Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) 6 is more than ten years old. It suffers from numerous security holes, and forces web designers and developers to avoid modern HTML and CSS techniques in favor of performance-sapping hacks. So isn't it time to stop supporting IE6?
Google thinks so. The clear leader in search and one of the busiest sites on the Internet stopped supporting IE6 last month.
The Internet Has Evolved Since IE6 Was Introduced
"The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice," wrote Google Apps Senior Product Manager Rajen Sheth on the Official Google Blog. "Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively. So to help ensure your business can use the latest, most advanced web apps, we encourage you to update your browsers as soon as possible."
Google's decision not to support IE6 on its flagship search engine follows similar decisions for other Google sites. YouTube, Orkut, and Google Docs all reportedly stopped supporting IE6 last year.
IE6 Is a Security Risk
Shortly before announcing that it would no longer support IE6, Google and at least 20 other companies were hacked. The attackers were seemingly after personal information from Gmail accounts belonging to Chinese human rights activists that had been critical of that nation's policies. Data from two such accounts and other Google intellectual property was stolen during the attack, which was possible in part thanks to a IE6 security hole that allowed the China-based hackers to take over a user's PC.
According to PC World magazine, Microsoft responded to the Google hack by releasing an out-of-cycle patch to protect users from a similar attack. But the breach, which was not the first of its kind, demonstrates that ancient browsers like IE6 can be a real security risk for users who presumably won't know better until websites stop supporting IE6.
IE6 Just Doesn't Support Modern Web Development
Of course, IE6 is also a burden to the web development and design community. The browser, which was very good relative to the Internet when it was released, has become decrepit in the face of the improving and evolving CSS and HTML standards.
Top complaints about the IE6 browser include its lack of support for transparent PNGs; no real support for even the decade-old CSS2 standard, including border-radius; and complete lack of support for any HTML5 innovations.
Summing Up
IE6 is well past its prime. But it has been able to hobble on for something like 20 percent of Internet users because web designers and developers have carried it along with numerous hacks and workarounds.
It is time that the coddling end. Stop supporting IE6.
