Internet Explorer 7 “the facts”

You should already know by now that a new version of Microsoft's Internet browser "Internet Explorer" is announced.

In this news article the latest facts around IE7.

Some of the facts of IE7:

• IE 7 was originally scheduled for Longhorn
• IE 7 will be focused on security, not new features
• IE 7 will be free

But there are also rumours going on, some speculations:

• IE 7 will probably ship for XP SP2 customers only
• IE 7 will probably include new features
• IE 7 will likely ship this calendar year

IE 7 was originally scheduled for Longhorn. The new features we're going to see in IE 7 were originally going to be available only as part of Longhorn.

IE 7 will be focused on security, not new features. Like the version of IE that Microsoft shipped in XP SP2, IE 7.0 will consist, mostly, of security-oriented features. One of these features will be an anti-phishing technology. As Gates noted, "Some of the advances [in IE 7] include things focused on phishing, where people use URLs that appear to come from another location, things related to malware. So, [that] will be another important advance [in IE 7]." IE 7 will also include an IP traffic encryption capability that will help prevent electronic eavesdroppers from modifying data before it reaches your machine or redirecting you silently to malicious servers. "It makes sure that the traffic is encrypted, so there is no eavesdropping or modification that can take place, but it also makes absolutely sure through the use of certificates that the machine that you're connected to is the machine that you want to be able to connect to," Gates noted. Microsoft is also overhauling the IE security zones in IE 7.

IE 7 will be free. Like previous versions of IE, IE 7 will be free.