browsers

Microsoft's failure to offer European Windows users a clear choice of Internet browser has proven very costly. The European Union has fined the company a shocking 561 million euros, equivalent to US $732.2 million. Microsoft had agreed to provide ... new Window users with a browser choice screen (or "browser ballot" as it was popularly known). The deal was designed to settle claims that Microsoft's own browser, Internet Explorer, had an unfair advantage over other browsers because it came pre-installed on all Windows machines. Under the agreement, Microsoft began adding the choice ... (view more)

Yahoo has confirmed it will not honor "Do Not Track" requests from Microsoft's Internet Explorer 10 web browser. Do Not Track is designed to protect web browser users from having their Internet activity tracked. Experts say the Yahoo decision is ... based on the way Microsoft has implemented Do Not Track and is not a sign that Yahoo stands opposed to the basic concept. Do Not Track is designed to stop websites from passing details of a web browser's online activity to advertisers. It works by voluntary compliance with the Do Not Track request, not by any enforcement method. Advertisers argue that ... (view more)

The European Union (EU) is investigating claims that Microsoft isn't providing other browser makers full access to Windows 8. It comes at the same time the EU is deciding whether to punish the company for breaching previous promises to offer new ... Windows users a "browser ballot" that promotes browsers like Safari and Firefox. The newest probe concerns two allegations: the first covers all versions of Windows 8, the accusation being that Microsoft isn't providing full access to application programming interfaces (APIs). Rival Browser Could Have Limited Windows 8 Access In this context, an API ... (view more)

Google's Chrome has become the most widely used web browser in the world. Although its lead is probably temporary, the surge in popularity ends a 14-year-reign by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The figures come from StatCounter's weekly usage ... charts. For the week ending May 20, the company estimates that 32.76 per cent of people across the world were using some version of Chrome, compared with only 31.94 per cent using Internet Explorer. Mozilla'a Firefox took third place with 25.47 per cent of all usage, while Apple's Safari lagged behind the other three browsers at just 7.08 per cent. ( ... (view more)

Microsoft has been judged the clear winner in a recent test of how well web browsers block unintended access to malicious software on websites. It's great news for Microsoft's reputation, though some critics suggest the methods used in the test may ... be lacking. Browser Malware Protection Tested, Compared The browser comparison was conducted by independent security firm NSS labs. The test observed a feature known as browser protection, which appears in all the major browsers under various names. In general, browser protection is designed to deal with situations where users are tricked into ... (view more)