After more than 25 years, Microsoft is shutting down a service that was used multiple times. What was announced in May 2021 is now coming true.

Dortmund – Microsoft made a drastic decision: After 27 years, the browser icon Internet Explorer is now being retired. Because in the meantime Microsoft has already exchanged it for the new browser.

Internet Explorer: Microsoft is discontinuing its browser icon in 2022

In today’s world, Internet Explorer can, according to Techbook.de Can’t keep up with the competition anymore. Unlike mobile internet, the software is said to be slow and complicated. The result: Microsoft’s first rarely used browser. So the company announced the end of the browser in May 2021.

Now’s the time: Internet Explorer is finally set to be shut down on June 15th. There are no further security updates since June 2021 and Internet Explorer also disappeared from the Microsoft 365 office suite in August 2021, as Techbook.de informed of. Instead, the company is said to have focused on Microsoft Edge – the software maker’s new web browser (more .) digitalNews on RUHR24).

Microsoft ends Internet service – with consequences for some users

What does this mean for users? Of course, the number of people using Windows Explorer has steadily decreased in recent years. According to Statista, Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox are becoming increasingly popular.

In May 2022, it was said that there were just 0.8 percent using Microsoft web browsers – but it is not clear whether the figures also include companies. For many users, the shutdown of Internet service after more than 25 years will be hardly noticeable.

However, those who hold on to Internet Explorer until the end of June 15 will no longer be able to open it by the specified date. As can be seen from the blog entry by the software giant, the Edge browser should open automatically. The future of Internet Explorer from Windows 10 is Microsoft Edge, the article further says. As a result, users have no choice but to use the new browser – or switch to a completely different one.

Internet Explorer: That’s why Microsoft stuck with the software

Microsoft is said to have stuck with Internet Explorer for one reason only. Explorer was indispensable to many companies, as some older web applications could only be used with it. According to Microsoft, companies have an average of 1678 websites and applications that require Explorer.

Microsoft has come up with a solution so that these companies can continue to use the old software. The company is now using a newer, Chromium-based version of the Edge browser with the so-called IE Mode.

Edge should be able to open pages that previously only worked with Internet Explorer 11. This should enable Microsoft users to surf the Internet faster while using older software at the same time.

List of rubrics: © Mark Lenihan/AP/DPA