Internet Explorer 6 (abbreviated as IE6) is the sixth major revision of Internet Explorer, a web browser developed by Microsoft for Windows operating systems. It was released on August 27, 2001, shortly after the completion of Windows XP.
It is the default browser shipped with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and was also made available for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows Me, and Windows 2000. IE6 SP1 is the last version of Internet Explorer available for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows Me, and Windows 2000. Although IE6 has now been superseded by newer versions of Internet Explorer, Microsoft still supports it in Windows XP SP3.
This version of Internet Explorer is widely criticized for its security issues and lack of support for modern web standards, making frequent appearances in "worst tech products of all time" lists, with some publications labeling it as the "least secure software on the planet." Because a substantial percentage of the web audience still uses the outdated browser, campaigns have been established to encourage users to upgrade to newer versions of Internet Explorer or switch to different browsers. Some websites have dropped support for IE6 entirely, most notable of which is Google dropping support in some of its services.
Over ten years after its release, it continues to receive patches for security vulnerabilities.
Overview
When Internet Explorer 6 was released, it included a number of enhancements over its predecessor, Internet Explorer 5.5. It and its layout engine Tridentare required for many programs including Microsoft Encarta. IE6 improved support for Cascading Style Sheets, adding support for a number of properties which previously had not been implemented and fixing bugs such as the Internet Explorer box model bug. In Windows XP, IE6 introduced a redesigned interface based on the operating system's default theme, Luna.
In addition, IE6 added DHTML enhancements, content restricted inline frames, and partial support of DOM level 1 and SMIL 2.0. The MSXML engine was also updated to version 3.0. Other new features included a new version of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) which introduced IExpress, a utility to create self-extracting INF-based installation packages., Media bar, Windows Messenger integration, fault collection, automatic image resizing, and P3P. Meanwhile, IE6 dropped support for XBM image files, and in 2002, the Gopher protocol was disabled.
IE6 was the most widely used web browser during its tenure, surpassing Internet Explorer 5.x. At its peak in 2002 and 2003, IE6 attained a total market share of nearly 90%, with all versions of IE combined reaching 95%. There was little change in IE's market share for several years, until Mozilla Firefox was released and gradually began to gain popularity. Microsoft subsequently resumed development of Internet Explorer and released Internet Explorer 7, further reducing the number of IE6 users.
In a May 7, 2003 Microsoft online chat, Brian Countryman, Internet Explorer Program Manager, declared that Internet Explorer would cease to be distributed separately from Windows (IE 6 would be the last standalone version); it would, however, be continued as a part of the evolution of Windows, with updates coming only bundled in Windows upgrades. Thus, Internet Explorer and Windows itself would be kept more in sync. However, after one release in this fashion (IE6 SP2 in Windows XP SP2, in August 2004), Microsoft changed its plan and released Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2and Windows Server 2003 SP1 in late 2006. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 was the last version of Internet Explorer to have "Microsoft" in the title: later versions changed branding to "Windows Internet Explorer", as a reaction to the findings of anti-competitive tying of Internet Explorer and Windows raised in United States v. Microsoft and the European Union Microsoft competition case.
In March 2011, Microsoft urged web users to stop using IE6 in favor of newer versions of Internet Explorer
Release history
| Major version | Minor version | Release date | Significant changes | Shipped with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version 6 | 6.0 Beta 1 | March 22, 2001 | More CSS changes and bug fixes to be more W3C-compliant. | |
| 6.0 | August 27, 2001 | Final release. Removed the smart tag feature, which was introduced in the beta. Support ended on September 30, 2004. | Windows XP | |
| 6.0 SP1 | September 9, 2002 | Vulnerability patch. Last version supported on Windows NT 4.0 SP6a, 98, 2000 or Me. Support ended on October 10, 2006. | Windows XP SP1 and Windows Server 2003 | |
| 6.0 SP2 | August 25, 2004 | Vulnerability patch. Popup/ActiveX blocker. Add-on manager. Support ended on July 13, 2010. | Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 | |
| 6.0 SP3 | April 21, 2008 | Latest updates included with XP SP3. Supported until April 8, 2014. | Windows XP SP3 |
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