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| Internet Explorer 6 | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Screenshot of Internet Explorer 6 | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Initial release | August 24, 2001; 24 years ago (2001-08-24) |
| Stable release | |
| Engine | MSHTML |
| Operating system | |
| Included with | Windows XP Windows Server 2003 |
| Predecessor | Internet Explorer 5 (1999) |
| Successor | Internet Explorer 7 (2006) |
| License | Proprietary,requires Windows license |
| Website | Internet Explorer 6 (archived atWayback Machine) |
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is a discontinuedweb browser developed byMicrosoft forWindows operating systems. Released on August 24, 2001, it is the sixth version ofInternet Explorer and the successor toInternet Explorer 5.[2] It does not supportWindows 95.[3]
Despite dominating market share (attaining a peak of 90% in mid-2004), this version ofInternet Explorer has been widely criticized for itssecurity issues and lack of support for modern web standards, making frequent appearances in "worst tech products of all time" lists, withPC World labeling it "the least secure software on the planet".[4] In 2004,Mozilla finalizedFirefox to rival IE6, and it became highly popular and acclaimed for its security,add-ons, speed and other modern features such astabbed browsing.[5] Microsoft planned to fix these issues inInternet Explorer 7 by June–August 2005,[6][7] but it was delayed until an October 2006 release, over 5 years after IE6 debuted.
Because a substantial percentage of the web audience still used the outdated browser (especially inChina), campaigns were established in the late 2000s to encourage users to upgrade to newer versions ofInternet Explorer or switch to different browsers. Some websites dropped support for IE6 entirely, most notably of which wasGoogle dropping support in some of its services in March 2010.[8][9] According toMicrosoft's modern.ie website, as of August 2015[update], 3.1% of users inChina and less than 1% in other countries were using IE6.[10]
It was the last version to be calledMicrosoft Internet Explorer. The software was rebranded asWindows Internet Explorer starting with the release ofInternet Explorer 7.
It is the last version of Internet Explorer to supportWindows NT 4.0 SP6a,Windows 98,Windows 2000 andWindows Me, although it is only supported as included inWindows XP RTM–SP1 andWindows Server 2003 RTM.
When IE6 was released, it included several enhancements over its predecessor,Internet Explorer 5. It and itsbrowser engineMSHTML (Trident) are required for many programs, includingMicrosoft Encarta. IE6 improved support forCascading Style Sheets, adding several properties that previously had not been implemented and fixing bugs such as theInternet Explorer box model bug.[11] IE6 introduced a redesigned interface based on the operating system's default theme, Luna.
In addition, IE6 addedDHTML enhancements, content restricted inline frames, and partial support ofDOM level 1 andSMIL 2.0.[12] TheMSXML engine was also updated to version 3.0. Other new features included a new version of theInternet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), which introducedIExpress, a utility to create self-extractingINF-based installation packages,[13] Media bar,Windows Messenger integration, fault collection, automatic image resizing, andP3P. Meanwhile, in 2002, theGopher protocol was disabled.[14]XBM support was dropped.[15]
IE6 was themost widely used web browser during its tenure, surpassingInternet Explorer 5. At its peak in 2002 and 2003, IE6 attained a total market share of nearly 90%, with all versions of IE combined reaching 95%. There was little change in IE's market share for several years untilMozilla Firefox was released and gradually began to gain popularity. Microsoft subsequently resumed development ofInternet Explorer and releasedInternet Explorer 7, further reducing the number of IE6 users.
On May 7, 2003Microsoft online chat, Brian Countryman, Internet Explorer Program Manager, declared that Internet Explorer would cease to be distributed separately from Windows (IE6 would be the last standalone version);[16] it would, however, be continued as a part of the evolution of Windows, with updates coming only bundled in Windows upgrades. Thus, Internet Explorer and Windows itself would be kept more in sync. However, after one release in this fashion. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 was the last version of Internet Explorer to have "Microsoft" in the title: later versions changed branding to "Windows Internet Explorer", as a reaction to the findings of anti-competitivetying of Internet Explorer andWindows raised inUnited States v. Microsoft and theEuropean Union Microsoft competition case.[citation needed]
On March 4, 2011, Microsoft urged web users to stop using IE6 in favor of newer versions of Internet Explorer. They launched a website called IE6 Countdown,[17] which would show much percentage of the world that uses IE6 and aims to get people to upgrade.
Since 2015, all of the older sample questions offered by IE6 Search Companion on Windows XP and other unique functions have been replaced with "Windows 10 Upgrade".[citation needed]
The security advisory siteSecunia reported 24 unpatched vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 6 as of February 9, 2010. These vulnerabilities, which include several "moderately critical" ratings, amount to 17% of the total 144 security risks listed on the website as of February 11, 2010.[18]
As of June 23, 2006,Secunia counted 20 unpatched security flaws for Internet Explorer 6, many more and older than forany other browser, even in each criticality-level, although some of these flaws only affectInternet Explorer when running on certain versions ofWindows or when running in conjunction with certain other applications.[18]
On June 23, 2004, an attacker used two previously undiscovered security holes inInternet Explorer to insertspam-sending software on an unknown number of end-user computers.[19] Thismalware became known asDownload.ject and caused users to infect their computers with aback door andkey logger merely by viewing a web page. Infected sites included several financial sites.
