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Once IE is
updated, future changes will
be applied without a user's knowledge
|
From
January, Internet Explorer (IE) users will be automatically updated to the
latest version of the browser.
Microsoft
said it was starting the project to update millions of machines to improve
security online.
Future
updates to the browser would be applied without a user's knowledge to help beat
scammers catching people out with fake updates.
Those who
did not want their browser updated could opt out or uninstall the software,
said Microsoft.
"The
Web overall is better - and safer - when more people run the most up-to-date
browser," wrote Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's IE boss, in a blogpost explaining the plan.
He said the
data gathered by Microsoft for its security intelligence reports showed that
many cyber criminals targeted old or outdated software when they tried to trick
people into installing fake updates.
To beat
such scams, Mr Gavin, said that once the latest version of the browser was
installed all future updates would arrive silently and be applied without a
user getting involved.
Chester
Wisniewski, senior security advisor at Sophos, said the plan would aid those
who did not see the importance of staying up to date.
"Microsoft
has been struggling with browser stragglers for years," he said in a statement.
Demise of
IE6
The giant
upgrade programme will affect IE users running Windows XP, Vista and 7, and
will first be rolled out in Australia and Brazil. Only those Windows users with
automatic updates turned on will be enrolled in the programme.
Those using
Windows XP will be upgraded to IE8, while those on Vista and 7 get bumped up to
IE9. This will probably mean the demise of IE6, a 10-year-old version of the
browser that Microsoft has been trying to kill off for a while.
Figures
gathered by Microsoft suggest IE6 is used by about 8.3% of people around the
world, with the biggest number of users in China, where almost 28% of people
remain wedded to it.
Globally,
Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser, with more than 52% of
people using it, according to net market research firm Net Applications.
Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome are battling it out for second place.
Microsoft
said it had made tools that would let people avoid or uninstall the more
up-to-date versions of the browsers if they wanted to stay with an older copy.
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