IE6
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Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP
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| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
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| Initial release | August 27, 2001 |
| Stable release |
6.0 SP3 (6.00.2900.5512) / May 5, 2008
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| Operating system | Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 |
| Included with | Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Home Server |
| License | Proprietary, requires Windows license |
| Website | www |
| Internet Explorer versions: | |
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Internet Explorer desktop market share
— April 2017 via Net Applications |
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| Internet Explorer 8 | 2.25% | |
| Internet Explorer 9 | 1.32% | |
| Internet Explorer 10 | 1.06% | |
| Internet Explorer 11 | 13.62% | |
| All variants | 18.25% | |
|---|---|---|
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Microsoft Edge excluded from the list. |
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Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is the sixth major revision, now unsupported, of Internet Explorer, a web browser developed by Microsoft for Windows operating systems. It was released on August 27, 2001, shortly after the completion of Windows XP.
It is the default browser shipped with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and was also made available for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows Home Server (a derivative of Windows Server 2003). IE6 SP1 is the last version of Internet Explorer available for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows 2000. IE6 SP2+ and IE7 were only included (IE6 SP2+) in or available (IE7) for Windows XP SP2+.
This version of Internet Explorer has been widely criticized for its security issues and lack of support for modern web standards, making frequent appearances in "worst tech products of all time" lists, with PC World labeling it "the least secure software on the planet."
Despite dominating market share (attaining a peak of 80% in mid-2004), it was notorious for its security holes and outdated features. In 2004, Mozilla finalised Firefox to rival IE6, and it became highly popular and acclaimed for its security, add-ons, speed and other modern features such as tabbed browsing. Microsoft was planning to fix these issues in Internet Explorer 7 by June–August 2005, but it was delayed until an October 2006 release, over 5 years after IE6 debuted.
Because a substantial percentage of the web audience still uses the outdated browser (especially in China), campaigns have been established to encourage users to upgrade to newer versions of Internet Explorer or switch to different browsers. Some websites have dropped support for IE6 entirely, most notable of which is Google dropping support in some of its services. According to Microsoft's modern.ie website, as of August 2015[update], 3.1% of users in China and less than 1% in other countries are using IE6.
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