You may receive flowers, chocolates, or heart-shaped gifts today, but Microsoft sends an arrow right through the heart of Internet Explorer. The software giant is discontinuing Internet Explorer today and permanently disabling the browser via a Microsoft Edge update on most versions of Windows 10.
Microsoft officially retired Internet Explorer in favor of Microsoft Edge in June last year, officially withdrawing support for IE 11. But today’s update to Microsoft Edge will no longer allow you to launch Internet Explorer 11 on most client versions of Windows 10. There are some exceptions, including Microsoft’s Long-Term Servicing Channel for Windows 10 and versions such as the Windows 10 China Government Edition , but for everyone else, IE 11 is going away today.
However, the underlying technology that powers Internet Explorer, the MSHTML and Trident engine, remains supported. Microsoft has moved to the Chromium-powered Edge browser as default in Windows 11, but the MSHTML engine is still part of Windows 11. It exists to power IE mode in Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft says it will support IE mode in Edge through at least 2029.
Microsoft has been trying to retire Internet Explorer for almost 8 years. The software maker moved away from the Internet Explorer branding with the release of Windows 10 in 2015 and created an IE mode for Edge in 2019. Microsoft has also tried to prevent people from using Internet Explorer in recent years by branding it as a ” compatibility solution”. for businesses, rather than a browser that should be used every day.
