Microsoft is, slowly as always, getting into line with the other browser makers and will start issuing automatic updates for Internet Explorer on Windows XP, Vista and 7.
What this means is that users still running IE8, IE7 or even IE6, will be upgraded to the newest version available for their operating system, IE8 for XP, IE9 for the rest.
"Today we are sharing our plan to automatically upgrade Windows customers to the latest version of Internet Explorer available for their PC. This is an important step in helping to move the Web forward," Microsoft
wrote.
"We will start in January for customers in Australia and Brazil who have turned on automatic updating via Windows Update," it said.
The updates will happen in the background, completely silent and users will get a fresh new browser without them even realizing.
This will only happen if users have Windows Update set to automatic, which is probably the most common setting for regular users.
If they've rejected a browser update in the past, they will not receive automatic updates. There is also an Automatic Update Blocker tool for companies that want to make sure new versions don't get installed.
Because of this, don't expect IE6 to take a major hit in market share. Still, the move is a major step forward for Microsoft.
Chrome has had silent, automatic updates since the beginning. Most users don't even know what version they're using or when a new one gets installed. Of course, the differences between Chrome major versions are insignificant compared to differences between IE9 and IE8 for example.
Mozilla is working on
making the process silent as well. Firefox does come with automatic updates, but users still have to approve them. The plan is to make the process as seamless as possible, offering the option of having completely silent updates, just like Chrome. The major difference is that Firefox users will have the ability to block automatic updates as well.
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