Probably the biggest generic security failing of Internet Explorer (and other web browsers too) is the fact that it runs with the same level of access as the logged-in user, rather than adopting the principle ofleast user access. Consequently, anymalware executing in theInternet Explorerprocess via asecurity vulnerability (e.g. Download.ject in the example above) has the same level of access as the user, something that has particular relevance when that user is anAdministrator. Tools such as DropMyRights[20] can address this issue by restricting thesecurity token of the Internet Explorer process to that of a limited user. However, this added level of security is not installed or available by default, and does not offer a simple way to elevateprivilegesad hoc when required (for example, to accessMicrosoft Update).
Art Manion, a representative of theUnited States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), noted in a vulnerability report that the design of Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 made it difficult to secure. He stated that:
There are several significant vulnerabilities in technologies relating to the IE domain/zone security model, local file system (Local Machine Zone) trust, the Dynamic HTML (DHTML) document object model (in particular, proprietary DHTML features), the HTML Help system, MIME type determination, the graphical user interface (GUI), and ActiveX. … IE is integrated into Windows to such an extent that vulnerabilities in IE frequently provide an attacker significant access to the operating system.[21]
Manion later clarified that most of these concerns were addressed, and other browsers had begun to suffer the same vulnerabilities he identified in the above CERT report.[22]
In response to a belief thatInternet Explorer's frequency of exploitation is due in part to its ubiquity, since its market dominance made it the most obvious target, David Wheeler argues that this is not the full story. He notes thatApache HTTP Server had a much larger market share thanMicrosoft IIS, yetApache traditionally had fewer security vulnerabilities at the time.[23]
As a result of its issues, some security experts, includingBruce Schneier in 2004, recommended that users stop using Internet Explorer for normal browsing, and switch to a different browser instead.[24] Several notable technology columnists suggested the same idea, includingThe Wall Street Journal'sWalt Mossberg[25] and eWeek's Steven Vaughan-Nichols.[26] On July 6, 2004, US-CERT released an exploit report in which the last of seven workarounds was to use a different browser, especially when visiting untrusted sites.[21]
Internet Explorer 6 was the most widely used web browser during its tenure (surpassingInternet Explorer 5.x), attaining a peak percentage in usage share during 2002 and 2003 in the high 80s[contradictory], and together with other versions up to 95%.[27] It only slowly declined up to 2007, when it lost about half its market share toInternet Explorer 7 andMozilla Firefox between late 2006 to 2008.
IE6 remained more popular than its successor in business use for more than a year afterIE7 came out.[28] A 2008DailyTech article noted, "A Survey found 55.2% of companies still use IE 6 as of December 2007", while "IE 7 only has a 23.4 percent adoption rate".[28]
Net Applications estimated IE6 market share at almost 39% for September 2008.[29] According to the same source,IE7 users migrate faster toIE8 than users of its predecessor IE6 did, leading to IE6 once again becoming the most widely used browser during the summer and fall of 2009, eight years after its introduction.[30]
As of February 2010, estimates of IE6's global market share ranged from 10 to 20%.[31][32][33] Nonetheless, IE6 continued to maintain a plurality or even majority presence in the browser market of certain countries, notablyChina[34] andSouth Korea.[35][36]
Google Apps andYouTube dropped support for IE6 in March 2010,[37][38] followed byFacebook chat in September.[39]
On January 3, 2012,Microsoft announced that usage of IE6 in theUnited States had dropped below 1%.[40]
In August 2012, IE6 was still the most popular IE web browser inChina. It was also the second most used browser overall with a total market share of 22.41%, just behind the Chinese-made360 Secure Browser at 26.96%.[41]
In July 2013,Net Applications reported the global market share of IE6 amongst allInternet Explorer browsers to be 10.9%.[42]
As of August 2015, IE6 was being used by <1% users in most countries, with the only exception beingChina (3.1%).[10][43] Usage inChina fell below 1% by the end of the year.[44]
A common criticism ofInternet Explorer is the speed at which fixes are released after the discovery of security problems.
Microsoft attributes the perceived delays to rigorous testing. A posting to the Internet Explorer team blog on August 17, 2004 explained that there are, at minimum, 234 distinct releases of Internet Explorer thatMicrosoft supports (covering more than two dozen languages, and several different revisions of the operating system and browser level for each language), and that every combination is tested before a patch is released.[45]
In May 2006,PC World rated Internet Explorer 6 the eighth worst tech product of all time.[4] A certain degree of complacency has been alleged againstMicrosoft over IE6. With nearly 90% of the browser market, the motive for innovation was not strongly present, resulting in the 5-year time between IE6's introduction and its replacement withIE7. This was a contributing factor for the rapid rise of thefree software alternativeMozilla Firefox.
