One of my biggest pet peeve as a Software Analyst is when I see someone using the internet using one of the old browsers like “IE 7/8/9/10” . Then there are others who keep ignoring the update to latest version messages that they get from Firefox / Chrome. I can’t be bothered to get the newest one they tell you. I will do it later say the others . What most don’t realize that in this day and age , they are exposing themselves to huge security risks.

Buying stuff on the internet using these old browser is equivalent of doing trading with the guy standing next to the dumpster who deals in Cash only. We all know how that deal ends.

No seriously , I can’t stress enough how much Risk you are taking by using old browsers. Even Microsoft with its own admission have said that the newest version of their browser is 15 % more safe than the older one. Browsers like Google Chrome have now adopted the “opt out” policy for updates , by default you are set up for auto updates . If you don’t want the updates , you have to opt out and the process to do so is not easy. No wonder Chrome has gained so much popularity in a very short time in the browsers market which was all but saturated when the first version of Google chrome was released. The others have caught on Firefox has a similar updates policy and IE belatedly is also coming to the party. Windows 10 onwards , you will not be set up for auto updates by default.

For the people who are still using the older browsers let me paint a picture for you.

• If your browser was a phone then if you are using IE 8 , you own a Blackberry Bold which is now 6 years old.
• IE 9 is the equivalent of Google Nexus One with its 480 x 800 display and Android 2.2
• You are missing on a lot of new stuff : Older versions of IE are very slow in implementing new standards , the score badly on HTML 5 support and CSS3 Support.