Tag Archives: Internet Explorer

Microsoft Browser Choice Screen for European Users.. Coming to a screen near you!

So we know its been on the cards for a while, and now its happened. What am I on about, the Browser Choice Screen for XP, Vista and W7 users in Europe.

Microsoft ships its OS with Internet Explorer, and some people are not happy about this, so things need to change. The answer is a selection screen so users can choose from a selection of other browsers easily.

So if you keep your machine up to date your going to see this High Priority Update (KB976002).

Once this update has been applied and you reboot your machine and you open your beloved Internet Explorer (assuming its your current default browser) you get taken to http://www.browserchoice.eu/BrowserChoice/browserchoice_en.htm where you get presented with various options of browsers to install and use. Its not clear to me how this will be displayed on all users machines, so this is just my experiance.

The browsers up for grab are – Avant, Chrome, Firefox, Flock, Green Browser, Internet Explorer, K-meleon, Maxthon, Opera, Safari, Sleipnir, Slim.

Personally I dont think this is going to make a great deal of difference. Most people who are tech savy will be using another browser if it suits them, and those that are not will most likely stick with what they know given the choice.

Time will tell in the future, once more stats come out in the next few months.

Internet Explorer Zero Day Patch

Microsoft has announced that today (21-01-2010) at approximately 6pm (UK time), it will release an emergency out-of band patch to fix the Internet Explorer zero day security vulnerability that has been used by attackers in various high-profile targeted attacks, specifically the recent Trojan.Hydraq attacks waged against Google and a number of other companies. The vulnerability affects Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, which make up the bulk of the versions used today. However, the only in-the-wild exploit code for this vulnerability detected thus far is confirmed to affect just Internet Explorer 6.

Keep an eye on the Microsoft Security Site for more information.

Also check out the Mircrosoft Advisory on this matter (979352).

Here is the patch MS10-002