Microsoft revealed that it will end support for older IE versions in January 2016.
Ending support for older OS or browsers is a traditional practice among companies like Microsoft and Apple. While Apple gets away easily by offering free upgrades, Microsoft's process of updating software is a lengthy and painful process. After being criticized for the demise of Windows XP, Microsoft announced Thursday that it is ending support for the older versions of Internet Explorer by January 12, 2016.
The announcement was made via Microsoft's IE Blog, where the company listed the combinations of different operating systems and IE versions that will receive uninterrupted support and security updates by Microsoft. These include, Windows Vista SP2 and Internet Explorer 9, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Internet Explorer 9, Windows 7 SP1 and Internet Explorer 11, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1and Internet Explorer 11, Windows 8.1 and Internet Explorer 11, Windows Server 2012 and Internet Explorer 10 and Windows Server 2012 R2 and Internet Explorer 11.
The Internet Explorer 8 was not mentioned in any combination, which means the older version will be completely dropped like the Windows XP OS. The IE 8 remains a popular choice for several desktop users, so it Microsoft will have to ry hard to persuade users to upgrade to the later versions before January 2016, ZDNet reports.
According to an analysis by Net Applications, IE 8 runs on 21.5 percent of worldwide PCs powered by a desktop OS. It is the most popular single browser version, outpacing the newer versions of IE along with Google Chrome 36 and others.
Even after suggested end date for IE 8 support, the browser will run but Microsoft will not offer any technical support or security updates.
