By Gregg KeizerAugust 14, 2014 04:19 PM ET Older versions of the browser already contain fewer bugs than newer editions like IE11, analysis shows. Computerworld - Microsoft's decision to stop patching older versions of Internet Explorer (IE) in 17 months may not be as much of a show-stopper as many assume, according to an analysis by Computerworld.

A week ago, Microsoft abruptly announced that it would give customers until Jan. 12, 2016, to stop using older versions of IE. After that date, Microsoft will support IE9 only on Windows Vista, IE10 only on Windows Server 2012, and IE11 on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

IE7 and IE8 will drop off support completely, and IE9 and IE10 will also fall off the list for Windows 7 users. The browsers will continue working, but Microsoft will halt both technical support and security updates for the banned versions.

Because of the large number of critical vulnerabilities Microsoft patches in its browser -- 111 in the last three months -- it will be extremely risky running an unsupported version.

 

ComputerWorld/ Full Article Here/ http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9250390/How_risky_will_it_be_to_run_old_IE_after_Microsoft_s_2016_patch_stoppage_