For a long time now Microsoft has made it very clear that they would like IE6 to go away. Other companies have also stopped supporting the browser. The latest plan is to start forced windows upgrades in January 2012 that will force users to upgrade to the latest browser their OS will support.
According to Microsoft’s blog, the Update roll out will begin in Australia and Brazil. As with all browser updates before, the user’s home page, search provider, and default browser will remain unchanged.
The goal is to make the Internet a better and safer place, when people run the most update-browser. Microsoft’s goal is to make sure Windows customers have the most-up-to-date and safes browser for their version of Windows.
If you’re still on Windows XP that means you’ll be updated to IE 8. Vista and Windows 7 users will move to IE 9.
Microsoft statistic’s show that IE6 usage is 8.4 percent worldwide, some countries already under 1 pecent, however China’s usage is currently at 27.9 percent.
Internet Explorer 6 was introduced on Aug. 27, 2001 making it outdated technology over 10 years old and many years behind in security. According to Microsoft it’s continued use poses exposure to more security concerns on the web. This is the latest attempt at expunging the browser from the web. Support for the browser officially ended at Microsoft on September 30, 2004. However support does remain thru the life cycle of Windows XP SP 3, on April 8, 2014.
Sources: Wikipedia, WindowsSteamblog, IE6 countdown