Internet Explorer versions

Internet Explorer versions and security: Simply said, the newer, the better. For various reasons, some computer users may still be using old versions of their browser, and here we focus mostly on Internet Explorer. Using old versions of Internet Explorer is quite stupid; although you may need in special cases where some ActiveX controls may not run under newer versions of Internet Explorer, still this is a stupid thing to do, and here is why. During time, lots of vulnerabilities have been discovered and each Internet Explorer version is basically more secure than the previous one. But Microsoft drops support and updating for certain versions of Internet Explorer as time goes by. For example Internet Explorer 5.0 is not supported anymore. What happens is, that once a new vulnerability is discovered into such Internet Explorer version, users will NOT be protected anymore from it because their computer browser will never get updated through Automatic Updates or the Windows Update website, simply because new patches for such vulnerabilities affecting older versions of Internet Explorer will never be released. Therefore, users that are running older versions of Internet Explorer are exposing themselves to serious risks.

A similar risk may affect other applications as well. If you are using any kind of browser or other application that uses the Internet to communicate, you need to make sure you are using the latest version with all security updates. Often, some programs and services like let's say, remote desktop applications or firewalls, may fall victims of security vulnerabilities and an attacker can take control over it. Even firewall appliances may suffer from such vulnerabilities, and their firmware must be always kept updated, for similar reasons.

What to do? First of all, install a newer version of Internet Explorer - and you definitely need to install the latest version available. When you connect to the Windows Update website, if you are still using an older, and possibly unsupported version of Internet Explorer, you will be prompted that you should take action and install the latest version of Internet Explorer available for your operating system; it is advisable that you do so. Old versions of operating systems like Win98 for example are no longer updated; if you are still using such operating system, the advice is to drop it and move to a newer one like Windows XP, because such old operating system are anything but secure since they are no longer supported by Microsoft. Finally, you can always check your browser vulnerability online through free testing tools like the ones provided by Symantec for example. It pays to be protected, and you need to keep your computer constantly updated.