Internet Explorer 1.0 from Windows 95

It’s the early 1990s. To send files, workers often mail floppy discs in padded envelopes or perhaps use a fax machine to transmit documents. If you want directions, you unfold a map and plot a route. If you want a telephone number, you leaf through a phone book. Relatively few people are using the global Internet. But the world is about to embrace the World Wide Web as new way of working, communicating, and finding information.

In August 1995, Microsoft releases Windows 95, which includes key technologies for connecting to the Internet, such as built-in support for dial-up networking and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).

In response to the growing public interest in the Internet, Microsoft develops an add-on to the operating system called a web browser. When Windows 95 with Internet Explorer debuts, the Internet becomes accessible for many people. Additionally, Internet Explorer replaces the manual installation steps that many of the existing shareware browsers require. In short, it gets easy to get online.

Geek trivia: Internet Explorer technology originally shipped to retail as the Internet Jumpstart Kit in Microsoft Plus! For Windows 95, but you could buy it pre-installed with Windows 95 on a new computer.

Internet Explorer 2.0 Starter Kit

In November 1995, Microsoft releases its first cross-platform browser, Internet Explorer 2.0, which supports both Macintosh and 32-bit Windows. In less than 3 months, Internet Explorer has become one of the most popular browsers and hundreds of thousands of people using Windows 95 have downloaded Internet Explorer since it was first released.

With Internet Explorer 2.0 comes a new set of fledgling Internet technologies that offer web developers and designers the power to design secure, media-rich websites with tracking capabilities. It also introduces Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol as well as support for HTTP cookies, Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), and Internet newsgroups.

Geek trivia: Some of the websites you could view using Internet Explorer 2.0 included Lycos, Yahoo!, and the Trojan Room coffee pot, the world’s first webcam showing how full the coffee pot was in the Computer Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.

Internet Explorer 3.0

In August 1996, Microsoft releases a rebuilt Internet Explorer technology and free content offers from top websites. “Dot com” and “online” are increasingly common in conversations and news stories. Leading media companies scramble to establish themselves on the web and showcase new content online.

Designed for Windows 95, Internet Explorer 3.0 technology offers revolutionary, useful, and appealing components, including Internet Mail and News 1.0 and Windows Address Book. Later, Microsoft NetMeeting and Windows Media Player are added.

The browser can display GIF and JPG files, play MIDI sound files, and play streaming audio files without the assistance of helper programs.

For web developers, Internet Explorer 3.0 technology delivers a flexible programming model with a choice of scripting languages. Moreover, Internet Explorer 3.0 is designed to allow web developers to extend it easily as Internet standards are quickly evolving. Web designers also receive more predictable results, thanks to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Developers use ActiveX to make websites come alive using multimedia effects, interactive objects, and sophisticated programs, creating an experience comparable to that of high-quality CD-ROM titles of the day.

Geek trivia: More than 32,000 downloads of Internet Explorer 3.0 occur in the first six hours after release, outpacing anticipated demand and requiring Microsoft to quickly add more capacity. By the end of the first week, more than 1 million copies of the browser are downloaded.

Internet Explorer 4.0

Released in October 1997 and designed for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT, Internet Explorer 4.0 technology is a significant stride forward. For web developers, the addition of Dynamic HTML (DHTML) heralds the next step in web design. DHTML gives web developers more control over content and style and creates opportunities that previously had been possible only with software apps.

Suddenly, webpages are able to be more interactive—menus expand with a click and images and objects can be dragged around. The web starts to look more like the apps and games running on a PC and less like a static series of pages.

Geek trivia: The code name for Dynamic HTML, released with Internet Explorer 4.0, is Trident. First appearance: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.0 is installed for the first time as an upgrade to Internet Mail and News. This built-in component improves the way people send, receive, and organize email and address books.

With the March 1999 release of Internet Explorer 5.0 technology, developers gain the ability to design richer web apps. DHTML capabilities are expanded, giving web developers more flexibility and power to create interactive websites.

Personalization is a key focus as web apps based on DHTML emerge. Rich apps are now on the web. For example, an expense report can automatically configure itself based on a person's settings. With expanded programming capabilities such as these, Internet Explorer 5.0 technologies help usher in a new era of e-commerce. The web is increasingly used for learning.

