Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) for the public on March 14, 2011 at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) which is being held in Austin, Texas. The released version of Internet Explorer 9 is not compatible with Windows XP. It works with the Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 operating systems. System requirements for installing Internet Explorer 9, include a 1 gigahertz processor that is 32- or 64-bit, 512 MB RAM, hard disk space ranging from 70 MB to 200 MB depending on the version of operating system, and a display unit with a minimum resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. The browser can be downloaded from the official website of Microsoft.
Several new features have been introduced in Internet Explorer 9 such as an easy to use design, hardware acceleration for enhanced visuals, user alerts about add-ons, One Box that integrates search and address bar, message bar for notifications, streamlined webpage viewing area, improved protection against phishing, and a download console. Internet Explorer 9 takes tabbed browsing to the next level and provides convenience in multitasking. With tear-off tabs, you can open several websites. The tabs can now be organized in a simpler manner as they are color coded. The websites which you regularly visit will now be displayed on the New Tab page. The pinning option helps you in keeping websites that you often open on the taskbar. You can now enjoy a much more secured browsing experience with Internet Explorer 9 as it now incorporates the Tracking Protection and ActiveX Filtering techniques. The SmartScreen Filter offers protection against malicious websites, spam and online scams.
Thus, Internet Explorer 9 ensures a faster and secure web browsing experience by improving and introducing several features.
