What is Internet Explorer?
Internet Explorer (IE) was a web browser developed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1995 and became one of the most widely used web browsers during the late 1990s and early 2000s, primarily due to its bundling with the Windows operating system. Internet Explorer was the default browser for Windows operating systems until it was gradually phased out in favor of Microsoft Edge, starting with Windows 10.
Over the years, Internet Explorer faced criticism for various reasons, including its slow performance, security vulnerabilities, and lack of support for modern web standards. As a result, its market share declined significantly, especially with the rise of competing browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.
In 2015, Microsoft announced that it would be discontinuing support for older versions of Internet Explorer and encouraging users to upgrade to Microsoft Edge, which is built using a more modern and standards-compliant engine. In June 2022, Microsoft officially ended support for Internet Explorer, marking the end of an era for the once-dominant web browser.