Microsoft stops supporting older versions of Internet Explorer

Microsoft will stop supporting older versions of Internet Explorer in early 2016. Users must then have the latest version of the browser for their operating system to get patches and support.

Now Microsoft also supports several older browser versions, but the Redmond software company will stop there on January 12, 2016, according to a blog post. The latest browser version can differ per operating system: for Windows 8.1 it is currently IE11, users of Vista are on IE9.

Presumably, Microsoft will announce the change almost a year and a half in advance to give companies the chance to update to the latest version of the browser. Many internal company systems require specific versions of a browser, often not the latest version. The change applies not only to the regular Windows, but also to Server editions.