IE share slips under 70%; Firefox surges past 20%

The market share of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer dropped under the 70% mark last month for the first time since Web metrics vendor Net Applications Inc. started keeping tabs on browsers, the company said today.

IE slipped to a 69.8% share, down from October's 71.3% and off 7.6 percentage points in the past year.

Rival browsers from Mozilla Corp., Apple Inc. and Google Inc., meanwhile, cashed in on IE's slide and posted gains for the month, according to Net Applications' data, which is culled from visitors to the thousands of Web sites the company monitors for clients.

[falcon]

I liked the picture :P

[Bill Gates]

.

[Lord Anubis]

We are victorious comrades. Keep spreading the heat we will prevail.

[alexM]

I expect CHROME and FIREFOX to be the future browsers

As simple as that

Havent been using IE for the last one year

[plokplhu]

Firefox Fanboy.. haha just kidding!

But if there were such a term.. I'd be one myself!
FF > IE

[ThanatosDMC]

IE opens up windows for random spywares to be instantly downloaded without asking.

[Megaton]

All of my friends and family use FireFox. I haven't used IE in years.

[alexM]

IE is finished

[wicked]

FF does not open a lot of web pages correctly, until they sort that I will stick with IE. I like the speed, but Chrome is even better but they have issues as well.

[uie4rhig]

wot like pages that contain spyware or worse? no thanks im fine ;)

[Johnny Rotten]

I just started using Firefox I recommend it everyone who hasn't tried it yet.

[Bob Dole]

IE=Poop.
FF=Better poop.
:)

[Mr Fancy Pants]

What I like about FireFox is the stability, speed and add-on. I know there are a lot of people that are going to say that this is something more related with your internet connection and blah blah blah but believe it or not it loads the pages faster than IE.

[Aclay]

I've been using FireFox for about 3 or 4 months now and haven't been back to Internet Explorer ever since and most likely never will. I just LOVE Firefox's speed.

Once I started using FireFox, I wished that I had started using it sooner.

[tehReaper]

Firefox would be more popular if most PCs didn't ship with IE. That's the problem, most customers aren't going to know what they can use to browse the net beyond what is already in front of them.

Example: I've persuaded most of my family to switch to firefox, but some of them didn't want to switch just because they're used to IE.

Firefox is the better browser, it's faster, simple, secure, and does the job rather well. I think Microsoft needs to ditch IE and innovate a new browser if they wish to stay on top.

[paul-p1988]

M$ wouldnt ditch it, they aint clever enough to sort out problems or get rid of faulty problems, look at Vista, Office 2007, and the xbox 360. 360 has more hardware failures than any other product on the market, Vista had more compatibility issues than any other operating system, and Office 2007 alienated all its long-term users. Will they solve any of these problems? Not likely, the only slight change they have made is make Vista a little bit more compatible, and slightly solve the hardware problems on the 360...

i think they should just give up and leave it to the pros (Apple/Linux, Sony/Nintendo, Open Office/Google Docs etc)

EDIT: forgot to slate IE haha, its got more holes than swiss cheese!!! firefox is incredible, all its problems get patched in a couple of days, and its generally quite rare for a problem to be found at all :D

[Kush_Reaper]

Damn that's quite a drop. What happened MS? If things keep going the way they are with vista and all that drama matters will only get worst for MS. I mean apple is rivaling them and now most people are coming to grips with Firefox and all. Hmm...they must get their act together.

OBAMA!!!

[dukadork]

but if chrome allows extensions like adblock too, i'm in!
common google, linux + chrome can take over the planet

[Danja]

Been using Firefox for over a year now and it just keeps getting better with time....it's just so flexible..and it's really fast..

I also like Chrome is really fast but , Google needs to sort out the tabs stability and memory usage probs...

[rimbreaker]

the new firefox sucks. It crashes far too often, Opera and my 64 bit IE are much more reliable. Ff2 was really much better from my experiences.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

yeah firefox is not real good with Flash videos but google chrome is i just dont like how google chrome dat have that many options yet

[LokMessier]

Firefox is nice and got my family to switch to it just as well, although as of late Firefox and I have been running into little troubles here and there. Random restarts and a bit of a 'freezing' issue after closing out of a youtube tab. Perhaps just a minor update that I have neglected to do needs to be done.

Overall though Firefox all the way.

