Microsoft ends support for older versions of Internet Explorer

Microsoft MSFT, -0.67% will only continue issuing security updates and bug fixes for Internet Explorer 11, the latest version of the browser, to focus more on the latest version.

After today, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates for Windows 8 – or for IE10 and IE11, the company browsers that run on the OS – and the company will not offer technical support for the operating system.

The thing is, as ZDNet reports, Microsoft considers Windows 8.1 as a service pack for Windows 8 – and while it wasn’t mandatory to install it, and make the leap to Windows 8.1, it has service pack rules applied. More than 60 percent of small businesses in the US still use the unsupported versions of IE, making them susceptible to malicious attacks.

Windows 8 will reach end of life just three years after launch, which is highly unlikely of Microsoft.

Microsoft’s latest round of security patches start rolling out Tuesday but may take a few days before they land on your system.

Mark James, a security specialist at online security firm ESET, warned users of the need to upgrade as the cut-off date was reached. Microsoft tried to improve the situation by adding features PC users wanted in Windows 8.1, but it really wasn’t until Windows 10 that Microsoft’s vision of a single OS running everywhere came to satisfying fruition. The Redmond-based giant has also blotched the opportunity to push end-users into adopting Microsoft’s new revamped browser – Edge, rather than Internet Explorer 11. The company, instead, encourages users to switch to Microsoft Edge, which Microsoft believes represents a vast improvement over the older Internet Explorer. Because users still used outdated versions of Internet Explorer, the company has made this move.

However, Microsoft is urging those using Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 2012 R2, and other versions of Windows Embedded to upgrade their browsers to IE 11 by January 13 in order to safeguard their systems.

Google announced on January 11 that it would stop providing security for the Chrome browser on the older versions of the Windows including the Windows XP and the Windows Vista. The now defunct, Windows 8, however, is still active on over 30 million devices – roughly 2 to 3 percent.

Microsoft today ended support for old versions of Internet Explorer, including IE8, IE9, and IE10, as well as Windows 8.