Microsoft is ending their support for Internet Explorer 8, 9, and 10 in the middle of January 2016, only providing technical support and updates to IE 11 and Edge. So if you are using one of the older versions of the browser, you could become infected by Malware/Spyware more easily than if you are running one of the newer editions. They are free, so there’s no reason to not upgrade unless your operating system will not support them. Then you really need to consider upgrade your whole system. Windows 7, 7.1 and 10 will all run Internet Explorer 11. Find the downloads on the TechNet Microsoft Internet Explorer page.

If you open an older version of the web browser this week you will receive a message telling you to upgrade. There will also be one last patch distributed to update all virus protection prior to ending support.

Windows 10 came with the Microsoft Edge browser so if you have the latest operating system, you are set. Make sure to set your computer to do automatic updates nightly so you get the latest fixes. Most systems have this setting as the default. You can find the setting in the Control Panel.

Another issue you might have is that websites will not functional properly that were only developed for the new browsers. Switch to compatibility mode if you experience trouble, but often this will not fix the issues.

You can also switch from the Microsoft browsers to the popular Google Chrome browser or Mozilla’s Firefox browser. They are free and work great even with some of the older operating systems. I ran Chrome on an old Windows XP system and do not have trouble. Microsoft feels that their latest browser is better than these rivals, so the push to upgrade is beneficial for them in a number of ways.

Microsoft Ends Support For Internet Explorer Versions 8, 9, & 10