Microsoft will support Internet Explorer for one more year -- but now is the time to move on

The move by Microsoft to replace Internet Explorer with Edge has been a slow and torturous journey. Edge is already in its second major iteration, and is now based on the Chromium engine, but the specter of Internet Explorer is still hanging heavy.

Microsoft has already announced that support for the browser is going to come to an end, and today is the start of a year-long countdown to the day this happens. But if you are hanging doggedly onto Internet Explorer, there's no need to wait another 12 months; now really is the time to move on.

See also:

• Microsoft is finally ready to kill off Internet Explorer once and for all... for most people
• What we want to see in Windows 11
• Microsoft releases out-of-band KB5004327 update for Windows 10 to fix 0x80073D26 and 0x8007139F errors

As previously announced, the big date for Microsoft's end of support for Internet Explorer 11 is June 15, 2022. For anyone who is either keen on the browser or who has to use it because of legacy web site requirements, it may seem that there's no need to do anything as the cutoff date is so far in the future, but there's never been a better time to absorb the fact that Internet Explorer is dead as seek out an alternative.

Microsoft is eager for people to move on, well aware that using an unsupported web browser represent a huge security risk for people. The company says:

Please note that the Internet Explorer (IE) 11 desktop application will end support for certain operating systems starting June 15, 2022. Customers are encouraged to move to Microsoft Edge with IE mode. IE mode enables backward compatibility and will be supported through at least 2029. Additionally, Microsoft will provide notice one year prior to retiring IE mode.

While there are ever-decreasing numbers of home users reliant on Internet Explorer, some business and organizations do still using it for older apps, websites and services. But this is precisely why Edge includes IE Mode; it makes it possible to emulate Internet Explorer when access resources that only function correctly with the old browser.

This mode will stick around, as Microsoft points out, for at least another 8 years. This will give plenty of time for migrating legacy apps and sites so they are properly compatible with other browsers. But, again, there is really no need to wait until the last minute.  If you really have a need for Internet Explorer, at least switch to Edge – if not, there are far better options available in the likes of Firefox, Vivaldi and so on/

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