A refreshing taste of IE7 Beta2 from Microsoft

The Redmond giant, Microsoft has moved a step closer to finishing a new version of its popular Internet Explorer browser. Microsoft opened the Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 floodgates on Tuesday as it launched a beta version of its Internet Explorer 7 browser, emphasizing new security features designed to defeat security problems that plagued earlier editions. So, if you are running the Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview then it is time to update to a newer version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 with some updates and fixes.

It also will post simultaneously new IE 7 Beta 2 builds for Windows XP 64-bit editions and Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1. Until now, the only stand-alone test versions of IE 7 that Microsoft had delivered was the XP SP2 version. It is offering free telephone support to consumers in the US, Germany and Japan who decide to try it out.

Microsoft is facing growing competition from browsers such as Firefox which already offer advanced functions such as tabbed browsing. IE 7, which Microsoft will release both as a stand-alone browser and as an integrated component of Windows Vista, includes a number of new features and functionality, including tabbed browsing, advanced printing, integrated RSS feed support, anti-phishing and other security-focused enhancements, and more standards-adherent CSS support. The browser integrates Microsoft’s Phishing Filter, which informs users if they are visiting known phishing sites, and indicates such by displaying a red shield with a white X on it, the company said on the site. Phishing involves the theft of personal data, often by duping users into entering that information into a familiar site’s interface that is being operated illegally and on an unrelated server.

"Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 is a major step forward in ease of use and security," the company’s download page for the new version said. In the past, Microsoft has only encouraged developers to test beta versions of IE 7. But it is now looking to computer users to help iron out any problems with the browser. "We believe that IE 7, even at this beta stage, is a significant improvement and we want as many people as possible to try it and use it," said the browser development team in a post on its blog.

IE 7 Beta 2 follows on the heels of two different browser versions labeled as "IE 7 Beta 2 Preview." Microsoft distributed these builds, which ran on XP SP2 only, in February and March. Testers running any of the previous IE 7 test/beta builds will need to uninstall them before attempting to install the IE 7 Beta 2 build. While the new beta software is more polished than previous versions, consumers are advised that it is still a test version and could cause glitches with other software.

Microsoft is staging the rollout, making the English version available immediately; the Arabic, Finish and German versions on May 3; and the Japanese version on May 8. Microsoft will make free support available to North American, German and Japanese testers.

Internet Explorer is the most widely used web browser. But its market share has been eroded by the appearance of new browsers such as Firefox and Opera which are seen as more secure. According to some estimates, Firefox is used by just over 10% of internet surfers. Designed especially for the delayed Windows Vista operating system, the new browser is intended to address concerns over security risks that were specifically aimed at earlier versions of Internet Explorer, including exploitation of weaknesses that allowed for the theft of personal data and credit card or other account information. "We heard you—you wanted it easier and more secure," the website for the new version said. The final version of Internet Explorer 7 is expected to launch around the same time as Vista in 2007.