BBC: Users of the world's most common web browser (good old IE!) have been advised to switch to a rival until a serious security flaw has been fixed. Microsoft Security Advisory 961051. [more inside]
posted by chuckdarwin on Dec 16, 2008 - 116 comments

Patent squatters Eolas decide to break a significant portion of the websites in the world. (Previously)
posted by Tlogmer on Mar 20, 2006 - 89 comments

Google pays $1 for every IE user converted to Firefox - but why? Google don't own Firefox, so is this only to piss off Microsoft?
posted by Orange Goblin on Nov 30, 2005 - 58 comments

Internet Explorer - We discovered the web. Check out this humorous parody site created for Microsoft's browser Internet Explorer. Something tells me this won't be up for too much longer though.
posted by sjvilla79 on May 28, 2005 - 37 comments

Internet Explorer 7. Dean Edwards does what a team of developers with billions behind them apparently can't -- update IE to work with modern standards. Almost, anyway... as he says, it's still in alpha, and has its quirks, but check out the Pure CSS Menus demo, for example.
posted by weston on Jul 29, 2004 - 19 comments

With its latest security update Microsoft has disabled the ability to pass username:password pairs in URLs. If you usually use this format for connecting to your site via either FTP or HTTP, it will no longer work after you install this update.
posted by johnnydark on Feb 4, 2004 - 34 comments

Microsoft's IE team is calling for input into the future of their browser. Over lunch with Robert Scoble they communicated that they're working hard on security patches. So where do you come in?

"The team is looking to work with community members to improve Internet Explorer. That means blogs. That means taking harsh feedback. That means having a dialog about the future that's frank and as open as possible."

With an opportunity like this we should forgo mere whining and name calling, and participate.
posted by will on Jan 14, 2004 - 46 comments

Eolas® Technologies Inc. owns the plugin concept. Meet US Patent 5,838,906: "The patent claims to cover mechanisms for embedding objects within distributed hypermedia documents, where at least some of the object's data is located external to the document, and there is a control path to the object's implementation to support user interaction with the object." Eolas sued Microsoft, was awarded $521 million, Microsoft is appealing, and the W3C held (Macromedia hosted) an ad hoc meeting on the recent court decision and launched a discussion list. Microsoft plans to promptly make changes to Internet Explorer. If this follows through, what are the negative and positive implications?
posted by aaronshaf on Sep 2, 2003 - 29 comments

Microsoft to discontinue development of IE for the Mac... Surprisingly this apparently isn't being done because of the low market share for Macintosh, but rather as a side effect of the increasing integration (whether real or alleged) between IE and the Operating System, which on the Mac is closed, so MS can cease development as support for their claims of mandatory integration between browser & OS. I await the next step, mandatory integration between email & OS? IM? Media tools? Net access?
posted by jonson on Jun 13, 2003 - 68 comments

AOL and Microsoft settle AOL's Netscape lawsuit. AOL gets $750 million and keeps IE as its default browser for seven years. Is this the death of Netscape?
posted by timeistight on May 31, 2003 - 33 comments

While MS-bashing is often too easy, this statement about recent security holes seemed especially astounding: "Outlook Express ships with every Windows system, or rather as part of IE, so it's on every system. But unless it is configured to receive mail, you are not at risk," said Scott Culp, manager for Microsoft security response. Interesting. Unless it is configured to receive mail, like, you know, an email program.
posted by judith on Oct 11, 2002 - 30 comments

Microsoft has designed a Windows XP patch that will trick computers into behaving as though IE, Outlook Express, and Messenger aren't there, though not removing them, per the requirements of its antitrust settlement. They demonstrated a working version to the AP yesterday. Oh yeah, and they're releasing it as a 40 megabyte download. In August. And it's other primary function will be to potentially sabotage the operating system. Good ol' Microsoft.
posted by gsteff on May 23, 2002 - 14 comments

Microsoft must include Java with XP and IE. Sun sues Microsoft for including Java, then sues Microsoft for not including Java. Fascinating.
posted by milnak on Mar 8, 2002 - 33 comments

AOL's Netscape sues Microsoft for damage done to its Netscape Internet browser by violations of antitrust law found in a separate government case against the software giant. "I don't see this case as primarily about money. I see it as primarily about injunctive relief,'' said Steve Salop, a Georgetown University law professor.
posted by hitsman on Jan 22, 2002 - 9 comments

"MS releases mother of all IE security patches" Per the article: Microsoft has released a cumulative patch for Internet Explorer which the firm says is a "critical" security precaution against crackers which should be applied "immediately". Time to update/upgrade boys and girls. :)
posted by crankydoodle on Dec 14, 2001 - 11 comments

"Opening a file type previously considered safe, e.g. plain text or HTML file isn't safe with IE". (via email, you wouldn't know him)
posted by holloway on Dec 11, 2001 - 13 comments

Internet Explorer 6 final is out for windows. Hopefully they've worked all the bugs out from the public beta. They're claiming full 100% standards support for DOM level 1 and CSS 1 (it only took five years!), though time will tell how accurate that claim is.
posted by mathowie on Aug 27, 2001 - 64 comments

Microsoft Kills IE6 Smart Tags "External feedback" was one of the factors that led the company to remove the feature, although he indicated it could be resurrected in later versions. Perhaps the constant barrage of complaints worked on this one? They've got it working, now they are back peddling. I for one am glad, "No Squiggly Lines".
posted by benjh on Jun 28, 2001 - 68 comments

MSIE leaves the door wide open on your Windows OS... I can't believe that the myriad "security holes" are coincidental... maybe we should call them back doors. I mean, really... who do they think they're kidding? We all know who really wants surreptitious access to our systems. [via Glish]
posted by silusGROK on Apr 3, 2001 - 5 comments

IE 6.0 beta? It looks like they leaked a copy (Win 2000 only). Many screenshots. More integration with MSN, sidebars (explorer bars), media player, etc.
posted by tremendo on Jan 29, 2001 - 18 comments

To those who are interested in such things, IE 5.5 is out, with all kinds of new and not that important features, including those great colored scroll bars.
posted by endquote on Jul 12, 2000 - 23 comments

MS Cookie Patch Breaks Some Images - We noticed something odd today. Those of us with IE 5.0 who installed the patch to close the cookie security hole can no longer see many of the images on the Washington Post site. People who installed the patch on IE4 still can; and IE5 users without the patch also can. [More inside thread...]
posted by julen on May 19, 2000 - 6 comments

You know their server isn't particularly secure; well neither is their browser.
posted by ericost on Apr 19, 2000 - 2 comments

More from the WSP on IE5.5, "a browser that strikes out on complete support for any standard." Things are getting ugly.
posted by ericost on Apr 12, 2000 - 3 comments

The Web Standards Project blasts Microsoft's "arrogant" break with standards in IE 5.5/Windows Edition. Please read the press release and, if you agree, post it to your favorite mailing lists and news groups. This must not stand.
posted by Zeldman on Apr 10, 2000 - 5 comments

IE 5.5 beta is out, and there's an article on MSDN describing its new features. Most interesting are the user comments, where everyone's saying "standards! standards!" (click "read user comments" at the bottom of the page)
posted by endquote on Apr 7, 2000 - 9 comments