By Nsanzimana Gilbert

First released in 1995, Internet Explorer is a  series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and formerly known as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer.

The first release was part of the add-on package Plus for Windows 95.
Internet explorer was the most widely used browser during the years 2002 and 2003 reaching its peak at 95% usage share.

However, with the release of more browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, FireFox, Opera, and Samsung Internet, Internet Explorer has declined in usage and is currently being used by 0.45% of internet users according to StatCounter.

The final version of the browser (Internet Explorer 11) was released on October 17, 2013. Internet Explorer has reached its end of life today as earlier announced by the officials at Microsoft.

“The future of Internet Explorer is on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge” said Sean Lyndersay, Microsoft Edge program manager, highlighting that Microsoft Edge is “a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but it is also able to address a key concern: compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications”

“Microsoft Edge has Internet Explorer mode ('IE mode') built in, so you can access those legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications straight from Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft Edge capable of assuming this responsibility and more, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10” he added, in a blog post explaining the decision last year.

Security Concerns of running Software which has reached its EOL

By ending support to software, it means that important security updates and bug fixes are no longer rolled out by the suppliers  for the particular software or version.
This poses a big security threat, because the unchecked security flaws can be used by hackers as backdoors to penetrate through systems and networks, putting the entire organization at risk. 

Recommendations

We encourage all Internet Explorer clients to make no delay in shifting to the new software. Yes, it may require picking up with new experience but it is worth it. 
IT leaders need to make sure that computers being used to access their networks and systems are running supported software.