[treereet]

How the hell is IE still at 70%? I mean who the heck would still use that ****? I switched years ago and I don't know anyone that still uses IE.

[BLuKhaos]

I was wondering the same thing but like someone above said its because most computers ship with IE pre-installed and most people are ignorant to the better choices available.

[artsaber]

IE is actually a part of the Windows OS, it is integrated with the install. A screwed up IE browser can BSOD your OS in a heartbeat.

[Rampant]

Makes sense, nothing more to see here.

[Mr Fancy Pants]

Man this is not about PS3 fanboys or not, go do some research or ask to any person that has enough knowledge about computers or simply go to cnet and you'll gonna get the same response from everybody. Which is the best browser? FireFox...

[BYE]

Best browser? FIREFOX!
Best operating system? MAC OSX!
Best console? PS3!

[name]

I converted a lot of my computer incapable family members to firefox and they love it.

[ultimolu]

Mozilla rocks. :)

This will be my second year Im using Firefox. You get too many viruses/spyware with IE.

[Mr Fancy Pants]

You'll get viruses with any browser you use... In fact IE is one of the safest if not the safest because of the phishing filter, protection mode and better integrations with windows security(antivirus, firewall, windows defender).

[Danja]

Firefox has add ons for a reason yah know....go do some research..addblock is a good one...so is No Script...

[ultimolu]

You don't get as many issues with Firefox like you do with IE. :)

I will never touch IE again, not after it crashed my computer.

[Mr Fancy Pants]

Hey don't disagree with me people because what I'm saying is true, I'm even taking a class of computer security right now.

People get scare of IE because is not modular and is true that is harder for a virus to enter from that browser compared to any other browser but the problem is that when it gets you the effects are directly reflected on your computer because IE is deeply integrated to the OS. At the same time it is the most secure is the most risky to use.

This is more of a problem from the way the Windows OS's were built and one of the ways MS thought to try to improve this issue was with the UAC. That was an incredible idea until you start to keep dealing with it every time you want to open, update or install anything on your computer and it gets in the way when you try to streaming from your comp and sometimes make some programs to install wrong.

Why do you think Windows 7 is going to be modular? The entire OS. That's like a HUGE change! Windows 7 could be one of the best OS ever made but MS is rushing it so much that I'm still skeptical about it. Just look at the X360 failure rate, they don't care about the consumer that much... Even if some people come saying that they offered the warranties, man they were obligated to do so if not what retailer would have kept selling their product? And don't forget about all the even bigger legal issues they would had.

I know this was only about the browser but I kinda jumped from one thing to the other. =|

Firefox Myths:
http://home.comcast.net/~Su...

[tristanmike]

The brighter my day gets.

[Captain Tuttle]

But I'm amazed that MS still has 2/3 of the market. That's a sizable chunk.

[Pixel_Addict]

20 percent is not a good market share, especially considering that Microsoft has had a monopoly for the past few decades. This goes to show that when Microsoft is faced with ACTUAL compitition they will lose. Microsoft has manipulated the public for years, using damn near illegal methods to stop out any fair competition. Asian and European lawmakers have already ruled that Microsoft, without a shred of doubt, is an illegal Monopoly.

This is actually very reflecting of their new venture into video games. They release shoddy half-baked products attach all kinds of hidden fees and then tell people Microsoft is doing them a favor. All Microsoft products, on even ground, lose their appeal.

[artsaber]

An Internet Explorer icon is on every single basic Windows install. Firefox must be downloaded and then installed. People will use what is immediately available on their menu and desktops. This is why IE has the high numbers, it rides in on the coat tail of Windows. And as you can see, it was designed to work that way. The best product is not always the most used or purchased. Just look at certain console hardware...

[Viper7]

I use both Firefox and Opera, why?
- Opera is fast and familiar so it fits for my needs on web pages that I surf daily.
- Firefox, because operas flash support and java support seems to suck compared to mozilla.

What is this internet explorer ppl talk of, I dont even have one installed :P

[Sheddi]

ive been using FF for years.

[riksweeney]

Me too

[robotnik]

Mozilla Firefox is way superior than Microsoft Internet Explorer.

[robotnik]

Firefox is way better than Microshoft Internet Hole.

If you disagree with me you are a MicroSlave.

HaHa.

