[quote=BBC News][b]Google has begun to phase out support for Internet Explorer 6, the browser identified as the weak link in a cyber attack on the search engine.[/b]
The firm said from 1 March some of its services, such as Google Docs, would not work "properly" with the browser.
It recommended individuals and firms upgrade "as soon as possible".
Google threatened to withdraw from the Chinese market following the "sophisticated and targeted" attacks, which it said originated in China.
Hackers used a flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser to target the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
[b]'Key functionality'[/b]
Following Google's revelations, the French and German governments advised their citizens to switch to a different browser until the hole had been closed.
Microsoft reacted by quickly updating the browser, nearly three weeks ahead of its regular security update.
However, Google has now said it is going to phase out support for the browser "starting with Google Docs and Google Sites".
It said that as a result, some "key functionality" of the applications would not work when used with IE6.
Google Docs is the firm's answer to products such as Microsoft Office, whilst Google Sites allows people to create web pages.
"The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice," wrote Google's Rajen Sheth in a blog post.
"Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively."
[b]Threat downplayed[/b]
Around 20% of web users still use the nine-year old browser, including many UK government departments.
But many developers want to see the browser phased out as soon as possible.
The online campaign ie6nomore, supported by more than 70 web firms, says that because the browser does not support modern web standards it restricts what developers can do and is "holding the web back".
Microsoft has said that it will support the browser until 2014.
Microsoft has released a fix for Internet Explorer and recommended that customers install the update as soon as possible or update to the latest version of the web browser for "improved security".
Microsoft normally issues patches monthly but the high-profile nature of the attacks led it to act more quickly.
[b]Market share[/b]
The UK government played down the threat and said there was "no evidence that moving from the latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure".
However, Microsoft took the unusual step of patching the hole nearly three weeks ahead of its regular security update.
The new patch is available via the Microsoft Update site and will also be fed out to those who have their machines set to update automatically. All versions of Internet Explorer will receive the update.
Microsoft has admitted that it has known about the vulnerability "since early September" 2009 and had planned to patch it in February.
The bad publicity has allowed rivals such as Firefox to gain market share.
According to web analytics company StatCounter, Firefox is now a close second to Internet Explorer (IE) in Europe, with 40% of the market compared to Microsoft's 45% share.
In some markets, including Germany and Austria, Firefox has overtaken IE, the firm said.
Mozilla, the foundation behind Firefox, has just released the latest version (3.6) of the open-source browser.[/quote]
[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8488751.stm]BBC News source[/url]
[url=http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/01/modern-browsers-for-modern-applications.html]Google's announcement in full[/url]
Wow, I didn't know Firefox was so close to IE in Europe. Just 5% separates them now. Worldwide IE has a much larger lead.
yey
[QUOTE=smurfy;19955220]Wow, I didn't know Firefox was so close to IE in Europe. Just 5% separates them now. Worldwide IE has a much larger lead.[/QUOTE]
In germany Firefox is already leading the browser-statistic. :smug:
They couldn't package IE with Windows 7 in the EU could they?
[b]Finally.[/b] I was wondering if we could ever get rid of that archaic browser.
2k posts :toot:
It's about time they did this.
[QUOTE=Cloak Raider;19955411]They couldn't package IE with Windows 7 in the EU could they?[/QUOTE]
No, Microsoft decided to ship it with IE anyway. Not sure how they were allowed to because the EU never gave them permission but whatever.
Why can't there just be support for everything on all browsers?
They're just web browsers :sigh:
[QUOTE=smurfy;19955691]No, Microsoft decided to ship it with IE anyway. Not sure how they were allowed to because the EU never gave them permission but whatever.[/QUOTE]
They have that browser ballot thing.
Also Google shouldn't have been supporting IE6 until now. They should have stopped 3 years ago. Or at the very most when Chrome came about.
[QUOTE=SkynrdFan1;19955731]Why can't there just be support for everything on all browsers?
They're just web browsers :sigh:[/QUOTE]
:p I KINDA AGREE
[QUOTE=SkynrdFan1;19955731]Why can't there just be support for everything on all browsers?
They're just web browsers :sigh:[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Pilotclan9404;19955944]:p I KINDA AGREE[/QUOTE]
Go build websites, you'll see.
[QUOTE=timgames;19956110]Go build websites, you'll see.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, countless of times I had a website crashing on Internet Explorer and not on any other browser.
Some websites need their code remade just because internet explorer can't handle it.
I wasn't aware that people even USED IE 6.
[QUOTE=SkynrdFan1;19955731]Why can't there just be support for everything on all browsers?
They're just web browsers :sigh:[/QUOTE]
Let's imagine we're the World Wide Web consortium. And we want to create a new feature for HTML, which is what websites are built on, to use.
Firefox will support the new feature within 3.5 seconds, as its dedicated userbase will develop the browser to work with it.
Internet explorer 8 will eventually work with the new feature as Microsoft develops it to.
Internet Explorer 6? They're not developing it anymore. No new feature. Sucks to be them. Actually no, sucks to be the web developers that have to use workarounds and cheats to get it to work with IE6.
[QUOTE=Jax Strife;19956519]I wasn't aware that people even USED IE 6.[/QUOTE]
You would assume everyone who used IE would be on 7 or 8 now, yes.
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;19956713]Internet Explorer 6? They're not developing it anymore. No new feature. Sucks to be them. Actually no, sucks to be the web developers that have to use workarounds and cheats to get it to work with IE6.[/QUOTE]
Or they just say "screw you" to the three old men using IE 6 and leave it as is.
[QUOTE=Xenocidebot;19956760]Or they just say "screw you" to the [B]twenty percent of net users[/B] using IE 6 and leave it as is.[/QUOTE]
fixed
:sigh:
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;19956787]fixed
:sigh:[/QUOTE]
No, broken.
[url]http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp[/url]
December 2009: IE6, 10.9%
[QUOTE=Xenocidebot;19956837]No, broken.
[url]http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp[/url]
December 2009: IE6, 10.9%[/QUOTE]
Most people going to W3 aren't going to be using IE6. Skewed result.
Why update? My IE5 works just fine!
[QUOTE=Panda X;19956891]Most people going to W3 aren't going to be using IE6. Skewed result.[/QUOTE]
But yet Net Applications, which doesn't even provide a list of the sites they monitor, doesn't provide equally flawed data?
Sorry, if you're still using IE6 then you really really really need to catch up with the times.
IE6 is so ancient. About time it died.
My school still uses it.
[QUOTE=green bandit;19958145]My school still uses it.[/QUOTE]So does mine.
Yay
fuck that means it won't work at school
[QUOTE=Cheesemonkey;19958812]fuck that means it won't work at school[/QUOTE]
A good reason to convince them to upgrade.
you think i haven't tried
the tech guy told me that upgrading all of the computers would cost too much
[editline]07:06PM[/editline]
im not sure if the labor would cost too much or if he thinks it costs money though
[QUOTE=SkynrdFan1;19955731]Why can't there just be support for everything on all browsers?
They're just web browsers :sigh:[/QUOTE]
Because Internet Shitexploder sucks at standards. You make a website, compliant to the web standards and then IE is like "GO REWRITE THE WEBSITE IN PASCAL YOU MOTHERFUCKER YEAH OR I WON'T READ IT".
Shitexploder...haha.
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