Microsoft Opens Internet Explorer 7 Upgrades to Those with Pirated Software

Microsoft launched a minor update of the Internet Explorer 7, for windows XP, removing the protection that asks the users to validate using the Windows Genuine Advantage software when trying to install it. Before this release, it was only possible to upgrade to the newest version of Internet Explorer only after your Windows XP operating system was validated online on the Microsoft Web site.

This means that the owners of pirated copies of Microsoft Windows XP have the chance to update their browsers from Internet Explorer 6 to version 7.

Internet Explorer 7 was released almost a year ago, but still, users are having a problem adapting to it, and still Internet Explorer 6, is the most used web browser. The removal of the Windows Genuine Advantage protection feature, will determine an increase in the number of installs for the Internet Explorer 7, as Microsoft claims, and more and more users will be protected from the threats that exist when navigating on the Internet.

Even if Internet Explorer 6, is still updated by Microsoft, with security patches, the Windows XP operating system, is almost at the end of its life, as Windows Vista is taking ground, and many users are switching to it. Plus to that, Internet Explorer 7 contains an anti-phishing filter, Microsoft claiming that the filter they have developed is protecting about 900,000 users a week. Also Internet Explorer 7 contains a native support for the Extended Validation SSL certificates, in order to prevent on-line frauds.

Microsoft announced that the ones that wanted to validate their system in order to download the Internet Explorer 7, have done it during the last year, and the ones that did not are not planning to.

Basically, this release comes more to help the users that have a pirated version of Windows XP, or for some reason do not want to validate their copy, and it still is a mystery why Microsoft is doing this, with nothing to gain, it is basically encouraging the use of pirated versions of Windows. Perhaps the Microsoft Corporation is focusing more on developing the new Windows Vista operating system, and has started the ending road for the Windows XP, which is becoming obsolete.

Microsoft made some minor changes to the Internet Explorer 7 version for the Windows XP users. They can download the new version here, or they can wait for it to be delivered using the Automatic Updates system.

Source: http://www.betanews.com