where did that come from?” (it is always ticked to install by default).

I’ve even had one or two friends who didn’t even realize Chrome had been installed (despite the presence of the abovementioned icon).

All of these probably count in the statistics even if these people never even use Chrome after it is installed.

Even my Gigabyte motherboard driver discs over the past 3 years have had Chrome on them (recommended by Gigabyte and ticked to install by default, of course).

I’m sure Firefox (or any other browser) would be the #1 browser today had they been able to use the same ‘tactics’ as Google has with Chrome.

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Elly, JohnW

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Carl D wrote:

Chrome has been ‘bundled’ with just about every bit of freeware (and more) that people have downloaded for the past several years.

Also add to that one of my personal pet peeves:
the super-annoying pop-up Chrome advert that appears every b***** time I have the audacity to visit Google(.com) using an other-than-Chrome browser…

==========================================
Switch to Chrome, a smarter browser
Google recommends using Chrome. Try it?

==========================================

or sometimes…

==========================================
Switch to Chrome, a smarter browser
Get things done with Google Chrome

==========================================

or occasionally…

==========================================
Switch to Chrome
Set your bookmarks once and browse across all your devices

==========================================

AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

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Cybertooth

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The constant Chrome-nagging on Google.com every time I just wanted to search the Web, finally drove me to DuckDuckGo.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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I agree, nagging is so bothersome. I currently use Firefox with StartPage as my home. I do like DuckDuckGo almost as much. I avoid Google page because of the nagging.

https://www.startpage.com/

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CTRL-K on Firefox brings you to the Firefox (no third-party!) search bar and then it sends your search term to Google, so you only see the Google results page, never the home page. My home page is the Firefox one with the search to Google behind. I didn’t switch to DuckDuckGo, yet. Firefox starts faster with its own home page rather than having to load Google. Of course, I also disabled everything except the search bar on the Firefox home page.

And I keep the search bar in addition to the location bar (CTRL-L) because searching in the location bar (the new default when you install Firefox being to have only one bar for everything) sometimes doesn’t work as well since it might try to convert your search term to a website address.

This set-up is fast and never annoys me.

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Morty

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The USA stats are easier to come by for Netmarketshare. They skew the worldwide stats and give a false picture of user preference for one browser over another. If you look at the most populated countries in the world where online usage is soaring, the access to the usage data is limited.

For desktop usage, IE6 is still in use in China.
June 2018 (China): Chrome 48.27%, IE 2.86%. No FF and no Edge numbers.

June 2018 (India): Chrome 50.83%, Opera 6.45%, Firefox 2.54%.

The rest of Asia?

Even the stats I have found are questionable.

It appears that the stats on mobile browser usage is closer to reality outside the USA. These stats are easier to come by and a truer representation of user choice. Many companies limit the choice of browser on company desktops and some give no choice at all.

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Got to figure in some markets mobile rules, which is why you see such a big tick in mobile browsers. Its pretty obvious why Microsoft ported Edge to Android and IOS because of this. Although it really hasn’t improved Edge’s numbers overall. Chrome has obviously made a huge dent in mobile and PC browser markets. Its in command overall in all markets and is seriously ahead in most. I think this is rather bad for the web overall as it gives Google a lot of leverage in dictation web directions.

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Cybertooth

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Edge for me just isn’t there to use every day. Chrome has had 10 years to seal up a dominate place in browser market and realistically neither Edge or Firefox have offered much in the way of dramatic improvements to sway Chrome users to switch. I scratch my head too about Chrome given the recent push for better privacy. But clearly addiction to Google products have left users tied to its grip even though many probably would like to move away. I use Firefox mostly now, and occasionally use Edge. I avoid anything Google as much as I can these days.

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Microfix wrote:

…Business aside, it’s all relative to the lazy PC/ Tablet/ Mobile culture of today, most don’t want to know, just that it works for them.

Yes, that is so true.  At least until it doesn’t.  Then they buy a new device and ‘upgrade’.

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Firefox. No chrome, just brass.

On permanent hiatus {with backup and coffee}
offline▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.572 x64 i3-3220 RAM8GB HDD Firefox83.0b3 WindowsDefender
offline▸ Acer TravelMate P215-52 RAM8GB Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1265 x64 i5-10210U SSD Firefox106.0 MicrosoftDefender
online▸ Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1992 x64 i5-9400 RAM16GB HDD Firefox116.0b3 MicrosoftDefender

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I use Firefox version 60.0.2 about 99% of the time with no problems. I rarely play with the Opera browser (version 54 now), although I do not care that the Chinese bought Opera a while back. I suspect Google Chrome is so prevalent because of the money that Google has, remember the phrase ‘Follow the money’ ?  Mozilla just does not have the billions of $ that Google has. Here is an interesting fairly current read from 30 May 2018:

https://www.fastcodesign.com/90174010/bye-chrome-why-im-switching-to-firefox-and-you-should-too

It is probably too much work to get Firefox on all the Android smartphones, tho.

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