Using Internet Explorer 9 and Google Apps? It's Time to Update Your Browser

If your school's tech department insists on making you and your students use Internet Explorer and you use Google Apps (Drive, Gmail, Calendar, etc) it's time to make sure that you're using IE 10 or above. Yesterday, Google announced that they are ceasing support of IE 9 (support for all previous versions ceased a while ago). If you're not sure what browser you are using you can visit WhatBrowser.org to find out.


Thanks to Jen Deyenberg for sharing the announcement on Twitter.

Google Apps Ceasing Support for Internet Explorer 8

If your school still insists on using Internet Explorer 8, soon they'll have to update or lose Google Apps functionality. On Friday Google announced that as of November 15 they will no longer support Internet Explorer 8. If you're not sure what browser you're currently using, visit What Browser to check.

My browser of choice is Google Chrome. I like Chrome because it automatically updates and because I can synchronize my tabs across all of the computers and tablets that I use. But whichever browser you use, make sure you update it when new updates are available. Updates generally improve the speed and functionality of your browser. More importantly many browser updates are made to improve the security of your computer. Keeping your browser up to date is an easy step in maintaining your computer's security.

 

Are You Part of the 1%?

No, this is not about the 1% that got the Occupy Wall Street movement going. This is about the 1% of U.S. citizens that according to Net Applications and Microsoft are still using Internet Explorer 6. If you are in that 1% or your school is still insisting on forcing students and staff to use IE 6, please consider the following.

Why you should update your browser.
As Microsoft itself announced last year, there are many security risks associated with using an outdated browser like Internet Explorer 6. To encourage people to move away from IE6 Microsoft launched IE6 Countdown to encourage people to update their browsers. Security issues isn't a problem limited to IE6. Older versions of other browsers like Firefox are also more susceptible to security threats.

Access to new features of new websites. Programmers launching new sites and services aren't designing their products for old browsers. If you're forcing teachers and students to use outdated browsers you're possibly preventing them from taking advantage of new educational resources.

How you can determine what browser you're using.
There is a simple way to determine what browser you're using; visit WhatBrowser.org. What Browser is a Google site that detects what browser you're using and displays that information right on the page in front of you.

What is a web browser?
Google explains the answer in the video below.


Can't see the video because YouTube is blocked where you're reading this? Wikipedia has an explanation of web browsers too.

Are You Using a Modern Web Browser? You Should

It probably shouldn't but it does surprise me how many school network administrators insist on locking their staff and students into using outdated web browsers. I realize that it can be a pain to push out updates to a large network of computers and that sometimes the programs you use don't keep up with browser updates (Infinite Campus doesn't work with Firefox 4 yet), still the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Why you should update your browser.
As Microsoft itself announced last month, there are many security risks associated with using an outdated browser like Internet Explorer 6. To encourage people to move away from IE6 Microsoft launched IE6 Countdown to encourage people to update their browsers. Security issues isn't a problem limited to IE6. Older versions of other browsers like Firefox are also more susceptible to security threats.

Access to new features of new websites. Programmers launching new sites and services aren't designing their products for old browsers. If you're forcing teachers and students to use outdated browsers you're possibly preventing them from taking advantage of new educational resources.

How you can determine what browser you're using.
There is a simple way to determine what browser you're using; visit WhatBrowser.org. What Browser is a Google site that detects what browser you're using and displays that information right on the page in front of you.

What is a web browser?
Google explains the answer in the video below.

Can't see the video because YouTube is blocked where you're reading this? Wikipedia has an explanation of web browsers too.