Geek trivia: The new Windows Radio Toolbar gives access to more than 300 Internet radio stations around the world.

Internet Explorer 6 is released with Windows XP in 2001 as a more private, reliable, and flexible technology than previous versions. Because privacy and security are customer priorities, Microsoft implements tools that support Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P), a technology under development by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

The privacy tools in Internet Explorer 6 enable people to set their own level of privacy, protecting the flow of personal information over the Internet. People can choose from five privacy level settings (or import settings from a trusted source), according to their privacy preferences. The settings help increase understanding about a variety of unseen events that occur—largely from the placing of cookies—as a person surfs the web.

Geek trivia: Internet Explorer 6 is the first Internet browser software to include such robust privacy tools based on the industry-developed Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) specification.

Internet Explorer 7.0

On October, 18, Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 7. In response to the increase in and changing nature of online security threats, Internet Explorer 7 provides advanced safeguards that help protect against malicious software and phishing attacks. The browser provides better information to people to assist them in making better and safer decisions online.

Internet Explorer 7 delivers a new look and enhanced capabilities that make everyday tasks—such as searching, browsing multiple sites, and printing—simple and fast. To help users do more with the browser, this version introduces tabbed browsing. With tabs, users are able to view multiple sites in a single browser window and easily switch from one site to another.

Internet Explorer 7 also features improved manageability for enterprises through the enhanced support of Active Directory Group Policy, which enables IT managers to easily deploy and centrally manage the browser on each desktop in their network.

Geek trivia: Internet Explorer 7 introduces Quick Tabs, which provides an “at-a-glance” snapshot of all open tabs on a single screen, enabling easier and faster site selection and navigation.

An address and a map using an Accelerator

In March 2009, Internet Explorer 8 is released. It’s available in 25 languages and again features leading-edge security features in response to the increasing concerns about online safety. In addition to offering improved security and privacy protections, Internet Explorer 8 is one of the fastest browsers on the market.

Internet Explorer 8 cuts down on the time it takes to complete common tasks on the web, such as searching, mapping, and sharing. It helps people save time with new features, such as Accelerators that make it faster and easier to perform common tasks online by making web-based services available directly from the page you’re viewing. Simply right-click a word or phrase and you can instantly map, email, or share it.

Additionally, there are now visual search suggestions, complete with visuals and detailed information to save time.

Geek trivia: Web Slices debut in Internet Explorer 8 and are endorsed by Dolly Parton. Web Slices provide updates from favorite websites and appear on the Favorites bar.

Internet Explorer 9 puts the focus on the web

In 2011, Internet Explorer 9 is released. This version builds on the browser's privacy and security reputation and focuses on performance and making websites look their best. Using the power of modern PC multicore processors, Windows 7, a new user experience, and support for modern standards (such as HTML5), Internet Explorer 9 helps create immersive sites that feel like PC apps themselves.

Internet Explorer 9 dedicates more pixels to websites, making sites look their best. With Pinned Sites, favorite websites can be accessed directly from the Windows taskbar without having to first open the browser. Jump Lists are a quick and easy way to get to a common website task without having to first launch the browser. For Pinned Sites where developers have created Jump List capabilities, you can quickly create a new email message, check your inbox, change the music station, accept a friend invitation, or see breaking news.

People often need to use more than one website or page to accomplish a task. Tearing off a tab by dragging it away from the browser and using Aero Snap let you see two sites or pages side by side, compare products from different websites, watch a video while reading email, or look at a map while reading an itinerary for a trip.

See two tabs side-by-side with Tear-off tabs

Internet Explorer 9 is fast. It’s built to take advantage of the latest PC hardware to deliver significant performance gains. And it’s robust. The first Download Manger with SmartScreen Filter integration helps remove unnecessary warnings for well-known files, and shows more severe warnings when there’s a higher risk. The Add-on Performance Advisor lets you know when add-ons are slowing down a browsing session.

Geek trivia: Tab isolation, automatic crash recovery, and the new tab recovery feature help ensure that information isn’t lost and keeps people browsing when a website isn’t working correctly.