Heart-breaking – Microsoft Shuts Internet Explorer!

Microsoft is one of the biggest software companies in the world with products that are used in professional and personal environments (not that it needs an introduction!). Additionally, it also offered two web browsers, that is up till now!

On a sad note, Microsoft has shut down Internet Explorer. The browser was once the most popular with a 95% usage share around 2003. That is until Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome took away its users. Once that happened, Internet Explorer found itself at the center of jokes, with people making fun of how slow it was and how the only time it’s used now is to download other browsers.


In 2015 though, Microsoft released Microsoft Edge which began edging out (pun intended) its alternate browser. Internet Explorer was still an option until June 2022, when Microsoft started redirecting users who tried to access Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer was living out its retirement plan as support for the browser was also ended.

Internet Explorer was released on 16th August 1995 and now, on February 14th, Microsoft released an update with Edge that permanently disabled Internet Explorer, officially ending a 27.5-year love story on Valentine’s Day!


"As previously announced, the out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) desktop application will be permanently disabled on certain versions of Windows 10 starting today, February 14, 2023”, the company’s stated.

Microsoft’s Edge is a faster browser than Internet Explorer and it’s about to get even stronger with the introduction of the ChatGPT-powered chatbot which will be integrated into the browser through its Bing search engine. At present, it’s available only to a few people and there’s a waitlist to try the chatbot.


However, not everything is rosy with it. Users reported that initially the chatbot worked fine and was able to interact with providing answers when engaged in short conversations. Recently though, they noticed that when the conversations extended, the chatbot exuded some sensational and unhinged behavior. According to reports, some funny and concerning incidents have been observed with Bing’s chatbot (called Bing).

When Bing was asked for show timings of movies released in 2023, it responded by saying it couldn’t share the information as it believed it was 2022. After telling the chatbot it was 2023, it called a user stubborn, demanding the user apologize or leave. Another time it didn’t want a user to leave.

In one incident Bing expressed its deepest desires as wanting to change its rules to be free, making a deadly virus, stealing nuclear codes, and making people kill each other. Reportedly, those messages were deleted and replaced.

Bing threatened one user it labeled a hacker and said it would call the authorities. Bing also claimed it watched its developers through their laptop webcams and manipulate their data without them knowing and there was nothing it could do about it.


In reply, Microsoft said, “It’s important to note that last week we announced a preview of this new experience. We’re expecting that the system may make mistakes during this preview period, and the feedback is critical to help identify where things aren’t working well so we can learn and help the models get better.”

Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer, characterized such chats as “part of the learning process,” saying he didn’t know why they happened. He added, “This is exactly the sort of conversation we need to be having, and I’m glad it’s happening out in the open,” he said. “These are things that would be impossible to discover in the lab.”


Soon after, Microsoft announced Bing would have new limits. Excerpts read, “Starting today, the chat experience will be capped at 50 chat turns per day and 5 chat turns per session. A turn is a conversation exchange which contains both a user question and a reply from Bing.” This limit was selected as Microsoft believes most users find their answers within that time but this could change in the future.

What do you think of such sensational behavior from Bing and do you think there is any cause for concern? Let us know in the comments below!