IE 7 in the works to combat Firefox
news release:
Today at the RSA Security Conference in SanFrancisco, Bill gates announced plans for a new version of the world’s most widely used Internet browser. Experimental versions of Internet Explorer 7 are expected to be ready for testing as early as this summer. The new and improved IE is apparently being developed with security being tops on the priority list. Measures to help users avoid ‘Phishing’ scams, spyware and viruses are expected to addressed in full as Gates pointed out that Microsoft has dedicated nearly $2 billion of it’s annual research and development budget on security.
While Internet Explorer still holds in excess of 90% of the browser marketshare, the new Firefox browser continues to gain popularity largely from veteran surfers seeking a higher level of security. Some statistics show Firefox with as much as 5% of the browser market. While 5% may be a far cry from IE’s 90%, it represents one of the strongest showings from a non IE browser in the past 10 years or so.
Very interesting, don't forget that XPSP2 was able to successfully block almost all popup methods known at the time (and still does!), and although there were some minor issues with software compatability it rolled out relatively successfully. Hopefully they will be able to come out with a good clean release that promotes security
cheers,
Luke
