IE6 opposition continues to grow

Internet Explorer 6 opposition

The opposition to Internet Explorer 6 is continuing to grow as an online petition against the government use of the browser achieves more than 5000 signatures in the space of a few days.

IE6 contains well known security flaws but is still being used extensively in Whitehall, including at the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The German and French governments have urged their citizens to stop using the browser, but sp far, the UK hasn't followed suit.

It's believed that once the UK urge people to upgrade away from the browser, the rest of Europe will fall in line, with pressure then falling on the US to upgrade too.

The security problems of using the outdated browser were highlighted when it was revealed that Chinese hackers recently exploited a flaw in IE6 in an attempt to infiltrate the corporate systems of Google, Adobe and several other firms.

Government use of IE6 is also a problem because companies building websites have to include support for the browser so that the departments can view their sites, V3 states.

"IE6 'end of life' was extended to 2014 by governments and business not ready or willing to upgrade," says the petition posted by DanFrydman from Inigo Media, a company that builds websites.

Abandoning IE6

It was only last week that Google said it was going to stop supporting IE6.

The UK's Department of Health also recommend to the NHS that it replaces IE6 on PCs running Windows 2000 or Windows XP with the newer IE7.

Related News:

Google moves away from IE6 |German government warns EU companies over safety |Which browser is best for you?

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: