Microsoft to stop support for IE 8, 9, 10 from 12 January

For people using an old version of Internet Explorer, it is now time to upgrade or switch to another browser as Microsoft is phasing out support for Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 on 12 January.

This will spell the end of security updates and technical help for versions of Internet Explorer other than 11, the latest iteration. But this could leave some users with old versions more vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to problems with the software that are discovered subaequently that would not be patched by the software giant.

"Regular security updates help protect computers from malicious attacks, so upgrading and staying current is important," Microsoft said on a web page about the change. Internet Explorer 11 offers "improved security, increased performance, better backward compatibility" and support for modern web standards, it added.

There are some exceptions though, for example, Microsoft would continue to provide support for Internet Explorer 9 on its older Windows Vista after the deadline, because it was the latest compatible version for that operating system. However, users of old browsers would be on their own.

The change had been announced by Microsoft in August 2014.

The shift would still have a major impact on users and according to some estimates hundreds of millions of users would need to upgrade or run higher digital risk.

Microsoft introduced its new browser called Microsoft Edge with Windows 10, which was designed to replace Internet Explorer.

Microsoft continues to deliver Internet Explorer 11 with Widows 10.

Microsoft would ask users of Windows 7 computers and Windows Server 2008 R to upgrade on Tuesday, and IE 8, 9, and 10 users are expected to switch to IE11.

Users can choose to not switch to Internet Explorer 11 by disabling the required update, but the browser would stop receiving all updates including those concerning security when Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 become obsolete.