5 More Reasons Why IE6 Must Die

It’s no secret that we don’t like Internet Explorer 6 (IE6), the outdated 10+ year old browser still used by 15-25% of people on the web. Last year, we called for IE6 to die so that the web could move on with new innovations such as HTML 5.

Now Internet Explorer, specifically IE6, is under fire again after a critical IE vulnerability was implicated for the attack on Google’s infrastructure by Chinese hackers. While IE6 criticism is not a new phenomenon, last week’s events give those of us who advocate for the abolition of IE6 (myself included) new ammunition.

Whether you work for a company that won’t get rid of IE6 or have parents that just don’t see the need to ugprade, here are five new reasons to upgrade or switch browsers:

1. Your security and your company’s security are at risk: There’s no other way to lay it out: if the security of Google, Yahoo, and around 20 other companies were compromised due to people still running IE6, then your security is at risk too. Upgrading after a hacker uses this exploit to steal your information is simply too late, especially if you hold sensitive customer data.

2. World governments are suggesting you switch browsers: Both Germany and France have issued warnings about Internet Explorer, asking citizens to switch to prevent the same type of breach that affected Google.

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IE8 On the Horizon

Potentially big news for Internet Explorer users and designers alike:

Microsoft have announced that Internet Explorer 8.0 will be released via the Windows Automatic Update starting on the third week of April 2009 (view the IEBlog announcement). The final version of the browser has been available for download since 20 March, but its uptake has been fairly sedate and is probably limited to web developers and early adopters.

The Automatic Update is likely to change the situation significantly. All IE6 and IE7 users on Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008 will receive an IE8 update notification. It will be marked as “High-priority” in XP and 2003, and “Important” in Vista and 2008. The roll out will initially target a small audience but expand to cover the entire user base over the coming weeks.

However, IE8 will not install automatically and a welcome screen will give users the option to install, ask later, or abandon the upgrade. The company have also released a blocker toolkit so IT administrators can disable the update.

Despite the massive roll-out, what most web developers need to know is: will this finally eradicate IE6?

The only real way to test these waters is to wait and see--in the past, IE6 users have opted against getting the upgrade, choosing to stay instead with an interface they already were familiar with.

Story at Sitepoint.