[Avto]

I'm using Opera, I'm still helping with getting rid of IE ain't I?

[Sheddi]

yes u are my friend, yes u are

[karlostomy]

I use firefox and it is much faster and seems much more userfriendly than IE. Sure, the latest IE is better and the support for add-ins is great, but overall they're still catching up to FF.

Sorry MS, IE needs some drastic improvements to convert me back.

[Pennywise]

I use FF 99% of the time. There is always that lazy web guy that has a site FF doesnt work properly with.

[Darkseider]

What is it? ;)

Seriously though myself as well as most of my family and friends have been using FF for years. It is faster, more stable and more secure than IE.

[dkgshiz]

WOW! I really didn't know that. Who the hell would use IE? Its the slowest most unsecured web browser out. It still uses Active X control! I would of thought MS would be smarter and learn Active X control is an easy way to just get tons of viruses.

[dkgshiz]

I don't know anyone that still uses IE. Its just a unsecured piece of crap. Also, its very slow loading.

[DJ]

But once in a while I'll need to use Internet Explorer for government sites..

[aftrdark21]

Love using Google chrome. Only use IE when I have to.

[The gaming GOD]

Chrome itself was even faster at uploading and downloading than firefox for me. But my gripe is that Chrome opened my pc up to virus galore. When it becomes more secure the way firefox is, then I'll give it another shot.

And as for IE, the only reason it has a high market share is because it comes packaged with every pc sold. People aren't fully aware other browsers are out there. BUT, people are SLOWLY becoming aware. And as a result IE is slowly losing their market share.

Cause and Effect people

[gololo]

I am 100% FF supporter, I use it everywhere (work/home/etc) however, there is one aspect that makes IE stick around, and it's in some companies, they have applications or intranets that rely on Active-x plugins only available in IE...sad but true

[Gantrfaxx]

I stopped using IE 5 years ago.

[gumgum99]

chrome user.

never looked back

I rode IE for as long as I could until recently when it locked up so much I said "Thats It!!"

Firefox is cool also. I know a few people who use it.

[DMasta718]

Opera and Firefox user here. And some times Chrome. Stopped using IE years ago. The amount of addons and ways you can customize FF trumps IE very easily.

[TIKUP]

i switched yesterday from IE to Fire fox and haven't regretted it!!!!
There is soooooooo much options (customize anything) e.g. new add ons, new themes, new apperences!!!

[Bladestar]

I have more than 7 browsers install on my computer and my favorites and what I consider the best are:

Firefox
IE
Opera
Netscape

The last firefox screw things up... the browser seems to be crashing at lot... and telling me that "An instance of firefox is already open" when I try to open it.

I use IE for sites and features that Firefox does not support. I also prefer IE when downloading stuff... I do not like firefox download manager... I like to be asked where I want to put stuff; I never download stuff to the same directory.

As a developer Firefox has the best debugger and error console.

I think IE have better integration with video controls than firefox.

I don't like that firefox maintain session between instances... for example, if I login into my bank account and close the window (firefox)... and open a new firefox instance it will remember I am logged on... this is a security risk. Since someone can type the url and not have to enter user name and passwords... (and yes I know there is an option in firefox to clear all private data when firefox is closed... but I may not want to clear all my private data like my cache (visited pages, images, download history, etc) which would result on things taking longer to load).

[Jager]

Dont know why someone disagreed with you, you brought out your well writen and thought out opinion, giving booth the pros and cons of each.

[Austin_SJ]

Firefox, Firerocks!!! That's right I went there.

[dankybett]

I still just prefer opera.

[Si-Pie]

Go Firefox. Everyone I know uses firefox and I have done for years. I keep IE on my system but never use it as I much prefer firefox. Plus I think the name sounds cool or maybe is that hot haha.

[zonetrooper5]

I currently use FF for everything although I will use IE sometimes. I have Chrome installed but I don't like it that much. One thing about FF is the amount of memory it uses is pretty silly for a browser.

[cokzilla23]

the only time i use IE is when im in the netflix website watching a movie. nexflix doesn't support firefox so i have no choice but to use IE. other than that, firefox all the way!

[cmrbe]

Firefox is the best.

Safari is pretty but some of the sites don't display well.

I.E I havent touched since i got firefox. The only reason i think I.E is still around is because of MS dominance of the OS market. When people are more educated. They will find out like me that Firefox is the best.

