After news last week that Google will be removing support for Internet Explorer 6 in its Google Sites and Google Apps applications, a spokesperson from Google has also confirmed to ComputerWorld that the company also plans to drop support for IE6 from Gmail.

“We plan to stop supporting older browsers for the rest of the Google Apps suite, including Gmail, later in 2010,” said a Google spokesman.

The move seems a little risky, with Internet Explorer 6 still holding 20% of the browser market according to statistics from Market Share by Net Applications.

Microsoft has also weighted in on the debate. “We support this recommendation to move off Internet Explorer 6,” said Microsoft spokesman Brandon LeBlanc.

Full repercussions of this decision will not be known until later in this year when Google offically drops IE6 support. It is hoped that this move could help speed up the rate in which corporations are moving to newer versions of Windows and Internet Explorer.

A cut-off date for Internet Explorer 6 is still not known.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is again at risk, just days after the company closed another serious security flaw in its web browser.

A new security advisory was posted by Microsoft last Wednesday, notifying users of a potential flaw in Internet Explorer which could allow third-parties access to data.

“Our investigation so far has shown that if a user is using a version of Internet Explorer that is not running in Protected Mode an attacker may be able to access files with an already known filename and location” said the advisory from Microsoft.

At this stage, there are no reported attacks using this vulnerability, but it is bound to be only a matter of time.

A patch is expected in a few days, on Tuesday 9th February 2010.

Time appears to slowly be running out for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 (IE6), as Google has announced plans to drop support for the browser in its Google Sites and Google Docs applications.

“Many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers” said Google Apps Senior Product Manager Rajen Sheth.

Not to feel left out, Google is also dropping support for Firefox 2, Chrome 3, and Safari 2.

“While you’ll still be able to access these Google applications, newer features may not be available and some features may even stop working” said Sheth.

Support for these older browsers is due to end on March 1st. Web users are urged to upgrade their web browsers before this time.

Microsoft has filled a patent that reveals it is looking at revamping the tabbed browsing experience with Internet Explorer 9.

The patent appears to be an enhancement of the quick tabs found in IE8,which allows users to see all tabs and close them individually. This parent covers:

• Drag and move the tabs within the Quick Tabs interface.
• Tab thumbnails will enlarge on mouse-hover.
• In case your tab row was over flowing with tabs and in Quick Tabs you were to hover the mouse on a tab not currently visible on the tab bar, the overflow icons would change appearance.

Will it be enough to stop IE from loosing market share? Only time will tell.

A technical preview of Internet Explorer 9 is expected by mid March 2010.

Much faster than originally expected, Microsoft have released a patch to address the vulnerability found in all versions of Internet Explorer.

“This security update resolves seven privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The more severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights” said a note from Microsoft.

The update includes fixes for IE5.01, IE6, IE7, and IE8 on platforms from Windows 2000 to the newely released Windows 7.

The updated is rated critical and will be pushed out to all users who have Windows Update turned on. Alternatively, system administrators can find out more information plus download links in the Security Bulletin MS10-002.

Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has told Germans to avoid using any version of Internet Explorer after a security vulnerability lead to attacks against Google, Adobe, and other large organisations last week.

Microsoft has hit back at claims, noting that the attacks could be avoided if the security zone settings were set to high.

“Using Internet Explorer in ‘secure mode’, as well as turning off Active Scripting, makes attacks more difficult but can not fully prevent them,” BSI said in a further statement.

Microsoft has acknowledged the vulnerability, which is present in all versions of Internet Explorer, including IE8 on Windows 7.

Microsoft is expected to release a patch in the coming weeks.

The European Union (EU) has accepted Microsoft’s proposal for a browser ballot screen, allowing Windows users to choose their browser on first run.

The ballot screen will be pushed out to users of Windows XP, Vista, and 7 via Windows Update for users in the EU and neighbouring countries.

The ballot screen is required to be in place for at least the next 5 years, or Microsoft face fines of up to 10% of it’s world wide turnover.

On release, the ballot screen is set to include the 5 major browser – Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera – all in a random order. Users will also be able to scroll down the screen to choose less popular browsers. These include AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir and Slim Browser.

The list of browsers is set to be reviewed every 6 months.

“We hope this closes a long chapter in a sometimes uneasy relationship with the Commission, and we hope it opens a new one,” said Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

The ballot screen is expected to be pushed out to users in the first part of 2010.

Microsoft has pushed out the IE Cumulative Security Update for December 2009 via Windows Update and Microsoft Update.

The update is rated as critical for Internet Explorer 5.01, 6, 6 SP1, 7, and 8 for all versions of Windows except Windows Server 2003, 2008, and 2008 R2 where the update is only rated as moderate.

The update fixes five reported vulnerabilities in the browsers.

Being a cumulative update, it contains all previously released updated for Internet Explorer and is recommended for all users.

More information on the update can be found below:

• Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-072
• Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 976325

Microsoft has conceded to pressure from the European Union (EU), and will now randomise the order of web browsers displayed on the systems browser ballot screen for EU users.

This comes as a bit of a blow for Apple, who were in line to have Safari first on the ballot screen.

Microsoft is now expecting approval of the new ballot screen before Christmas, and will push out an update to all Windows users in the EU with the ballot screen update.

The browser ballot screen will run the first time a user opens Internet Explorer, and will offer the user a choice of browser.

Currently, Apple’s Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer are all set to be included on the ballot screen.

The end may finally be in sight for Microsoft in the anti-trust case.

Development of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) seems to be going full steam ahead at Microsoft, with the first news starting to come out from the campus.

Firstly, it seems that IE9 will feature hardware accelerated rendering.

“We think that the hardware you run on should shine through the browser,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows and Windows Live division.

This means that IE9 will be able to use graphics hardware to accelerate the rendering of images, videos and animations.

Early benchmarks of the JavaScript engine are also available, showing that IE9 is about the same speed as Firefox 3.5 in it’s early stage, more than 4 times faster than IE8.

A full run down on what to expect from IE9 can be read in An Early Look At IE9 for Developers.