Microsoft unveils Internet Explorer 8

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:07:00 03/19/2009


SINGAPORE—It’s official. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 is out after a year of public testing.

In a briefing here, the software giant said the “final version” of the web browser is ready for download from its website and is available in 25 languages.

The company said they have been working with developers and evaluators to check its stability, security and ease of use, said Microsoft Business Strategy Senior Product Manager Ryan Servatius who met with several Asian journalists.

"IE8 just works," the software executive declared.

IE8 has several new features not available in the previous version, Servatius said.

These new features are designed to address new and emerging threats targeting personal information via social exploits, the executive added.

One of the new security features is InPrivate, which prevents the browser from saving the user's surfing history. This feature also automates filtering to discourage third-party websites from tracking the user's browsing behavior.

"InPrivate browsing gives peace of mind to users especially when they're using public computers," Servatius said.

Rival browsers Firefox, Google’s Chrome and even Apple’s Safari have similar “privacy features.”

The newer version of IE also comes with a malware scanning feature, which protects users from phishing websites that are used to dupe users to revealing personal information.

Phishing websites mimic legitimate websites also to fool users to click on specific links that contain malicious codes.

The new IE has added a “compatibility view” to correct incompatibility issues with some websites designed to run on older versions of Internet Explorer of the web browser.

Servatius said the software company has made changes as a result of user feedback.

"The web has evolved considerably from 10 to 15 years ago. It is a dynamic nexus mashing up into the browser. As the web becomes richer the primary trust level of browser has to allow for user control and security," Servatius said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Asia Pacific Consumer Marketing Manager Goh Boon Yan disclosed Microsoft's partnerships with several websites in Asia.

The software giant is currently in “development relationships” with popular websites including those hosted in the Philippines.

At first look, Internet Explorer 8 doesn’t seem much different from version 7. In fact, most of the base features are the same. Therefore, XP users who are still reeling over the complete Vista interface. However, they’ve packed in some "cool" new features like those borrowed from mozilla

I'd still stick with Mozilla Firefox..