Crome seems barebones to me like Opera. I don't like it.

[Ldubbz]

IE sucks....Im a Mac user so there is no IE for me anyhow...lol. But I do have a dual-boot for XP...where I use FF or Chrome. But IE is still needed for some sites.

On Mac, its usually FF, but also Safari and Camino is nice too. I find Opera to be quirky...tho it does have an integrated torrent downloader...

[Bladestar]

well... you obviously don't about a saying about IE... since Microsoft stop supporting IE for Mac since version 4.0 and we are already up to 8.0 alpha...

If you are basing your opinion based on a more than 10 year old browser... I do not know what to tell you.

By the way... on my Mac I use firefox... Safari is too limited compared to firefox and a real pain in the @$$ for developers to code against it since it does not even have a proper debugger!

[pansenbaer]

So I saw some people talking about compatibility issues with FireFox (i.e. a website not working because it needs internet explorer to work) and wanted to make sure everyone knew that there is an add on called the 'PrefBar' that lets you fool most websites into thinking you are using Internet Explorer. It works wonders for me. It also has quick buttons for turning off images, flash, and javascript for lightning fast browsing. Get it here.

http://prefbar.mozdev.org/

[Captain_Sony]

I would love to see the day when IE,Windows and a few other properties of theirs are no more. MS's dirty business tactics in the past are the main reason I can never support one of their consoles. I just cant help but wonder how much further along certain programs like OS could be had MS not been there to hamper competition.

[SixAmpFuze]

I love IE! But Have been using ff for a while and I liek it as well but it has alot of problems. Alot of web pages or scripts dont load correctly or load at all.The 1 thing i hate about FF is its a resourcehog and can max out your cpu and it has a bad memory leak and that it wont delete the brosing history . Those are known bugs and the history 1 at least has a work around made by a plugin. IE loads pages faster for me than ff but i like ff's tabs better that IE's . So the dirty business tactics you hate MS for are the same tactics nintendo , sony, GM, ford and every other Company uses because they work and because they make money.People need to get over the big bad company that MS is because every big company is the same exact way and every small company wishes the y were these big company's , especially APPLE who is just as bad as MS with the anti trust issues its just MS is the bigger company so they get hit hard.Everything windows is apple is the same. MS was sued to death in europe for including a browser and media player making a "suite" like software but Apple's OS is the same if not worse.

[SlyGuy]

Microsoft and their products (like IE).

I wish they installed Firefox on the servers at work.

If only they knew how much safer and more reliable it is.

[Rhoic]

I use Firefox all the time.. I haven't touched IE in years.. but..

There is actually 1 browser that I believe is better than firefox. It's Opera.. and the reason I say this, is because it's a smart browser. Opera stores all downloads in it's own separate cache, so whenever the browser crashes, it will save all data that has been downloaded and start up the download again, instead of corrupting the data and having you to start all over. Another reason why I believe it's better, is because Opera automatically installs software that is required to run web pages.. you're never asked to install the latest version of Adobe or something.. it does it for you. The problem is though, is that Opera isn't as compatible and customizable as Firefox, though it is better imo. But this is the reason why i actually use Firefox over Opera is for it's customization. Once Opera starts to become more compatible, I will use it far more.

[kosovo]

microsoft will die before 2020.

[Rhoic]

Just like how Microsoft was supposed to die out 20 years ago lulz.

[cherrypie]

Snore. Net Applications -- of all those who keep this data -- report the *lowest* share for IE than any other.

[cantfindaname08]

Once i started using Firefox, i never went back. Chrome is good but, i'm so used to Firefox. I'm very serious when i say that i did not know people still use IE. I mean, every person i know, uses Firefox. Even my university has firefox on every computer. PEace.

[likedamaster]

And how is this gaming news again?

[Ldubbz]

----On June 13, 2003, Microsoft announced that it was ceasing further development of Internet Explorer for Mac. The browser was not included in default installation of Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" which was released on April 29, 2005. Microsoft discontinued support for the product on December 31, 2005 and removed the application from their Macintosh downloads site on January 31, 2006. Microsoft recommends "that Macintosh users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari."[1]-----from Wikipedia

As far as I know there isnt IE for Mac...but where can I find this 8.0 alpha u speak of? That could come in handy for me