Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 RC hits 2M downloads

 

Gallery

Posted on 17 Feb 2011 at 10:54

Microsoft has claimed that its next release of the Internet Explorer browser, version 9, will be the most successful yet - and with over two million downloads of the release candidate, it's clear that there's a lot of interest in the new version.

Released late last week, Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate 1 is a feature-complete version of the upcoming web browser. Designed to allow advanced users and businesses to test the software ahead of its official release later this month, it provides a sneak preview of the features that Microsoft will be introducing.

The biggest change from the current version, Internet Explorer 8, is the introduction of so-called 'do not track' technology. Designed to improve privacy on the Internet, the feature allows users to prevent advertisers from tracking visits between sites using special headers and a customisable blacklist.

The company has also addressed concerns regarding the security of its ActiveX scripting platform, which has been abused in the past to attack systems running Windows and Internet Explorer. To help prevent future attacks, Internet Explorer 9 introduces a filter, allowing ActiveX content to be blocked on a per-site basis - rather than the per-user basis of previous versions.

Performance enhancements that see the traditionally poor JavaScript performance of Internet Explorer dramatically improved, enhanced support for new HTML5 technologies, and built-in support for Google's open-source WebM video codec are also included in the release candidate.

Microsoft has seen the popularity of Internet Explorer, which ships by default with Windows, decline in recent years as Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox both gain in market share - but Internet Explorer 9 could mark the reversing of the trend.

The final Internet Explorer 9 release is due to hit Windows Update later this month.

Author: Gareth Halfacree