Internet Explorer[a] (formerly Microsoft Internet
Explorer[b] and Windows Internet Explorer,[c] commonly
abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included in the Microsoft Windows
line of operating
systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on
package Plus! for
Windows 95 that year. Later versions were available as free downloads, or in
service packs, and
included in the original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) service releases of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows. The browser
is discontinued, but still maintained.[2]
Internet Explorer was one of the most widely used web browsers, attaining a
peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and
2003.[5]
This came after Microsoft used bundling to win the first browser war
against Netscape, which was the
dominant browser in the 1990s. Its usage share has since declined with the
launch of Firefox (2004) and Google Chrome (2008), and
with the growing popularity of operating systems such as Android and iOS that do not run Internet Explorer. Estimates for
Internet Explorer's market share are about 3.2% across all
platforms or by StatCounter's numbers ranked 6th, while on the only platform
it's ever had significant share (i.e. excluding mobile, and not counting Xbox) it's ranked 3rd at 7.28%,[6] just after
Firefox (others place IE 2nd with 11.84% just ahead of), as of January 2018[update]
(browser market share is notoriously difficult to calculate). Microsoft spent
over US$100 million per year on
Internet Explorer in the late 1990s,[7] with over 1,000
people working on it by 1999.[8][9]
Versions of Internet Explorer for other operating systems have also been
produced, including an Xbox 360
version called Internet Explorer for Xbox and for platforms Microsoft no longer
supports: Internet Explorer for Mac and Internet Explorer for UNIX (Solaris and HP-UX), and an embedded OEM version called Pocket
Internet Explorer, later rebranded Internet Explorer Mobile made for Windows Phone, Windows CE, and
previously, based on Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Mobile.
On March 17, 2015, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Edge would replace Internet Explorer
as the default browser on its Windows 10 devices. This effectively makes Internet Explorer
11 the last release. Internet Explorer, however, remains on Windows 10
primarily for enterprise purposes.[10] Starting January 12, 2016, only Internet
Explorer 11 is supported.[11][12] Support varies based on the operating
system's technical capabilities and its support lifecycle.[13]
The browser has been scrutinized throughout its development for use of
third-party technology (such as the source code of Spyglass Mosaic, used
without royalty in early versions) and security and privacy vulnerabilities, and the United States and the
European Union have alleged that integration of Internet Explorer with
Windows has been to the detriment of fair browser competition.
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