Windows pirates failed to crowd to Internet Explorer 7 stripped down of the Microsoft antipiracy mechanism. At the beginning of October, the Redmond company introduced the first major update to Internet Explorer 7, moving the browser from build 7.0.5730.11 to 7.0.5730.13. The refresh was exclusively addressed at IE7 users on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Windows Vista ships by default with Internet Explorer build number 7.0.6000.16512, and as such was not impacted by the IE7 update.

The most relevant tweak that Microsoft delivered to IE7 was decoupling the Windows Genuine Advantage mechanism from the browser. Prior to the October update, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users that wanted to access IE7 had to pass two stages of genuine validation of their Windows operating system. Microsoft altered this aspect opening up the browser to all Windows pirates, and even inviting users of non-genuine versions of Windows to access IE7.

But, one month later, statistics from Net Applications reveal that Windows pirates failed to jump at the chance of running IE7. Moreover, Internet Explorer 7 has in fact lost market share. IE7 dropped from a 34.60% in September to 34.32% in October. This is by no means a good sign for Microsoft. The Redmond company, that accounts for the lion's share of the browser market, is still the dominant presence through Internet Explorer 6.

And to make matters worse for Microsoft, IE6 has actually gained market share jumping from 42.75% in September to 43.09%. The trajectories that both IE6 and IE7 have taken spell trouble not only for Microsoft but also for end users. IE6 is a product inferior to IE7 in terms of capabilities, functionality and features. But when it comes down to security, there simply is no contest between IE6 and IE7. Still, Microsoft seems to be incapable of converting users from IE6 to IE7, and statistics reveal that browser upgrades have hit a dead wall.

Internet Explorer 7 build 7.0.5730.13 can be downloaded here.