Internet Explorer (IE) use has dropped 1.8 percent in the last three months, according to new data gathered by WebSideStory, a San Diego-based provider of Web metrics. Although IE still dominates the browser business, its current 93.7 share is off from a June high of 95.5 percent.
This latest data comes after a July report by WebSideStory that noted IE's share falling for the first time ever. At the time, many analysts attributed the slip to a rash of browser vulnerabilities. Those vulnerabilities haven't been stopped -- this week Microsoft said yet another bug in Windows and IE 6.0 opened PCs to attack -- and may yet be one of the drivers of the trend to ditch Microsoft's browser.
While IE loses users, rival browsers gain strength.
WebSideStory's numbers, though somewhat crude, showed that the Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox category grabbed virtually all of the Microsoft defectors. Usage of the Netscape commercial browser and the open-source Mozilla suite and Firefox stand-alone browser climbed 1.7 points since early June, and the trio now make up a respectable 5.2 percent of all browsers used.
The other category that WebSideStory tracks includes the Norwegian browser, Opera, and Apple's own Safari. Those browsers gained a smidgen on Microsoft -- 1/10th of a percent -- and now hold just over 1 percent of the share.
Both Mozilla and Opera have recently turned up the heat in an attempt to accommodate even more Redmond refugees.
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