According to Microsoft, users who have previously installed IE10 preview version can update the browser directly through Windows Update. Updates for users who are still on IE9 on a Windows 7PC can expect an automatic update to IE10 in the “next few weeks”.
IE10 for Windows 7 release is later than some analysts expected. In April 2011, Microsoft announced the existence of a new Internet Explorer 10 which will come in a years time as they expect a yearly release of the browser. However, IE10 is only released now, two years since its announcement.
IE10 is Microsoft’s first internet browser after their change in upgrade policy. Previously, users have to accept and approve the download and installation of a new Internet Explorer upgrade, but Microsoft is now adopting a new strategy similar to Google Chrome, i.e. a passive automatic upgrade.
IE10 supports both Windows 8 and Windows 7. Windows Vista will only support up to IE9 and IE8 for Windows XP. Users must install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 in order to download and install IE10.
In addition to higher performance and better support for HTML5 web standards, IE10 also sets “Do Not Track” as the default setting. This has caused dissatisfactions to advertisers like Coca-Cola and Yahoo.
Enterprises which are not willing to update to the new browser can make use of Windows Server Update Services and Systems Management Server tools provided by Microsoft to prevent the automatic update. User can also download IE10 manually from Microsoft’s website.