Unlike most other modern browsers, IE6 does not fully or properly supportCSS version 2, which made it difficult for web developers to ensure compatibility with the browser without degrading the experience for users of more advanced browsers. Developers often resorted to strategies such asCSS hacks,conditional comments, or other forms ofbrowser sniffing to make their websites work in IE6.
Additionally, IE6 lacks support foralpha transparency inPNG images, replacing transparent pixels with a solid colour background (grey unless defined in aPNG bKGD chunk). There is a workaround by way of Microsoft's proprietary AlphaImageLoader, but it is more complicated and not wholly comparable in function.[46]
Due to the long-lasting popularity of Internet Explorer 6, web developers had to work around its lack of interfaces. For example, due to the lack of theposition: fixed parameter in CSS for elements such as top bars that should remain on screen when the user scrolls, JavaScript code had to be used to determine the user's scrolling position and then push down an element positioned withposition: absolute by the same distance to have it remain on screen,[47] or by dividing the page's hypertext into subframes using the<frameset> tag.[48] Withmedia queries unavailable,responsive widths could be implemented to a limited extent by wrapping elements inside tables.[49]
Internet Explorer 6 has also been criticized due to its instability. For example, the following code on a website would cause a program crash in IE6:[citation needed]
<style>*{position:relative}</style><table><input></table>
or
<script>for(xinopen);</script>
The user could crash the browser with a single line of code in theaddress bar, causing a pointer overflow.[50][51]
ms-its:%F0:
Several campaigns were later aimed at ridding Internet Explorer 6 from the browser market:
With the increasing lack of compatibility with modern web standards, popular websites began removing support for IE6 in 2010, includingYouTube[8] and their parent company Google;[9] however large IT company support teams and other employers forcing staff to use IE6 for compatibility reasons slowed upgrades.[66] Microsoft themselves eventually began their own campaign to encourage users to stop using IE6,[67] though stating that they would support IE6 until SP3 (includingembedded versions) support is removed.[68] However, on January 12, 2016 when the new Microsoft Lifecycle Support policy forInternet Explorer went into effect, IE6 support on allWindows versions ended, more than 14 years after its original release,[69] making the January 2016 security update for multiple versions ofXP Embedded the last that Microsoft publicly issued for IE6.[70]
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Internet Explorer uses a zone-based security framework, which means that sites are grouped based on certain conditions. IE allows the restriction of broad areas of functionality, and also allows specific functions to be restricted. The administration ofInternet Explorer is accomplished through the Internet Properties control panel. This utility also administers the Internet Explorer framework as it is implemented by other applications.[citation needed]
Patches and updates to the browser are released periodically and made available through theWindows Update website.Service Pack 2 adds several important security features to Internet Explorer, including a pop-up blocker and additional security forActiveX controls.ActiveX support remains in Internet Explorer, although access to the "Local Machine Zone" is denied by default since Service Pack 2. However, once anActiveX control runs and is authorized by the user, it can gain all the privileges of the user, instead of being granted limited privileges asJava orJavaScript do. This was later solved inIE 7, which supported running the browser in a low-permission mode, making malware unable to run unless expressly granted permission by the user.[citation needed]
Internet Explorer 6 droppedCompatibility Mode, which allowedInternet Explorer 4[71] to be run side by side with 5.x.[72][73] Instead, IE6 introduced quirks mode, which causes it to emulate many behaviors of IE 5.5.[74] Rather than being activated by the user, quirks mode is automatically and silently activated when viewing web pages that contain an old, invalid or noDOCTYPE. This feature was later added to all other major browsers to maximize compatibility with old or poorly-coded web pages.[75]
The Service Pack 1 update supports all of these versions, but Security Version 1[1] is only available as part of SP2 and later service packs for those versions.
| Version | Release date | Significant changes | Shipped with |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 Beta 1 | March 22, 2001 | More CSS changes and bug fixes to be more W3C-compliant. | N/a |
| 6.0 | August 24, 2001 | Final release. Removed thesmart tag feature, which was introduced in the beta. | Windows XP |
| 6.0 SP1 | August 30, 2002 | Vulnerability patch. Last version forWindows NT 4.0,Windows 98,Windows 2000 andWindows ME. | Windows XP SP1 Windows Server 2003 |
| 6.05 | October 1, 2003 | Released only for Windows Longhorn build 4051-4093. | Windows Longhorn |
| 6.0 SP2 | August 25, 2004 | Popup/ActiveX blocker. Add-on manager. | Windows XP SP2 Windows Server 2003 SP1 |
| 6.0 SP3 | April 21, 2008 | Latest updates included with XP SP3 and Server 2003 SP2. | Windows XP SP3 Windows Server 2003 SP2 |
IE6 requires at least:[76]
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)Last month, Google's YouTube made a similar move [to deprecate IE6]. As you can see below, however, the order of browsers on the video-sharing website is different: Firefox, Chrome, and IE8. This order actually changes upon every refresh of the page, which is probably the better solution. It's more important to note that unlike on Orkut, you don't have to log in to get the warning message on YouTube.
| Preceded by | Internet Explorer 6 2001 | Succeeded by |
