Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is the sixth major revision of Internet Explorer, a web browser developed by Microsoft forWindows operating systems. It was released on August 27, 2001, shortly after the completion of Windows XP.

It is the default browser shipped with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and was also made available for Windows NT 4.0,Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows ME. IE6 SP1 is the last version of Internet Explorer available for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows ME. IE6 SP2+ and IE7 were only included (IE6 SP2+) in or available (IE7) for Windows XP SP2+.

This version of Internet Explorer has been widely criticized for its security issues and lack of support for modern web standards, making frequent appearances in "worst tech products of all time" lists, with PC World labeling it "the least secure software on the planet."[2]

Despite dominating market share (attaining a peak of 80% in mid-2004), it was notorious for its security holes and outdated features. In 2004, Mozilla finalised Firefox to rival IE6, and it became highly popular and acclaimed for its security, add-ons, speed and other modern features such as tabbed browsing.[3] Microsoft was planning to fix these issues in Internet Explorer 7 by June–August 2005,[4][5] but it was delayed until an October 2006 release, over 5 years after IE6 debuted.

Because a substantial percentage of the web audience still used the outdated browser (especially in China), campaigns have been established to encourage users to upgrade to newer versions of Internet Explorer or switch to different browsers. Some websites have dropped support for IE6 entirely, most notable of which is Google dropping support in some of its services.[6][7] According to Microsoft's modern.ie website, as of August 2015, 3.1% of users in China and less than 1% in other countries are using IE6.[8]

Internet Explorer 6 is also the last version to be called Microsoft Internet Explorer before being rebranded as Windows Internet Explorerwith Internet Explorer 7 despite its beta version from 2005 being also called Microsoft Internet Explorer.