Microsoft greatly improves security in Internet Explorer 10
Today Microsoft has revealed some details on the major design goals for the next version of its webbrowser, Internet Explorer 10. Althought version 9 was released only recently, development for this version has brought Microsoft great insights into what users really need. Andy Zeigler, Program Manager for Internet Explorer at Microsoft took some time to talk to us today, and shared his vision for IE 10 exclusively with the IT Reporter.
New direction inspired by users’s concerns
“Yeah, I know, it’s a bit strange to already start talking about IE 10 now, since we’ve only just released IE 9, but we’re all very excited about the direction we’re taking”, said Zeigler. “We got so many emails and letters of people using Internet Explorer, and although they were pretty happy they could surf the web, there was a recurring theme of feeling insecure about all the different places they could visit and all the things they could click on, you know.”
Therefore, Zeigler put his development team to focus on providing the most secure browsing experience ever in Internet Explorer 10. “I really feel that’s the right thing to do”, he says, “I just don’t want to have that nagging feeling that right now, somewhere someone is clicking a link, having that creepy feeling that popups will open, trojans will install, flash animations will take over the screen, and what not. Hell, my grandmother could get a heart attack if something hijacked her knitty.com homepage!”, Zeigler passionately exclaims.
Influenced by Safe Internet Alliance?
Zeigler denies the new approach was heavily influenced by members of the Safe Internet Alliance, who stalked Zeigler’s family for months, wearing t-shirts and carrying banners with slogans such as “Internet Exploder Must Die” and “Freedom Sucks, We Just Want Safety”.
Many new features greatly increases browsing safety
The all-new Internet Explorer 10 will be build from the ground up to avoid any uncomfortable browsing experience, using the new revolutionary Selected Sites feature. Working together with the Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft will carefully select websites that will be approved by the government as “suitable for visits by any citizen, of any age”. This wonderful feature will definitely reduce the chance of accidentelly visiting harmful websites to 0, claims Zeigler.
“This is absolutely a big step forward in Internet Security”, he says. “We are packing the very best for everyone into IE 10. We have Selected Sites, but there’s also Selected Pictures, and Selected Videos! So there’s really a lot to choose from. And the best part of it is that you never need to search for anything. It’s all right under your fingertips, in the Favorites menu!”.
Simplicity improves usability
Because of it’s revolutionary approach, the new version 10 will be much easier to use. “People got tired clicking on that damn Information Bar for every download, so now we just have the Safe Downloads menu so you can rest assured it’s all good. Because we’ve selected the sites by hand, there’s no need for that silly Phishing Filter too. And we’ve already loaded it with all the possible Active-X components you could think of, so when it finishes loading after just 10 minutes, you’ll be able to use everything right away, without ever installing anything”, Zeigler kept going on and on.
Internet Explorer 10 is all about simplicity.The address bar has been replaced with a super-easy drop-down list, where you can easily pick your favorite website. If it’s not listed, you can even vote to have it included in the next version. Other things that make life better are the Five Simple Fixed Tabs, that make it much easier to read tab titles, and the Selected Advertisements system. For the needy among us, a special version can be downloaded that includes the Selected Porn feature.
Microsoft will release a closed beta of Internet Explorer 10 to members of the Selected Citizen program later this month.
