Internet Explorer is no longer supported Today is the last day to use the browser

SAN FRANCISCO: It's official: Internet Explorer is being retired. Microsoft is ending its support for the once-dominant browser that many online users despise but others still like as of Wednesday. Now it joins the likes of Blackberry phones, dial-up modems and Palm Pilots in the history of technology.

Internet Explorer

The downfall of IE was hardly a shock. For the first time in a year, Microsoft has announced that it will phase down Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022 and encourage users to switch to its Edge browser.

At that point, the firm was adamant about moving on.

According to Sean Lyndersay, general manager of Microsoft Edge Enterprise, "Not only is Microsoft Edge a quicker, more secure, and more contemporary surfing experience than Internet Explorer," he stated in a May 2021 blog post.

On Twitter, users noted the demise of Explorer, calling it "a bug-ridden, insecure POS" or "the best browser for installing other browsers." In the minds of others, it was an opportunity to partake in 90s nostalgia memes, while a 22-year-old told the Wall Street Journal she was sorry to see Internet Explorer depart.

Internet Explorer was developed by Microsoft in 1995, during the Netscape Navigator period of online browsing, which was dominated by the first widely popular browser. As a result of Microsoft's decision to firmly integrate IE with its widely adopted Windows operating system, many people began using it instead of Navigator as soon as it was released.

By making it mandatory for computer manufacturers to use Microsoft's browser as part of Windows, the Justice Department claimed that Microsoft had breached an earlier consent agreement. Antitrust challenges against its exploitation of its Windows monopoly to stifle rivals were settled in 2002.

Also, European authorities complained that linking IE to Windows gave it an unfair edge over competitors such as Mozilla's Firefox, Opera, and Chrome.

In the meanwhile, users complained that IE was sluggish, unstable, and prone to hacking. Internet Explorer (IEdominance )'s in the early 2000s was waning as users discovered better browsers.

According to Statcounter, Google Chrome now has a 65 percent share of the global browser market, followed by Apple Safari at 19 percent. In terms of market share, Edge trails behind IE by just 4%.