Tech Shout!

Microsoft has publicly released Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP. With the latest Internet Explorer 7, customers can upgrade and browse the web with confidence knowing that the new browser provides a greater level of security. It also makes tasks easier.

Internet Explorer 7 provides advanced safeguards that help to protect against malicious software and phishing attacks. Microsoft has helped to reduce the exposure to these attacks by strengthening the browser itself and providing better information to users to assist them in making better and safer decisions online.

According to Microsoft, some of the security improvements in Internet Explorer 7 will be available only when the browser is running under Windows Vista, which is scheduled for release early next year. This is because some of Internet Explorer 7’s security enhancements rely upon the technology available in Windows Vista but not in Windows XP and earlier versions of the operating system. Internet Explorer 7 was originally designed to be bundled with new copies of Windows Vista, but Microsoft decided to unbundle the browser and release it early, probably in response to the growing popularity of the competing Firefox browser.

Internet Explorer 7 manages to deliver a new look and enhanced capabilities that make everyday tasks, which include searching, browsing multiple sites and printing simple and fast. To help users do more with the browser, Microsoft is introducing users of Internet Explorer to tabbed browsing. With tabs, users are able to view multiple sites in a single browser window and easily switch from one site to another. In Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft extends tab functionality with a new feature called 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.

Microsoft has noticed that many people print Web pages from their browsers, Microsoft has made printing easier and more efficient in IE7. A new “shrink to fit” option can automatically adjust fonts and graphics to the size of a printed page - a boon to those who have been frustrated by printing a Web page only to find that a good portion of it went missing because the page was too large to be printed correctly by the output device.

A new “instant search box” allows you to search the Web using the search engine of your choice directly from within any Web page you’re viewing. This saves you from having to launch a separate browser window to conduct a search while reading.

While Internet Explorer 7 includes significant end-user advancements, it was also designed with developers and IT managers in mind. Microsoft engineered Internet Explorer 7 for compatibility with existing Web sites by adhering to some of the most important standards for Web site development. 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 of the desktops in their network.

Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP is now available in English and runs on Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP 64-bit Edition and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. Internet Explorer 7 will be made available in other Windows-supported languages over the coming weeks.