Microsoft is planning to force Windows users onto the latest supported versions of Internet Explorer. The change will take effect on January 12th, 2016, meaning Windows 7 and Windows 8 users will need to be running Internet Explorer 11 to continue receiving updates. If Internet Explorer 12 or even version 13 debuts before January 12th, 2016 and it supports Windows 7 and Windows 8, then those users will need to upgrade to the very latest. Microsoft’s change means Internet Explorer 8 and 10 will no longer be supported on consumer versions of Windows after January 12th, 2016.

A little more like Chrome

"Only the most recent version of Internet Explorer available for a supported operating system will receive technical support and security updates," after January 12th, 2016, explains Microsoft’s Roger Capriotti. Alongside Microsoft’s automatic IE upgrades, the software maker appears to be finally moving to a model that’s closer to Google’s Chrome upgrades where only the latest version is fully supported.

This is a welcome move for consumers, but it could cause issues for enterprise IT admins who will need to manage IE updates on a much more timely basis. Microsoft is suggesting businesses make use of Internet Explorer 11’s Enterprise Mode for backwards compatibility and legacy web apps support. Web developers can rejoice though, one day in the future they'll no longer have to support multiple versions of Internet Explorer if Microsoft manages to streamline this across its future Windows versions.